Richard McCulloch

Buzz Kill: Pixar, Cultural Branding and the Politics of Reputation (forthcoming 2024/25)
Book in progress on the cultural, social and emotional drivers of the Pixar Animation Studios brand. Based on several years of longitudinal data gathered on the studio, including media coverage, interviews and (digital) ethnography.

The Cuties Controversy: Prefiguration, ‘Sexualisation’ and the New Conspiracism (2023) 
Excavation of a media controversy, charting the discourse’s connections to historical moral panics, conspiracism, and the ongoing US culture war. Co-authored with Dr. William Proctor.
 

The Scandinavian Invasion: The Nordic Noir Phenomenon and Beyond (2023)
Edited book on the cultural, aesthetic and commercial forces that propelled Nordic Noir fiction, TV and film across international borders in the 2010s. Co-edited with Dr. William Proctor.

Disney’s Star Wars: Forces of Production, Promotion and Reception (2019) 
BAFTSS-award-winning edited book on Disney’s revival of the Star Wars franchise, analysing commercial strategies, marketing, and fan perspectives. Co-edited with Dr. William Proctor.

A Game of Moans: Fantipathy and Criticism in Football Fandom (2018)
Thematic analysis of an online forum, exploring the social function anger, frustration and criticism as expressions of fandom and affection. 

“Watch like a grown up… enjoy like a child”: Exhibition, Authenticity and Film Audiences at the Prince Charles Cinema (2016)
Study of audiences’ attitudes towards an “authentic” London cinema. Based on three months of ethnography, interviews, and visitor survey data. Co-authored with Dr. Virginia Crisp.

“Most people bring their own spoons”: The Room’s participatory audiences as comedy mediators (2011)
Ethnographic study of cult film audiences, and how their social behaviour (both online and in cinemas) transformed a notoriously “bad” film into an exciting “comedy” experience.