Take-aways

Now that we're near the end of the semester, what have you learned or taken away from the study of Television History?  Feel free to focus on one topic or provide a short summary of various points. 

Effects of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

Discuss one or more of the major effects of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on technology, content, or industrial policy.  Why do you think the FCC enforced more regulation on content at the same time that they ushered in less regulation on media corporations? What seems different in today's media environment concerning this/these issues? 

Every Single Week

According to Anna McCarthy, ABC’s president, Robert A Iger, said of Ellen that it “became a program about a character who was gay every single week, and… that was too much for people.”  McCarthy describes this perspective as maintaining the “fantasy of queer identity as something that can be switched on for special occasions” along with a “fear of a quotidian, ongoing lesbian life on television.”  Since Ellen’s coming out episode in 1997, a number of queer characters, generally secondary characters, have appeared on both broadcast and cable television.  Choose a program with a queer character from the 2000s that you are familiar with and examine whether or not that character’s relationship to their sexuality is truly serialized or only focused on during “special occasions,” whether to play up a particular stance on sexual identity or for eroticizing reasons.

Section Prompt Nov. 19

Hello all,

I know you're paper is due tomorrow in section, but we've still got things to discuss that are important for the exam, so you need to come prepared to discuss Caldwell's essay "Trash TV: Thrift-Shop Video/More is More." Like last week, please come prepared with:

1. A one-to-two sentence outline of Caldwell's overall thesis.
2. TWO arguments he uses to support this thesis
3. One specific example that Caldwell uses to support EACH of the arguments you outlined in number 2. 
4. If you can think of a TV clip, video, or other media item which relates to Caldwell's arguments or could have his arguments applied to it, post it to the blog as a response to this post before section - it's worth bonus participation. 

Please be ready to discuss when you arrive; in keeping with Pee-Wee's Playhouse, we're going to have a little fun with section format tomorrow. 

Cheers,

Josh

Here's some awesome PoMo music!

Synergetic Practices

What is synergy?  How does it operate within a contemporary media environment primarily run by large conglomorates?  Give one example of synergy (you can use an example from the present if you wish). 

Yuppie Guilt

Based on your viewing of our screening of Thirtysomething as well as Feuer's analysis of the program--what role do you think yuppie guilt plays on the show and how is it represented?  

Section Prompt Nov. 12

Hello all,

Tomorrow is going to be a busy section! We are going to be discussing Levine's essay "Kiddie Porn vs. Adult Porn" and Feuer's essay on yuppie envy/guilt. For us to be able to get through this material everyone has to come prepared and be ready to discuss.

For EACH essay:

1. In 1-2 sentences, outline the thesis of the essay
2. Outline three arguments that the author uses to support that thesis
3. Apply those arguments to one of our screenings 

See you tomorrow!

Josh

IT'S THE 80S!

'80s TV--worth 2 blog posts!

Watch one of the three 1980s television episodes linked below and write 400 words on the representations of class within Roseanne, LA Law, or COPS.  This post will count as two blog posts.  

LA LAW, s.1, ep.1

Roseanne, s.1, ep. 1

COPS, pilot (please watch all of the parts on youtube)

Section Prompt Nov. 25

Hello all,

This week we will be talking about Lentz's article on quality vs. relevance in 70's television.

Please come prepared to:

• provide at least three characteristics of quality tv and three of relevant tv
• know the differences between MTM and Lear productions
• think of some examples of how discourses of quality and relevance are similar or different today 

What a great era for TV! 

Josh

Here's some more Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, when cheating and romance and allure abound.

Smothering TV

Why did CBS censor The Smothers Brothers? How did The Smothers Brothers respond to CBS’s attempts at censorship?  How did questions of what constitutes appropriate content for network TV play out in the late 1960s and early 1970s and how do they play out today?  

MTM vs. Lear

From your viewings of All in the Family, Good Times, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and your reading of Kirsten Lentz’s essay, how do you think Norman Lear’s shows differed from MTM’s?  Why do you think the term “quality” was often used to refer to MTM’s shows and “relevance” to label Lear’s programs?  How does Lentz see these productions as differing?  

Responses to Julia

Discuss the range of viewer responses to Julia described by Bodrohkozy's article.  Based on your viewing of the pilot and our discussion of television and race in the 1960s, why do you think the show was interpreted so many different ways?