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Bachelor thesis called Volunteer Firefighters - a relic from the past or a phenomenon of today? follows up volunteer firefighters and their activities not only in the past, but also current times. This thesis looks into whether the volunteer firefighters department Dolní Žďár is still traditional folk culture or already popular culture. Concurrently is in this work tracked how this department has been changed through the times. It is separated between four parts. In the first one there are explained only basic concepts. The second one is about the history of firefighters. The third part is about a mentioned firefighters department in Dolní Žďár and about the history. The last part includes a separation of culture customs which they still maintain in the village.

The bachelor thesis entitled "The depiction of Czechoslovakia in the years 1989 - 1990 through the eyes of viewers in the television series Vyprávěj" deals with the question of how the perception of the portrayal of a particular stage of contemporary history (the November Revolution of 1989 and the social events of the early 1990s) in the series differs between two different groups of viewers, the memorials and the non-memorials. The thesis consists of pilot research conducted with two respondents, each representing one of the two audience groups. Their experience of watching and perceiving the series is explored through a semi-structured interview method with predetermined thematic headings. On a theoretical level, the thesis explores how the format of the series: the memory medium, utilizes concepts of nostalgia along with cultural and communicative memory, while considering account the specificities of post-television audiences. Furthermore it describes the relation between memory and history, as well as presenting the specific importance of the period 1989-1990 in modern Czechoslovak and Czech history. The thesis contributes to the understanding of how cultural memory is shaped in the series Vyprávěj, and its further aim is to develop interview scenarios for more extensive research with more...

The diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of tendencies to humanize modern technologies, i.e. the process of assigning human attributes and characteristics, roles and features to machines, despite the fact that machines are of inorganic origin, created artificially by man and thus inherently asexual. In the case of sexual technologies and in the field of sex robotics in particular, there is not only genderization but also the sexualization of humanoid- looking machines such as the so called sexual robots or sexbots. The resulting design reflects the binary understanding of gender and stereotypes associated with gender. The process of humanization is analyzed in the context of contemporary popular culture and post-humanistic theories of the study of human-robot relations, while also taking into account the binary understanding of gender and the categories of masculinity and femininity. Popular culture is thus improtant not only in regards to the development of sexbots but also in terms of acceptance by the users. Attention is paid to the possible positive and negative consequences of engaging with sexbots on the user int he contxt of the apparent human ability to form emotional connections to technological artifacts. Key words Technology, robot, sex, artifical inteligence, sexbot, sex doll, popular...

This master's thesis explores the role of feminist ideology in audience experiences across pop culture genres using the example of the Czech audience of the American television series The Handmaid's Tale (2017). In academic debate, this title is associated with the existence of a relatively new trend of feminist perspectives penetrating popular culture, as well as with the establishment of the so-called female-centric TV series genre, which is characterised by a focus on women's experience and position, and thus on feminist themes. The aim of this thesis is to obtain findings on how representatives from the Czech audience interact with this phenomenon, namely the audience situated in an environment where there is a stronger tradition of anti- feminist attitudes. The qualitative research is based on the theory of active audiences and is derived from the analysis of six semi-structured in-depth interviews using the grounded theory method. The purpose of the thesis is to discover the different ways in which the respondents perceive feminist motifs in The Handmaid's Tale and how they reflect on them in a real social context, consequently in relation to their personal attitudes towards feminism. The research concludes that the ways in which respondents recognize the feminist themes of the series have...

The master's thesis The Influence of RuPaul's Drag Race on the Drag Subculture in the Czech Republic is concerned with the relationship between the American reality TV show RuPaul's Drag Race and the current state of the Czech drag and travesti scene. The main chosen research method is an ethnographic analysis of a series of interviews with drag and travesti performers. The theoretical part aims to provide the sociocultural context to the theme of this thesis; specifically the introduction to queer theory and an a summary of representation of drag and travesti in the popular culture of 20th and 21st century. Furthermore, it introduces RuPaul's Drag Race as a cultural phenomenon along with its brief history, an outline of its international sociocultural influence and current critiques. Finally, it describes the Czech travesti and drag scene including its historical development, current status and the relations between both scenes. The practical part presents the results of the ethnographic analysis of the 14 interviews conducted with Czech drag and travesti performers, focusing on specific phenomena relating to RuPaul's Drag Race, that are subsequently interpreted within the overarching thematic units. The final chapter applies the findings on the theoretical aparatus presented in the first part of...

