Section Prompt Oct. 1

Hello!

Here's this week's list of questions to think about before section.

Cheers,
Josh

1. Key Terms: bring them!
2. Boddy: What were the reasons some felt live TV was superior to telefilm? 
3. Alvey and Anderson: What industrial changes were brought about by the introduction of telefilm? Think of at least 3 changes that occurred after its introduction in realms including, but not limited to: program selection and production, visual quality, syndication, network competition. 
4. Please view from 2:05-6:03 of the below clip (we will be discussing it in section - sorry for the long version, but this has the best sound/video quality). How does this clip and our Kovacs screening exemplify the debate Spigel outlines in "Silent TV" between TV as noise vs. art? What did Kovacs fans say about themselves to situate themselves on the "artistic" side of this debate? 
5. How were Ernie Kovacs and his TV shows both anti-consumption and consumerist simultaneously?
   

Extra Credit--Counts as TWO Blog Posts

Extra Credit--Counts as TWO Blog Posts:

View one of the following films: Quiz Show (1994) OR Good Night, and Good Luck (2005).  Both are available at Askwith Media Center or on reserve at the Donald Hall Collection.

Keeping in mind that both of these films offer fictionalized renderings of historical circumstances, write a minimum of 400 words explaining how either the quiz show scandals (as depicted by Quiz Show) or Edward R. Murrow’s exposé of McCarthyism (as portrayed in Good Night, and Good Luck) had political results during the 1950s and shifted ideas about the medium of television and its specific genres (quiz shows or news programs). 

The Kovacs Way

Using this advertisement or the screening from class as an example, discuss how Ernie Kovacs’ artistic experiments with television sound (or silence), aesthetics, and timing dialogue with growing concerns about television’s noisiness and commercialism? 

NY vs HW, live vs telefilm

1950s television critics characterized New York-based live broadcasts as superior to Hollywood-based program forms for a variety of reasons.  Considering these reasons (discussed in lecture and in "Live Television"), compare a live program to one of the telefilms we've viewed in class, to make an argument with or against the critics. 

Section Prompt Sept. 24

Hello class,

Here's what I'd like you to think about heading into section Wednesday. We'll be primarily discussing Cripps, Haralovich, and Lipsitz, but as always, bring all your questions with you.

1. Key terms: bring three (or more) with you from lecture and the readings. 
2. What different opinions of Amos 'n' Andy does Cripps outline? Who were the major players supporting and protesting the show, and why?
3. Define the practice of red lining. How did it intensify segregation as suburbs developed? How is it represented in our screenings thus far? 
4. How do early domestic comedies incorporate ethnicity, memory, and working class narratives into consumerist messages? How have our screenings demonstrated this messaging? 
5. How do these readings position race, class, and gender in the shows we've screened? How would you relate their arguments to the social context of the time that we've been discussing in lecture?

And, finally, for your Monday fun video, here's PDQ Bach (classical music's equivalent of Abbot & Costello) commenting on Beethoven's 5th Symphony, 1st Movement, as if it were a sports match. 

Key Terms

Amos 'n' Andy

Based on Thomas Cripps’ article and your viewing of Amos ’n’ Andy this Thursday, how did the television show portray middle class African Americans?  Discuss why the sitcom became the center of a hot public debate as well as the arguments offered by each side.  

On Liveness

What are some of the advantages of live television and why do you think it was the prevailing format during TV's first decade?  What are its disadvantages?  How is "liveness" (or the illusion thereof) used by TV today?

Consumerist Morals

What does George Lipsitz mean when he suggests that working class ethnic sitcoms of the 1950s put the borrowed moral capital of the past at the service of the values of the present?  Based on his essay and your viewings this Thursday, how did these sitcoms demonstrate how "wise choices enabled consumers to have both moral and material rewards"?  

Section Prompt for Sept. 17

Hello!

Here are some questions/prompts to get our discussion on Wednesday going. Please have a gander at them, and be ready to discuss them, ask questions about them, or add to them when we meet.

Cheers,
Josh

1) Bring in three key terms/ideas from lecture or the readings you think could be on an exam, along with a definition.
2) What is spectacularization? Where do you see it in any of our screenings thus far?
3) How do Spigel and Mann argue that TV is connected to gender norms and politics? What evidence do they use to support their claims?

And speaking of gender norms/politics on TV, here's a fun music video that continues in the tradition of gender-bending on TV that we witnessed Milton Berle take part in. (It has nothing to do with class; it's here to hopefully bring a smile to you face.)

Vaudeville and Modern Late Shows

Vaudeville fell out of style as television gained popularity; however, early television programs closely resembled Vaudeville acts as they were filmed in front of live audiences and they contained a variety of acts designed to shock or humor the audience. Early television shows such as the Milton Berle Show used the Vaudeville style in how they offered many different segments of the show, including dancing, skits, music, and comedy interludes offered by Berle or a guest comedian. In the episode we watched this past week, Berle introduces and participates in a sort-of circus act, with a trampoline and jumprope. In the Vaudeville video, there are several acts that very closely resemble this style of "awe and shock the audience" and gag humor. Berle was dubbed "Mr. Television" by America, so it is not surprising that his show was incredibly influential for the line of variety shows and late night shows that followed, and continue today. In that vein, variety shows such as the Ed Sullivan Show, the Tonight Show, and Saturday Night Live all resemble this early Vaudeville-style television. 

The Ed Sullivan show combined interviews, comedy stand-up, and music performance to spur the widespread popularity of shows like this. He brought the country acts that were popular, such as The Doors, Elvis Presley, and also introduced newcomers such as Joan Rivers, and lesser-known musical acts. The Tonight Show, beginning in 1954 on NBC, is the longest running late night talk show in the world. While hosted by Johnny Carson for the longest stretch, 1962-1992, it developed into a necessary-visit for any popular musician, comedian, actor, or political big shot. Its style during that time resembled the Berle Show, albeit without the overt Vaudeville style and circus acts, through its quick pace and live-studio audience. Today, the Tonight Show is hosted by Jimmy Fallon, who is reviving its fun spirit after several years of dragging feet on the show. Fallon is a comedian himself and he fills the spaces between musical acts, interviews and games with guests much like Milton Berle did. Saturday Night Live is a modernized Vaudeville act; its many pre-filmed sketches and the fact that it isn't technically "Live" set it apart, but the alternating host, fast-paced skits, and musical numbers compare it to Vaudeville and early television. 

A clip from Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voCxOZCNRJ0

Vaudeville and Television

We discussed how Vaudeville lost its popularity as broadcasting became central to American culture. Which genres of television seem most influenced by Vaudeville and how? How do you relate this week's screenings to the types of performances exhibited here?  Feel free to share a clip of a contemporary show that exhibits some of these influences and compare the two types of entertainment. 

Window on the World

How was television figured as a “window on the world” during the period of 1948-1955, according to Lynn Spigel?   Do you think television fulfills (or is portrayed as fulfilling) a similar role today? Take a look at this pre-war demonstration of British television and describe the aesthetics of this early experimentation with TV during the 1930s. How is the viewer positioned or addressed? How do the formal elements of this program compare to contemporary television?

Traces of the Past

In the last paragraph of Lynn Spigel’s “Installing the Television Set,” Spigel quotes historian Carlo Ginzburg, who writes: “Reality is opaque; but there are certain points—clues, signs—which allow us to decipher it.”  Why do you think Spigel closes her analysis of post-war television’s role in American domestic spaces with this quote?  How does she describe her historical approach/methodology? What types of “traces” of the past does she examine in this essay and how does she use them?  Do you agree with her approach to history?