You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
This book explores the formative period of British television drama, concentrating on the years 1936-55. It examines the continuities and changes of early television drama, and the impact this had upon the subsequent 'golden age'. In particular, it questions the caricature of early television drama as 'photographed stage plays' and argues that early television pioneers in fact produced a diverse range of innovative drama productions, using a wide range of techniques.
Jason Jacobs' study of Deadwood (HBO, 2004-6) combines an in-depth production and reception history with astute analysis of the series' key themes and aesthetic strategies to argue that the show not only marked a radical revision of the Western genre but an outstanding work of television art.
When Rory McDonnell, the only son of power attorney Michael McDonnell, learns of his father's unethical business practices, Rory is faced with a difficult decision. Will Rory follow his heart? Or is he headed down the same immoral path as his father? Rory walks in. Michael looks surprised, maybe even a bit embarrassed. Rory asks outright if his father just committed collusion at the expense of a trusting client. Michael tried to dignify his answer by justifying the collusion with reasons. Rory always thought of his father as perfect. Realizing that his father is less than perfect, even downright dirty, Rory simply turned and walked out of the office. Michael did not try to stop him, thinking...
Pleasures of Horror is a stimulating and insightful exploration of horror fictions—literary, cinematic and televisual—and the emotions they engender in their audiences. The text is divided into three sections. The first examines how horror is valued and devalued in different cultural fields; the second investigates the cultural politics of the contemporary horror film; while the final part considers horror fandom in relation to its embodied practices (film festivals), its "reading formations" (commercial fan magazines and fanzines) and the role of special effects. Pleasures of Horror combines a wide range of media and textual examples with highly detailed and closely focused exposition of theory. It is a fascinating and engaging look at responses to a hugely popular genre and an invaluable resource for students of media, cultural and film studies and fans of horror.
Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.
This book offers a long overdue, extensive study of one of the most beloved television shows: Friends. Why has this sitcom become the seminal success that it is? And how does it continue to engage viewers around the world a quarter century after its first broadcast? Featuring original interviews with key creative personnel (including co-creator Marta Kauffman and executive producer Kevin S. Bright), the book provides answers by identifying a strategy of intimacy that informs Friends’ use of humour, performance, style and set design. The authors provide fascinating analyses of some of the most well-remembered scenes—the one where Ross can’t get his leather pants back on, and Ross and Ra...
Director in Action examines the career of Johnnie To, whose art-house action hits include A Hero Never Dies, The Longest Nite, Running out of Time, The Mission, PTU, Breaking News, Election, and Election 2. The author discusses the symbiotic relationship between director and genre, why To is regarded as an auteur, and the influence he has on the trajectory of the action genre in the Hong Kong cinema. The author's view is that To's idiosyncratic auteurist style transforms the generic conventions under which he is compelled to work, and that there is a discernible element of experimentalism in his most outstanding films. In addition, To modulates the film noir form to suit his local contexts, characters and locations, to create a highly personalized noir cinema in post-1997 Hong Kong.
Resisting some of the negative connotations that repetition can attract, this book illustrates how it has been used as a catalyst for creative expression across a range of television genres. Divided into two parts, the first three chapters contextualise repetition within related media and critical debates, before locating it as an important facet of television that is worth exploring in detail. The final three chapters discuss specific television shows that incorporate repetition creatively within their narrative structure and aesthetic composition, ranging from The Royle Family and Doctor Who to I May Destroy You and This is Going to Hurt. In each case, James Walters argues that repetition emerges as crucial to the expression of key themes and ideas, thus becoming a structural and compositional element itself. Exploring the ways in which repetition has featured in the work of figures such as Umberto Eco, Raymond Bellour and Bruce Kawin, and has influenced the approaches of television scholars like Raymond Williams, Roger Silverstone and John Ellis, this book is essential reading for scholars and students of film, television and media studies.
Chris Comerford explores cinematic digital television as an artistic classification and an academic object of study, and illuminates the slippage in definitions of previously understood media forms. The growth of television as an artistic, informative medium has given rise to shifts in the aesthetic style of the programmes we watch, and this book outlines these shifts along with the contemporary debates and critical theory surrounding them. Comerford looks at the forms and aesthetics of television, the production standards influencing streaming television and the agency of audiences, and provides case studies of key TV shows illustrating these shifts, including Twin Peaks: The Return, WandaVision, Hacks and Russian Doll. Navigating the levels of production and reception in cinematic digital television, the book uses film-inspired TV as a lightning rod for understanding our narrative screen media landscape and the classifications we use to negotiate it. As an essential reading for both scholars and students of media and television studies, this book provides a much-needed consideration of the changing landscape of television.
Everyone wants their product to be the next great killer app. But in the increasingly crowded world of mobile content, this pinnacle of success is becoming harder and harder to reach. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad offer tremendous opportunity for the...