The theme of the bachelor's thesis is an analysis of the evolution and transformation of the vampire character, from beast to idol in popular culture, in response to the cultural - historical development of society. Vampire monster is characterised at work based on Bram Stoker's novel. The analysis of idol is based on books and film adaptations of Stephanie Meyer's works - The Twilight Saga and L.J. Smith - Vampire Diaries.

This master's thesis examines how powerful and determining Japanese cultural influence is and how it impacts today's globalized world. It primarily focuses on the Czech audience and its relationship to Japan. The aim of this research is to assess the current efforts made by the Japanese government to export its culture, and compare them with the image that Czech society has on Japan. The primary source of this research is quantitative data collected from Czech and Slovak respondents. . Data was collected by a semi-structured questionnaire that consisted of both open and closed questions and that was spread in electronic form. The first section of the thesis empirical. The main theoretical, historical, and socio-cultural concepts of Japan. are defined and explained in the context of modern convergence culture and the Japanese media mix theory. Japanese cultural diplomacy and the application of soft power as the primary bearer of influence over the West are explained through the critical analysis of specific campaigns. Then, the methodological section analyzes the answers of 1,609 respondents across three predefined samples. Analysis shows that Japan's cultural promotion efforts in the Czech Republic are limited, and that take place primarily through official agencies or directly through the fans of...

This Master's thesis provides an analysis of the contemporary depiction of significant historical moments in U.S.-Japan relations in American cinematography, specifically in the films: The Last Samurai, Pearl Harbor, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Emperor. The analysis elaborates on theoretical stream of popular culture and world politics and most particularly on the popular geopolitics discipline. A discourse analysis is used as the research method, through which the three main aspects of popular geopolitics in the selected movies are followed - representational logics, affect, and intertextuality. The research goal is to tackle the question, how the historical milestones in U.S.-Japan relations are portrayed in the present and how their portrayal is linked to the current geopolitical context. The research shows that filmmakers usually try to offer a balanced view of both sides, which means there are positive and negative portrayals of both Japanese and American characters. Japanese villains are usually militarists, which is in line with the postwar narrative of the American Occupation administration. The trend of negative portrayal of Americans has been strengthened only recently due to controversies related to the War on Terror. The main finding, however, is the fact that although Japan is...

The focus of this master's thesis is on the role of specific media in the diffusion of Japanese culture. Even though Japan is both geographically distant and culturally distinct from the rest of the world, it has become popular among fans globally. One of the main factors contributing to this fascination is a so-called media mix including Japan-specific media ranging from manga and anime to videogames. The aim of this master's thesis is to find out, based on a quantitative research conducted in both Czech and English-speaking environments, how various media outlets in Japan contribute to its popularity world-wide, identify the most important medium and scrutinize it through a descriptive analysis based on the theories of globalisation and cultural hybridisation to see what makes this medium so distinct. The author discovered that the most significant medium contributing to the diffusion of Japanese culture is anime. One of the main reasons behind its success is a commercial strategy of Japanese producers who intentionally remove cultural boundaries out of anime to make it globally acceptable. Another contributing factor connected to that, is the hybrid look of anime characters that do not have the physical features of Japanese people, which is why audiences tend to link the characters to their own...

The master thesis is focusing on the representation of suicides and self-mutilation in American production movies and television in the year 1999-2019. The thesis aims to find out, how are these phenomena shown and with whom popular culture connects them. The theoretical part is dealing with social and media construction of reality, stereotype, stigmatization, and clearing the concepts and definitions of phenomena. For better understanding this part also includes a short presentation of socially deviant behavior since examined phenomena are part of it. The analysis was made based on qualitative content analysis and completed with short quantitative analysis for sociodemographic comparison with available real data. The sample contains 23 motion pictures as are films and series. Based on them and with processes of grounded theory the coding was done, typology was made and pointed out findings with whom American production connects these phenomena and how they represent them in popular culture. Those findings are important for their relations to media construction of reality as non-experts can perceive the way it is represented for their own.

In this diploma thesis I study the meaning-making discourse practices of the media in the post- modern time. Current social transformations, influenced by the questioning of the categorical certainty of the modern way capturing the world, inevitably raise questions about the effect of emerging forms of reality's representation on the formation of mediated public space. Whereas, the critical perspective, developed in the context of scientific research, considers the enhancement of the entertainment component in communication space as a failure of media institutions to fulfill the ideal of the public sphere, the second stream of thinking evaluates current transformations quite optimistically, because it regards television formats overflowing with emotional expressions as an emancipatory space that is open to marginal voices in society. Exactly the media genre of talk shows, as a very controversial format, necessarily attracts much attention in the outlined debate. However, it is developed primarily by liberal democratic societies, while the focus of the research is the analysis of the talk show from a Russian society based on authoritarian tradition. The post-Soviet transformation in the 1990s caused a loss of the previous foundations for the self-concept of the individual, which is why I am trying...

