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.
Coming into this class I did not know a lot about television history. I’m glad that we watched A Face in the Crowd at our first screening. It was able to show the transition from radio to television. The film also emphasized the importance of consumerism and advertisements at the time. It was interesting to learn how much radio influenced the beginning of television. For example, Amos n Andy was it’s own radio program before it became a television show. I also found it interesting to learn about the genre of the 1950s sitcoms. I found myself comparing these shows that we watched in screenings like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis to contemporary sitcoms like Modern Family, New Girl, and The Big Bang Theory. For my research paper I looked more in depth into crime dramas and police procedural television shows focusing on the original Dragnet and the original Law and Order. I was surprised to learn that this genre started as early as the 1950s. It is still one of the most popular genres on TV today, with many different spin off shows like Law and Order: SVU, CSI and Criminal Minds. I’m really glad I took this interesting course and learned about the origins of television.
As a kid, I used to watch reruns of "I Love Lucy," "The Brady Bunch," "The Twilight Zone," and other old shows on TV Land. It never really occurred to me to compare these shows to the ones that I watch today or to think about how they affected the current industry. After being in this class, I can confidently say that I know much more than I did a few months ago about the history and progression of television. While I knew that many shows had their beginnings in radio, I had no idea about the influence of vaudeville and theater in early TV. Because the oldest TV show I had seen before this class was "I Love Lucy," I never thought about what had come before it. I had never heard of the "Texaco Star Theatre" or "The Burns and Allen Show," and I loved thinking about how they affected the variety shows today. SNL, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," and other similar shows tackle modern issues and events. However, they are still extremely similar to the variety shows of early television. TV is such a common pastime now that one usually doesn't give a second thought to its beginnings. I'm happy that I was able to learn its history, and this has been one of my favorite SAC classes I've taken so far!
Coming into this class, I knew very little about the origins of television. While I had a general knowledge of what television was like before cable, now I feel like I understand how television was really predetermined to mimic the organization of radio by usurping its network system. This is especially fascinating to me because it encouraged me to imagine what television would be like today had it been initially imagined by the film industry.
Additionally, I feel like I gained a lot of knowledge about the transition from live to filmed television. It was interesting to learn why people were at first attracted to “live programming” because it was similar to familiar forms of entertainment like vaudeville and theatre. This was especially fascinating to me because this past summer I interned for a show that many people typically conceive of as “live” television, when really it is pre-taped a few hours before being aired. Early live television shows like, Texaco Star Theatre contained many mistakes that could not be edited out—such as Berle slipping on a banana, yet these unintentional gaffes actually made the show funnier. Looking at the show I worked at, the host often made similar mistakes to those made by Berle, except that for the show I worked at these mistakes could easily be edited out before the show is aired. The fact that these mistakes are not edited out, exemplifies how the late night television shows of the present have really recognized that importance of spontaneous comedy that arises from unplanned, in-the-moment mistakes.
Overall, the class was especially helpful as it gave me a broad survey of the representation of women on television across various genres and decades. It was amazing to me how in a mere ten years the representation of women on television shifted from the “housewife” (i.e. June Cleaver) to the “career-oriented” woman (Mary Richards, on MTM). I feel like before this class, I really took for granted the revolutionary portrayals of women I grew up watching on television, from Meredith Grey to Mindy Lahiri. Now, I realize had it not been for shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Maude, some of my favorite television shows would cease to exist.
Television has always taken up a special place in my heart ever since I was a little girl. I can remember my parents used to bribe me with the possibility of watching the reality show Survivor if I did well on my spelling tests and I remember the feeling of immense pride when I was finally old enough to watch the hit show Lost. Coming into this class, like many, I did not have any extensive knowledge of the medium of television, but after taking this class I can happily say that my knowledge of television has greatly broadened.
To start, I learned a great deal about the comparison of television during the early years compared to modern day television, especially in respect to the roles of gender, sexuality, and class. I found it extremely interesting and sickening how African Americans were portrayed in early television, as shown in shows such as Amos n’ Andy who depicted African American bourgeoisie as sneaky and conniving, always trying to perform schemes to trick people out of money, It was also interesting to witness the role of the housewife, especially in television that was created just after the Second World War where women made up much of the work force due to men serving overseas, and how women were expected to take their places back in the home as housewives. It is very telling how women in shows such as I Remember Mama, They Honeymooners, and many more were confined within the home, where in modern day television women are being depicted in the workforce and in more central roles with shows such as Scandal, Law and Order, and Orange is the New Black as prime examples. Finally, the issue of sexuality and its metamorphosis over the years is extremely telling of the times. In shows like All in the Family homosexuality is looked down upon, as well as often made fun of or swept under the rug because the subject was still considered somewhat of a taboo in the medium of television at the time. Fast Forward to the mid to late 1990s and Ellen is a landmark in addressing the issue of homosexuality with the outing of the character of Ellen as well as Ellen Degeneres herself in the episode “Ellen Gets a Puppy” with the remainder of the show’s run focusing on Ellen’s life and her coming to terms with her sexuality. Finally, in today’s modern television shows homosexuality is more prevalent as well as more accepted. In the hit show How to Get Away with Murder a lovemaking scene between two males is shown, truly the first instance of this occurrence, at least on prime time television on a major network. As well, shows such as Orange is the New Black explore the complicated relationship between a bisexual woman as she tries to figure out whether she is in love with her fiance or the woman she once had a passionate relationship with. Truly, homosexuality is becoming more common and accepted in modern day television.
Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and discovering the history behind the medium that has meant so much to me since I was small.
I feel as if growing up in a generation that has always known television has made me extremely uninformed about everything that has gone into its the creation. I never realized how intricate the creation of television was. I think the area that interested me the most was the use of advertisements within the show. For some reason, I was very surprised when we learned that consumer products were incorporated so blatantly into the shows. When we watched The Martha Raye Show and saw the way the beauty products were introduced and then put right into the storyline, I began to see why that was a popular method for advertisers. Today when people watch TV, many mute the TV or walk away to do something else during the commercial breaks; basically, they don’t pay much attention to the ads. However, back when television was just kicking off, the ads were such a large part of the show that viewers almost had no choice but to watch them. There was a great deal of creativity put into advertisements in order to connect them to the show, and I think that helps viewers see how they could potentially use the products in their everyday life if they feel any sort of connection to the show, potentially boosting consumerism. While I do find these advertisements very interesting to watch now, I think if they were still used in television shows in such an obvious manner (as opposed to now, where someone will drink a bottle of Pepsi so the viewer can clearly see it, but nothing is said about it), it would become extremely annoying quickly. With today’s technology there is so much that commercials can do and I think that their independence from television shows is for the best. Nonetheless, I found the evolution of television advertisements fascinating and without this class I never would have discovered my interest in this.
This past semester of Television History has been a very enlightening experience for me. Of the things i learned I found the period of Deregulation and synergy to be the most interesting. One reason is because In class we learned how Rupert Murdock bought and merged different media outlets until he owned one of the biggest media mega corporations, News Corp. Because organizations such as the wall street journal and FOX are both owned by the parent company News Corp the cost of advertising for The Simpson in The wall street journal is significantly less than using a competitor. I had head of the buzz word synergy before but never understood what i meant fully until i had this concept explained in the heilms reading. Another thing that this week enlightinged for me was how many companies dominate the american media market. I became a bit aware of this when earlier this past year Disney bought LucasFilms and decided to make a new StarWars Movie. In class we looked at an Info graphic that shows the most notable acquisitions by the big six corporations and i was shocked to know learn that some of the big three networks were owned by these mega companies. Learning about the Network era and their counter-programming was also very interesting. and is cool to think about when you look at shows that are on TV today.One example of current day counter programming would be the TV show "Arrow" produced by the CW is based on lesser known DC comics hero The Green Arrow, while FOX has recently signed up to produce a TV show called Gotham a show about the City that Batman is from before batman dawns his cowl. Both of these shows are aiming for a similar audience and that would be people who have interest in Comic book hero storylines while not exactly mainstream heroes. because the shows are on different days of the week both draw the same audience to opposing networks different nights of the week.
Coming into this class I did not know a lot about television history. I’m glad that we watched A Face in the Crowd at our first screening. It was able to show the transition from radio to television. The film also emphasized the importance of consumerism and advertisements at the time. It was interesting to learn how much radio influenced the beginning of television. For example, Amos n Andy was it’s own radio program before it became a television show. I also found it interesting to learn about the genre of the 1950s sitcoms. I found myself comparing these shows that we watched in screenings like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis to contemporary sitcoms like Modern Family, New Girl, and The Big Bang Theory. For my research paper I looked more in depth into crime dramas and police procedural television shows focusing on the original Dragnet and the original Law and Order. I was surprised to learn that this genre started as early as the 1950s. It is still one of the most popular genres on TV today, with many different spin off shows like Law and Order: SVU, CSI and Criminal Minds. I’m really glad I took this interesting course and learned about the origins of television.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, I used to watch reruns of "I Love Lucy," "The Brady Bunch," "The Twilight Zone," and other old shows on TV Land. It never really occurred to me to compare these shows to the ones that I watch today or to think about how they affected the current industry. After being in this class, I can confidently say that I know much more than I did a few months ago about the history and progression of television. While I knew that many shows had their beginnings in radio, I had no idea about the influence of vaudeville and theater in early TV. Because the oldest TV show I had seen before this class was "I Love Lucy," I never thought about what had come before it. I had never heard of the "Texaco Star Theatre" or "The Burns and Allen Show," and I loved thinking about how they affected the variety shows today. SNL, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," and other similar shows tackle modern issues and events. However, they are still extremely similar to the variety shows of early television. TV is such a common pastime now that one usually doesn't give a second thought to its beginnings. I'm happy that I was able to learn its history, and this has been one of my favorite SAC classes I've taken so far!
