The influence and overlap between the worlds of podcasting and television (and live comedy) is expanding as visual and audio media continue to fragment, making issues of narrative construction and narrative influence ripe for questioning,
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Archive for April, 2015
On Radio: The Influence of Comedy Podcasts on TV Narrative, Production, and Cross-Promotion
The Wire, Freddie Gray, and Collective Social Action
Why hasn’t The Wire, which showed us how structural racism and an abusive police department defines black life in Baltimore, translated into collective social action? Why are there only thousands in the streets? Where are the millions of fans of The Wire? And why aren’t they supporting black folks in Baltimore?
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The Peabody Awards and Dialogic Declarations of Value
Media and cultural studies is right to be concerned about singular, monologic declarations of value, but there’s something to be learned from the Peabodys’ mode of deciding upon value dialogically.
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Bullshit Jobs in the Creative Industries
Jack Newsinger reflects on the idea of bullshit jobs in the creative industries and what this might mean for pedagogy.
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Devilish Partners: Daredevil, Netflix, and Exclusive Original Programming
Marvel’s Daredevil launched April 10 on Netflix, marking a new milestone for Netflix’s original content strategy and the expansion of Marvel Television into the streaming space.
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“Aren’t We Such a Fun, Approachable Dynasty?”: Clinton’s Presidential Announcement, Cable News, and the Candidate Challenge
Chuck Tryon examines the reception of Clinton’s announcement video to explore the role of cable news in producing election coverage that sidesteps questions about how candidates will actually govern.
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The Jinx as Vigilante Documentary
Supporting vigilante documentary as an acceptable approach to seeking "justice" is a potentially dangerous trend.
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American Idols: ‘Roxy,’ Major Bowes, and Early Radio Stardom
Ross Melnick provides historical context necessary to understand the prevalence of talent programs on contemporary American network television.
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Why NBC’s The Wiz Makes Sense Even As It Doesn’t Make Sense
Alfred Martin asks why NBC turned to The Wiz over The Music Man as its next televised musical in this particular historical moment?
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Game of Thrones: Adaptation and Fidelity in an Age of Convergence
Using the case of Game of Thrones, Iain Robert Smith considers what happens to fidelity criticism when a show goes beyond the published material and starts to “adapt” material that has been planned but not yet written by the original author.
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“Television Aesthetics” versus Formal and Stylistic Analysis
Piers Britton reflects on the unacknowledged divergences in use of the term “aesthetic” within television studies, and suggests that some of the elisions are leading to unproductive argument.
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Volunteers Wanted: Transforming SCMS From Within
Karen Petruska reflects on the importance of conference participation in the form of SIGs, committees, and public policy and promotion, all of which operate as the less visible yet vital backbone of SCMS.
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The Importance of Being SIG’d: Scholarly Interest Groups and Their Role at SCMS
Collenn Glenn reports on the significance of specialized scholarly interest groups for academic organizations like the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), which held its annual conference in Montreal last week.
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#DHSCMS: Digital Humanities, Tools, and Approaches at SCMS 2015
Derek Long continues our series of SCMS 2015 conference reports with a summary and assessment of some of the digitally-oriented panels and presentations.
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