The aim of the diploma thesis Healthy Lifestyle Presentation Online on the Coffee Drinking Examples to demonstrate the presentation of the healthy lifestyle on the example of the coffee consumption and show the media perception. The coffee consumption is considered as a part of the popular culture which makes it an ideal universal research item. The thesis provided the basic theoretical frame for the research compound of two parts which are trying to answer two research questions - how does the online platform present the coffee consumption - whether coffee has a positive or negative impact on health. The second research question was to investigate, whether this media presentation has the impact on its final consumers. For the first research part, the quantitative content analysis was used. It was revealed that 62 % of analyzed articles was in favor of health benefits of the coffee, so the majority opinion presented on the internet is that coffee has got a beneficial impact on human health. The second part of the research was realized as the two-steps qualitative experiment compound of two parts of demi-structured survey. Based on the search, the respondents were observed for a potential opinion change. It was found, that 52 % of the respondent changed their mind in favor of positive coffee impact...

This thesis examined the contemporary U.S. popular culture, specifically the Netflix series House of Cards, and the analysis was focused on the representation of the media reality portrayed in the first two seasons of the series. The credibility of given model situations or their exaggeration is examined based on thirteen research interviews with Czech and American journalists in March, April, and May 2020. The public trust in media, the influence of popular culture on mass society, specifics and ethics of investigative journalism, and broadly the representation of media in cinematography were presented in the first part. The analysis of the portrayal of journalists and media in the series and research interviews with experts followed. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the credibility of the portrayal of journalists. The secondary research question was focused on the public trust in media and the potential harm that the depiction in culture might cause. The views of Czech and American journalists on the portrayal of media in popular culture and the discussion about their diverse opinions are the primary asset of this thesis. The results prove that the perception of ethics and journalistic behaviour in given specific situations differ individually. Therefore, aspects such as...

The basis of the agenda-setting theory is the fact that the topics that are emphasized in the media are becoming important for their audience as well. The widespread notion is that those who set the agenda are the media. However, this is not entirely true. The media only allow news to spread quickly, they are not the authors of the topics. Pavel Novotný, a Czech celebrity and politician, formerly a tabloid journalist, currently the mayor of the City District - Prague Řeporyje, is considered to be the cause of many media cases in the Czech environment. The bachelor's thesis examines the activity of Pavel Novotný on the social network Facebook during selected media cases using a summarizing software tool. It also examines media activity using a media database. Its aim is to apply the theory of agenda- setting to the person of Pavel Novotný. In the theoretical part of this work, the author deals with the topics of celebrities in the political field, micro-celebrities on social networks and the transformation of political communication. Furthermore, the person of Pavel Novotný is described here and the theory of agenda-setting is introduced. In the practical part of the bachelor's thesis, an analysis of Pavel Novotný's activity on the social network Facebook is performed during selected media cases...

The bachelor thesis "Veganism in popculture focusing on czech music scene" deals with the role of musicians in propagation of a lifestyle or philosophy. It focuses on the czech music scene applying the case study method on several areas of impact of two musicians - Ben Cristovao as a representative of the music mainstream and Lukáš Vincour as a member of a music subculture. The case study is using two types of research methods - content analysis in combination with a questionnaire survey. The content analysis looks into three areas of impact of the musicians - music, self-presentation and activism. The aim is to find out whether the musicians promote veganism in the above mentioned areas and if the do, which means of communication they use. A part of the thesis explains veganism as a lifestyle and a social phenomenon. The research is put into the theory of music, music subcultures and music glory as a means of propagation of a lifestyle or philosophy considering cultural and popcultural context.

