A journal of television and new media

Archive for October, 2010

<strong>“Choice Fatigue,” Community and the Mutations of Television</strong> <br /> <em>Graeme Turner / University of Queensland</em>

“Choice Fatigue,” Community and the Mutations of Television
Graeme Turner / University of Queensland

An Australian scholar relates his experience of “choice fatigue” while visiting and viewing cable programming in the United States, and examines whether expanded choice limits the role of television in communities and nations.

<strong>Action Television/Crime Television: Sensation and Attraction</strong> <br /> <em>Yvonne Tasker / University of East Anglia</em>

Action Television/Crime Television: Sensation and Attraction
Yvonne Tasker / University of East Anglia

An argument for a more thorough understanding of the formal relationship between action spectacle and narrative as a distinctive yet neglected aspect of crime television.

<strong>Misunderstanding Bruce Springsteen, the Dead Kennedys, and Devo</strong> <br /> <em>Ann Johnson / Cal State University, Long Beach</em>

Misunderstanding Bruce Springsteen, the Dead Kennedys, and Devo
Ann Johnson / Cal State University, Long Beach

In this essay, Ann Johnson looks at commonly “misunderstood” songs, the ways artists have made their songs amenable to misuse and their attempts to reassert control over such songs.

<strong>We Are All Oldies: The Death of Youth Music</strong> <br /> <em>Norma Coates / University of Western Ontario</em>

We Are All Oldies: The Death of Youth Music
Norma Coates / University of Western Ontario

Norma Coates asserts that rock as youth music is dead and heading to the morgue in this provocative article.

<strong>That’s Democratainment: Obama, Rumor Bombs, and Primary Definers</strong> <br /> <em>Jayson Harsin / The American University of Paris</em>

That’s Democratainment: Obama, Rumor Bombs, and Primary Definers
Jayson Harsin / The American University of Paris

In this article, Jayson Harsin reconsiders the definition of news in response to the emergence of the rumor bomb and convergence culture.

<strong>Black Guy Corner: What the Upfront Photos Say about the State of TV </strong> <br /> <em>Cindy Conaway and Sheila Marie Aird/ SUNY Empire State College</em>

Black Guy Corner: What the Upfront Photos Say about the State of TV
Cindy Conaway and Sheila Marie Aird/ SUNY Empire State College

A critical examination of “upfronts,” the photographs distributed by television studios to promote new shows. Does the television industry promote an agenda through imagery that maintains positions of power, or does it covertly use images to give primacy to a particular group of people?

<strong>Masculinity and Authenticity: Reality TV’s Real Men</strong><br /><em> Christopher Lockett / Memorial University </em>

Masculinity and Authenticity: Reality TV’s Real Men
Christopher Lockett / Memorial University

A look at the visions of blue-collar masculinity provided by reality TV.

<strong>The Politics of ‘dirt’ in <em>Dirty Jobs</em></strong> <br /> <em>Andrew King / Queensland University of Technology</em>

The Politics of ‘dirt’ in Dirty Jobs
Andrew King / Queensland University of Technology

The concept of dirt is used as a way to explore significant class taboos in the Discovery Channel series, Dirty Jobs. King’s article examines the politics behind the production of this program.

<strong>The Potential of Vernacular Video for Queer Youth </strong><br /><em> Daren C. Brabham / University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</em>

The Potential of Vernacular Video for Queer Youth
Daren C. Brabham / University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

An examination of the potential positive and negative roles of video in the lives of LGBTQ youth, and a call to action for members of the critical scholar community.