Conspiracy Ideologies in Films and Series Explanatory Approaches and Opportunities for Intervention

Denis Newiak (Dr. phil.) is a research associate at the Chair of Applied Media Sciences at the Brandenburg University of Technology, Germany. He studied Media Studies at the University of Potsdam and Film Studies at the Freie Universität of Berlin. He conducted research at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and in Sapporo, Japan. His research focuses in the following areas: aesthetics and narratives of loneliness in film and television, macro- and microsocial functions of serial television entertainment, disruptive events in science fiction movies and TV shows.

Anastasia Schnitzer (M. Sc.) is a graduate assistant at the Department of Communication Studies and Media Research DCM at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). She is pursuing her PhD on the influence of character portrayals and the quality of mediated intergroup interaction in entertainment media on expectation, stereotyping and stigma towards perceived outgroups. Her broader research interests includeintervention research and empathy in health communication.