| Description |
x, 396 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Introduction: An owner's manual for television / Ethan Thompson and Jason Mittell -- I. TV form : aesthetics and style. Homicide : realism / Bambi L. Haggins ; House : narrative complexity / Amanda D. Lotz ; Life on Mars : transnational adaptation / Christine Becker ; Mad Men : visual style / Jeremy G. Butler ; Nip/Tuck : popular music / Ben Aslinger ; Phineas & Ferb : children's television / Jason Mittell ; The Sopranos : episodic storytelling / Sean O'Sullivan ; Tim and Eric's awesome show, great job! : metacomedy / Jeffrey Sconce -- II. TV representations : social identity and cultural politics. 24 : challenging stereotypes / Evelyn Alsultany ; The amazing race : global othering / Jonathan Gray ; The Cosby show : representing race / Christine Acham ; The Dick Van Dyke show : queer meanings / Quinn Miller ; Eva Luna : Latino/a audiences / Hector Amaya ; Glee/House Hunters International : gay narratives / Ron Becker ; Grey's anatomy : feminism / Elana Levine ; Jersey Shore : ironic viewing / Susan J. Douglas -- III. TV politics : democracy, nation, and the public interest. 30 Days : social engagement / Geoffrey Baym and Colby Gottert ; America's next top model : neoliberal labor / Laurie Ouellette ; Family guy : undermining satire / Nick Marx ; Fox & friends : political talk / Jeffrey P. Jones ; M*A*S*H : socially relevant comedy / Noel Murray ; Parks and recreation : the cultural forum / Heather Hendershot ; Star trek : serialized ideology / Roberta Pearson ; The wonder years : televised nostalgia / Daniel Marcus -- IV. TV industry : industrial practices and structures. Entertainment tonight : tabloid news / Anne Helen Petersen ; I love Lucy : the writer-producer / Miranda J. Banks ; Modern family : product placement / Kevin Sandler ; Monday night football : brand identity / Victoria E. Johnson ; NYPD blue : content regulation / Jennifer Holt ; Onion News Network : flow / Ethan Thompson ; The prisoner : cult TV remakes / Matt Hills ; The twilight zone : landmark television / Derek Kompare -- V. TV practices : medium, technology, and everyday life. Auto-tune the news : remix video / David Gurney ; Battlestar Galactica : fans and ancillary content / Suzanne Scott ; Everyday Italian : cultivating taste / Michael Z. Newman ; Gossip girl : transmedia technologies / Louisa Stein ; It's fun to eat : forgotten television / Dana Polan ; One life to live : soap opera storytelling / Abigail de Kosnik ; Samurai Champloo : transnational viewing / Jiwon Ahn ; The walking dead : adapting comics / Henry Jenkins. |
| Summary |
"We all have opinions about the television shows we watch, but television criticism is about much more than simply evaluating the merits of a particular show and deeming it 'good' or 'bad.' Rather, criticism uses the close examination of a television program to explore that program's cultural significance, creative strategies, and its place in a broader social context. How to Watch Television brings together forty original essays from today's leading scholars on television culture, writing about the programs they care (and think) the most about. Each essay focuses on a particular television show, demonstrating one way to read the program and, through it, our media culture. The essays model how to practice media criticism in accessible language, providing critical insights through analysis--suggesting a way of looking at TV that students and interested viewers might emulate. The contributors discuss a wide range of television programs past and present, covering many formats and genres, spanning fiction and non-fiction, broadcast and cable, providing a broad representation of the programs that are likely to be covered in a media studies course. While the book primarily focuses on American television, important programs with international origins and transnational circulation are also covered. Addressing television series from the medium's earliest days to contemporary online transformations of television, How to Watch Television is designed to engender classroom discussion among television critics of all backgrounds." --Publisher information. |
| Subject |
Television programs -- United States.
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Television programs. |
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United States. |
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Television programs -- Social aspects -- United States.
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Television programs -- Social aspects. |
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Television programs -- Political aspects -- United States.
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| Added Author |
Thompson, Ethan, editor.
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Mittell, Jason, editor.
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| ISBN |
9780814745311 (cl) (alkaline paper) |
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0814745318 (cl) (alkaline paper) |
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9780814763988 (pb) (alkaline paper) |
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0814763987 (pb) (alkaline paper) |
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