Shakespeare’s plays are undoubtedly among the most frequently translated, staged, adapted—both for stage and screen—and (over/mis)quoted. His plays and sonnets are widely read and are generally considered canonical, with their appeal crossing thematic, geographical and chronological boundaries. Each generation of recipients responds to Shakespeare’s work in a different way. The present paper discusses Shakespearean adaptations which aim to encourage young recipients to engage with Shakespeare through the use of young people’s language. First, the article examines how emoticons, textual portrayals and hashtags are used to render Shakespeare’s plays in new ways. "The OMG Shakespeare" series, which has been both criticized and praised, represents a transformation of Shakespeare’s plays into new forms, e.g. "srsly Hamlet" (Courtney Carbone, 2015), "YOLO Juliet" (Brett Wright, 2015), "Macbeth #killingit" (Courtney Carbone, 2016), and "A Midsummer Night #nofilter" (Brett Wright, 2016). In addition, attention will be devoted to the representations of and allusions to Shakespeare and Shakespeare’s characters in popular culture. The paper concludes by discussing how new, non-traditional interpretative choices may impact the reception of Shakespeare and his work on (not only) younger audiences. Shakespearovy hry bezesporu náleží mezi nejčastěji překládané, inscenované a upravované - jak pro jeviště, tak pro filmové/televizní obrazovky. Jsou také často (nadměrně či nesprávně) citované. Shakespearovy hry a sonety mají širokou čtenářskou/diváckou základnu a jsou obecně považovány za kanonické, přičemž jejich "sdělení" překračují tematické, geografické a chronologické hranice. Každá generace přirozeně reaguje na Shakespearovo dílo odlišným způsobem. Tato studie pojednává o shakespearovských adaptacích, jejichž cílem je povzbudit mladé recipienty k četbě Shakespearova díla prostřednictvím jazyka používaného mladými lidmi. Článek se nejprve zabývá využitím emotikonů, textových zobrazení a hashtagů v moderních adaptacích Shakespearových her. Série s názvem „OMG Shakespeare“, která byla současně kritizována i pozitivně kvitována, představuje transformaci Shakespearových her do nové podoby, např. „srsly Hamlet“ (Courtney Carbone, 2015), „YOLO Juliet“ (Brett Wright, 2015), „Macbeth #killingit“ (Courtney Carbone, 2016) a „A Midsummer Night #nofilter"r“ (Brett Wright, 2016). Vyjma výše uvedeného bude pozornost věnována ztvárněním shakespearovských postav a aluzím na shakespearovská témata v populární kultuře. Závěr práce je zaměřen na diskusi možných dopadů netradičních interpretačních způsobů na (nejen) mladé recipienty.

From the beginning of the twenty first century vampires begin to appear in other genres other than the horror and their image in popular media starts to change. The changes begin not only in the image but also the perception of vampire in popular media shifts into new directions. These changes are interconnected and influence each other. The thesis will analyse the ways vampires are portrayed in films and TV series from the end of the twenties century until recent times. The changes happening will be explored across different genres and across time. The thesis will then attempt to examine whether there is a pattern of trends within the observed forms, and whether these trends are common across the different genres.

Numerous movable books, the so-called pop-ups, are being ascribed to Vojtěch Kubašta (7th ofOctober1914-7th ofJuly1992),anartist,whospentmostofhislifeinPrague.Majority of these titles were published out of Czechoslovakia - in other European countries, in the United Kingdom, but also in more distant Iran or Japan. Kubašta had a unique ability of transforming one plain sheet of paper into an elaborate three-dimensional scene just by cutting and folding its surface on the right places. This artistry of the Czechoslovakian illustrator and paper engineer made him famous and successful all over the world except in his home country. His books are being collected and exhibited, but the very personality of the man, who worked even for Walt Disney, is yet to be discovered. This thesis will examine the life and work of Vojtěch Kubašta. The focus of the text will be the form of his movable fairy tales and their impact on the reader. Answering the question, what makes Kubašta's techniques of making pop-ups so unique, will be the main goal of the presented research. key words: Vojtěch Kubašta (1914-1992), visual arts, book culture, illustration, pop-up, popular culture, Artia, Walt Disney, Czechoslovakia 1948-1989

