Social Justice Films Drive Change: Simon-Roberts’ Paper Wins Top Honors at ICA

Communication Studies Assistant Professor Sharifa Simon-Roberts recently received the award for Top Faculty Paper from the Popular Media and Culture Division at the International Communication Association (ICA).

The paper “Not Just Made for My Pure Entertainment: Social Justice Movies as Tools for Fueling Consciousness, Conversations, Change,” has been published in the Howard Journal of Communications.

The paper was the result of a two-year research project conducted by Simon-Roberts and Communication Studies senior lecturer Owen Eagan. Eagen was a co-author for the award-winning paper. The films they examined included the movies Queen & Slim and Just Mercy, and the documentary 13th.

They wanted to understand “viewers’ perceptions of social movies that center on racial injustice against the Black community and the influence these movies have on audiences’ understanding of racism.”

“The data we collected underscored the importance of foregrounding groups that have been marginalized and denigrated in the media and society more broadly,” said Simon-Roberts.

Simon-Roberts was honored to receive the award.

“Being recognized by an esteemed group of scholars within my discipline at an international level, no doubt, makes conducting research even more rewarding,” said Simon-Roberts.

The two co-authored a separate paper, “The Influence of Social Justice Movies: A Case Study in Promoting Moral Understanding & Social Responsibility,” with Eagen as the lead author, that was published in the Journal of Media Psychology.

“This project wouldn’t have been possible without Sharifa due to her scholarly expertise,” said Eagen. “Her recognition by leading experts in the international field of communication for the paper that she authored is a testament to her incredible talent.”