Joe Fortunato
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Mail code: 2002Campus: Tempe
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Student Information
Graduate StudentJournalism and Mass Communication
Cronkite School-Journ/MassComm
A native of Akron, Ohio, Joe Fortunato began his entertainment career as a research assistant on NBC's TODAY show in the summer of 1988. After graduating from Yale University the following year, he came to Los Angeles and worked at ABC in Children's & Family Programs and then the next few years developing movies for television at NBC. From there, he joined the Creative Affairs team at Shukovsky English Entertainment (SEE) to help develop primetime series for the company. He partnered with writer James Koonce, and together they worked as staff writers for the FOX comedy Living in Captivity under the tutelage of Murphy Brown creator Diane English.
Aside from his full-time duties as a senior lecturer at Arizona State University, Fortunato has served on the executive board for the Independent Feature Project (IFP), Phoenix Chapter and is a member of the Writer's Guild of America. In addition to being on the faculty, he is currently pursuing a doctorate in journalism and mass communication at ASU. He is also the creator of "Fortunato Film School" a popular program where he hosts screenings of classic films with live commentary for cinema enthusiasts.
- Ph.D. Candidate. Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University (currently ABD)
- M.A. Secondary Education, Loyola Marymount University 2005
- B.A. American Studies (Mass Media and Popular Culture), Cum Laude, Yale University 1989
Film Study & History, Screenwriting
- Fortunato, J. (projected 2017). “Bombs Away? Revisiting the “Failure” of Steven Spielberg’s 1941.” Book chapter in the upcoming collection, Media Fails: What Flops, Fiascos, and Bungles Tell Us About Media History, edited by Carole Stabile and Phoebe Bronstein. Despite its largely pre-determined reputation, Steven Spielberg's epic "failure" 1941 was not the catastrophe its legacy suggests. This analysis examines a variety of creative, business and cultural factors that contributed to the uneven finished product, and raises another consideration - Could the film’s status as a “bomb” be the result of a narrative of failure originally constructed by critics biased against Spielberg’s early success?
- Fortunato, J. (2017). “Steven Spielberg.” Contributing chapter in the collection, Race in American Film: The Complete Resource, edited by Michael Green for ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press. An overview of race and racial issues in the cinema of Steven Spielberg from his early allegories of race in E.T. and more sanitized versions of racial issues in Amistad or The Color Purple to his later attempts to explore deeper and more complex racial stories in such films as Schindler’s List and Munich.
- Fortunato, J. (2014). “The Spielberg Face”: How Steven Spielberg Uses Lacan’s Mirror Stage to Influence Audiences. Published in peer-reviewed journal Visual Communication Quarterly 21:1, 43-53. DOI: 10.1080/15551393.2014.892788. Through the theoretical framework of Jacques Lacan’s “Mirror Stage,” this unique study employs statistical analysis to code the frequency with which Spielberg applies one signature shot, known as the “Spielberg Face,” that emotionally influences the viewer by providing them with desirable images of the human face. Goal of the study is to provide statistical evidence that Spielberg employs Lacan’s theory in his more popular films.
- Fortunato, J. (2014). “Those Were the Days: How Changes in Technology Have Altered How We Watch Television.” Published in peer-reviewed journal The Mid-Atlantic Almanack Vol. 23, 171-183. ISSN 1063-1763. The Journal of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association. In recent decades, technological changes such as DVRs, streaming media, file sharing, and other outlets for viewing television content “on-demand” has not only altered the business of television distribution, but also the social and personal ways we interact with television programs. This essay examines how “event television” that was watched by large audiences together in the Classic Network Era has shifted to fractured audiences, binge viewing and “spoiler alerts” in the current Convergence Era of television.
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
2024 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
2024 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
2023 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2022 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
2021 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 294 | Special Topics |
FMP 294 | Special Topics |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2020 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
2020 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
2020 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 294 | Special Topics |
FMP 294 | Special Topics |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2019 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
MCO 450 | Visual Communication |
FMP 405 | Film & TV: Pioneers, Practices |
FMP 403 | Independent Film |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
FMP 201 | Film: The Creative Process I |
THF 125 | Orientation Film/Dance/Theatre |
THF 497 | Senior Project |
FMP 499 | Individualized Instruction |