Studie oproti dnes převažujícímu neomarxistickému konceptu hegemonie upřednostňuje při výzkumu populární kultury model participační kultury, založený na představě o spolupráci mezi činiteli kulturního průmyslu a jeho uživateli, zejména v prostředí některých subkultur. Autor studie doplňuje tuto myšlenku o pojem participační hry jako podstatném principu geneze a recepce populární kultury. Tento herní prvek klade do souvislosti s archetypálně-mytickým myšlením, vlastním také současnému člověku, které vnáší do populární kultury pocit posvátna (numinozity). Autor považuje zmíněný fenomén za zvláště významný především v oblasti populární fantastické literatury (science fiction, fantasy), mezi jejíž základní charakteristiky patří tzv. pocit zázraku (sense of wonder). Jako jeden z konkrétních tvůrčích projevů religiozity na herním základě uvádí fanfiction, v níž „amatéři“ po svém přetvářejí a reinterpretují popkulturní artefakty. Against the currently prevailing neomarxist concept of hegemony, applied in the research of popular culture, this study uses the model of participative culture. It is based on the idea of cooperation between agents of cultural industry and its users, especially in the environment of distinct subcultures. The author of the study complements this idea with the concept of participatory game as a fundamental principle in the genesis and reception of popular culture. This game element is related to the concept of archetypal-mythical thinking, which is characteristic of the present-day man as well. This concept brings the sense of the sacred into popular culture. The author sees this phenomenon as particularly important, especially in the area of popular fantastic literature (science fiction, fantasy), whose basic characteristics include the so-called sense of wonder. He claims fanfiction, in which "amateurs" recreate and reinterpret popcultural artifacts, as one of the specific creative expressions of religiosity on a game-based basis.

This paper analyzes the colourful world of popular culture from a linguistic perspective. To exemplify the impact of Western popular culture on the English language, this paper will discuss new slangwords, neologisms and abbreviations that permeated mainstream vocabulary of the youth via popular music, cinematography and videogames and in some instances became part of Oxford English Dictionary. Tento článek analyzuje barvitý svět populární kultury prizmatem jazyka. Pro dokreslení dopadu západní populární kultury na anglický jazyk byly vybrány oblasti kinematografie, populární hudby a videoher, prostřednictvím kterých se do mainstreamového slovníku mladé generace dostala celá řada slangových tvarů, neologismů i zkratek, kterými se tento článek detailně zabývá. V některých případech se zmiňované výrazy již staly součástí Oxfordského slovníku angličtiny

This diploma work analyzes the contemporary rise of the number of atheists in the United States of America, basing this presupposition on numerous nation-wide surveys, primarily conducted by Gallup Poll and Pew Research Center. It goes into depth on the definition of atheism and strictly delineates the meaning of this word and the use of its alternatives in the work. Given the fact that the thesis is written by a Czech author, it also provides necessary background covering the differences between Czech atheism and American atheism. Since the work is purposely not one of literary analysis but rather of socio-political and cultural nature, reasons for this decision are given in a separate subchapter analyzing Flannery O'Connor's novel Wise Blood. History of atheism in America is touched upon in the beginning of Chapter 3, but since the fundamental focus of this work is on the contemporary state of affairs, the roots of modern atheism in America are sought after mainly in the twentieth century. In particular, the greatest causes of the weakening of church's power and the rise of secularism (or atheism, for that matter) are given as following: Madalyn Murray O'Hair's fights against church's influence in public schools and against its public funding; the argument about the non-scientific nature of belief...

(English): The dissertation analyses the literature of subculture of tramping, its peculiarity and impact on Czech society during the era of the so called first republic. It deals with significant turning points of the genesis of this cultural phenomenon and utilizes them for the text interpretation. It also strives to express different possibilities of reception of its literature which germinated from tramping.

The thesis seeks to compare the role of pop art and popular culture in art in Great Britain and Czechoslovakia in the 50s and 60s of the 20th Century. We shall focus on the relationship of popular culture and art in both countries with regards to their different social and political backgrounds. In the beginning of the thesis we shall delimit some of the theoretical concepts such as popular culture or popular art. We shall also try to define the concept of art itself. The thesis will not omit to characterize the basic features of British and American pop art. The work will introduce quintessential representatives (individuals as well as groups) of pop art from the British and Czechoslovakian art scene of the selected time period. On those particular examples, we shall look for identical attributes or differences in their art works which should be conditioned by the specific cultural and social settings of the society. We should also take into consideration some of the art techniques or technologies used within pop art and also at least in general the relations to popular music, architecture and literature.

This master thesis deals with the phenomenon of Westernization of pop culture in mainland China on the example of the Chinese adapted version of the Talent Show China's Got Talent. (CHGT) In its theoretical part it outlines the overall globalizing and Westernizing tendencies and sets a theoretical framework of the main terminology of media studies. The research goal of the thesis was to analyze the audience reception of CHGT in China and their ideas and views on pop culture The research goal is included in the broader context of cultural imperialism theories and the specifics of talent and reality shows are elaborated. Furthermore a historical overview of the evolution of pop culture in mainland China is provided. In the practical part, the applied methodological approaches and their potential strengths and weaknesses are described. A basic thematic analysis of certain selected social media like Weibo, QQ and Baidu was conducted. The two versions of the adapted Got Talent format were compared as far as the formal features are concerned, the British version of Britain's Got Talent and the Chinese adaptation China's Got Talent. Moreover qualitative in-depth interviews with Chinese respondents in the PRC and the UK were performed. The group in the UK served as a control group for comparison and the...

An automobile is one of the most important phenomenons of modern technology. Since its origins, it has profoundly shaped our physical, economic, politic, social, cultural and media habitat. The objective of this Master thesis is to analyze the evolution of the role of the car in the popculture from the 60s onwards and its dimensions, with a primary focus on Anglosaxon culture, with excursions to Asia and continental Europe, primarily Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic. The core foundation of the thesis lies in the analysis of the popcultural genres, selected films, TV series, computer games and comic books. The main purpose of the thesis is to reflect upon the identity and conceptual shifts of car, going from a mere transport machine through a vehicle of product placement towards the concept of the icon, a narrative hero of popculture. The hypothesis to verify is that the car has become an essential part of the popculture itself, reflected in many various dimensions: car as a toy, car as a friend, car as a status symbol, car as a narrative extension of the hero and finally, car as a hero and subject. The thesis is divided into five separate chapters, all including case studies. Following an introduction summarizing cultural, economic and historic factors of the car industry, the first chapter describes...

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the representation of the normalisation era as drawn in contemporary Czech literature after 1989. The thesis is based on reminiscent fiction about childhood and youth in the socialist era, dealing with so-called small history - family memories, depiction of childhood, youth and teenage years. This thesis deals with the typical codes for recalling the socialist era, identifies what is recalled and how, and examines what influences remembering of childhood and youth in the era.

The thesis presented here with deals with an analysis and genre definition of the Nordic detective story, which is currently very popular in the Czech Republic. It is namely an interpretation of the works done by two contemporary Nordic authors in question, i.e. Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø. With the first of the two authors I will be looking into the complete trilogy The Millenium containing volumes of Män som hatar kvinnor (2005), Flickan som lekte med elden (2006) and Luftslottet som sprängdes (2007). As regards in Nesbø's works, I have chosen a series of detective stories with detective Harry Hole as the main character, especially two of them Panserhjerte (2009) and Snømannen (2007) and which appear to be the most successful and the most typical. On the grounds of the analysis of the particular literary categories such as the character of a detective and their investigative techniques, the narrative pattern, the narrator, and the continuum which are compared with the similar categories within individual historical detective schools itemized in the theoretical part of the thesis, and compared as well with other genres, it is to be stated that the Nordic crime fiction might be located somewhere on the border line between the detective story, the critical social novel and the thriller, taking on at...

This thesis follows my previous studies of modern Japanese society and popular culture. I will especially focus on gender stereotypes, particularly negative stereotypes concerning women who refuse to bow to a substantial pressure from society endowed with a strong Confucian tradition. It was this very tradition - together with a foreign concept akin to the Western domesticity cult - what gave rise to the ideal of "good wife, wise mother" (rjósai kenbo), which at least in some form remains quite tangible even in contemporary Japanese society. One of the tasks this thesis wants to undertake is to describe how the negative stereotyping of women who stood in either conscious or natural opposition towards this ideal affected portrayal of women in Japanese popular culture (especially comics), which can be a very good perpetuator of all kinds of stereotypes. At the same time, I would like to find out whether it managed to partially subvert at least some of the negative images of women who refused to be good wives and wise mothers. Key words: gender stereotypes, Japan, popular culture, comics, rjósai kenbo, manga

The following thesis, The Judas Iscariot figure, as seen by media and the public, in the 21st century in the context of the state graduation exam and contemporary pop culture, deals with the biblical figure who has betrayed Jesus Christ. The apostle, whose name has become a synonym for betrayal, was mentioned in one of the questions of the didactical test regarding Czech language and literature in the state graduation exam in the Czech Republic in 2015. The pupils were supposed to recognize Judas with help of his cognomen and other hints. Many students have complained about this task, saying that it was too difficult, while others have claimed that the question was not related to the subject. The complaint became an issue frequented in all the significant media and heavily discussed in society. The first chapters of the thesis describe the official requirements for the state graduation exam and the study plans for secondary schools, where the Bible is listed. The following chapters highlight and discuss the media coverage of the affair in the printed and online media, as well as in the radio and TV stations. Additionally, the student's opinions about the issue are mentioned, together with the jokes related to the topic, reactions of the experts and internet users commenting the topic under the internet...