ReplyDeleteComing into this class, I knew very little about the origins of television. While I had a general knowledge of what television was like before cable, now I feel like I understand how television was really predetermined to mimic the organization of radio by usurping its network system. This is especially fascinating to me because it encouraged me to imagine what television would be like today had it been initially imagined by the film industry.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I feel like I gained a lot of knowledge about the transition from live to filmed television. It was interesting to learn why people were at first attracted to “live programming” because it was similar to familiar forms of entertainment like vaudeville and theatre. This was especially fascinating to me because this past summer I interned for a show that many people typically conceive of as “live” television, when really it is pre-taped a few hours before being aired. Early live television shows like, Texaco Star Theatre contained many mistakes that could not be edited out—such as Berle slipping on a banana, yet these unintentional gaffes actually made the show funnier. Looking at the show I worked at, the host often made similar mistakes to those made by Berle, except that for the show I worked at these mistakes could easily be edited out before the show is aired. The fact that these mistakes are not edited out, exemplifies how the late night television shows of the present have really recognized that importance of spontaneous comedy that arises from unplanned, in-the-moment mistakes.
Overall, the class was especially helpful as it gave me a broad survey of the representation of women on television across various genres and decades. It was amazing to me how in a mere ten years the representation of women on television shifted from the “housewife” (i.e. June Cleaver) to the “career-oriented” woman (Mary Richards, on MTM). I feel like before this class, I really took for granted the revolutionary portrayals of women I grew up watching on television, from Meredith Grey to Mindy Lahiri. Now, I realize had it not been for shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Maude, some of my favorite television shows would cease to exist.
Television has always taken up a special place in my heart ever since I was a little girl. I can remember my parents used to bribe me with the possibility of watching the reality show Survivor if I did well on my spelling tests and I remember the feeling of immense pride when I was finally old enough to watch the hit show Lost. Coming into this class, like many, I did not have any extensive knowledge of the medium of television, but after taking this class I can happily say that my knowledge of television has greatly broadened.
ReplyDeleteTo start, I learned a great deal about the comparison of television during the early years compared to modern day television, especially in respect to the roles of gender, sexuality, and class. I found it extremely interesting and sickening how African Americans were portrayed in early television, as shown in shows such as Amos n’ Andy who depicted African American bourgeoisie as sneaky and conniving, always trying to perform schemes to trick people out of money, It was also interesting to witness the role of the housewife, especially in television that was created just after the Second World War where women made up much of the work force due to men serving overseas, and how women were expected to take their places back in the home as housewives. It is very telling how women in shows such as I Remember Mama, They Honeymooners, and many more were confined within the home, where in modern day television women are being depicted in the workforce and in more central roles with shows such as Scandal, Law and Order, and Orange is the New Black as prime examples. Finally, the issue of sexuality and its metamorphosis over the years is extremely telling of the times. In shows like All in the Family homosexuality is looked down upon, as well as often made fun of or swept under the rug because the subject was still considered somewhat of a taboo in the medium of television at the time. Fast Forward to the mid to late 1990s and Ellen is a landmark in addressing the issue of homosexuality with the outing of the character of Ellen as well as Ellen Degeneres herself in the episode “Ellen Gets a Puppy” with the remainder of the show’s run focusing on Ellen’s life and her coming to terms with her sexuality. Finally, in today’s modern television shows homosexuality is more prevalent as well as more accepted. In the hit show How to Get Away with Murder a lovemaking scene between two males is shown, truly the first instance of this occurrence, at least on prime time television on a major network. As well, shows such as Orange is the New Black explore the complicated relationship between a bisexual woman as she tries to figure out whether she is in love with her fiance or the woman she once had a passionate relationship with. Truly, homosexuality is becoming more common and accepted in modern day television.
Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and discovering the history behind the medium that has meant so much to me since I was small.
I feel as if growing up in a generation that has always known television has made me extremely uninformed about everything that has gone into its the creation. I never realized how intricate the creation of television was. I think the area that interested me the most was the use of advertisements within the show. For some reason, I was very surprised when we learned that consumer products were incorporated so blatantly into the shows. When we watched The Martha Raye Show and saw the way the beauty products were introduced and then put right into the storyline, I began to see why that was a popular method for advertisers. Today when people watch TV, many mute the TV or walk away to do something else during the commercial breaks; basically, they don’t pay much attention to the ads. However, back when television was just kicking off, the ads were such a large part of the show that viewers almost had no choice but to watch them. There was a great deal of creativity put into advertisements in order to connect them to the show, and I think that helps viewers see how they could potentially use the products in their everyday life if they feel any sort of connection to the show, potentially boosting consumerism. While I do find these advertisements very interesting to watch now, I think if they were still used in television shows in such an obvious manner (as opposed to now, where someone will drink a bottle of Pepsi so the viewer can clearly see it, but nothing is said about it), it would become extremely annoying quickly. With today’s technology there is so much that commercials can do and I think that their independence from television shows is for the best. Nonetheless, I found the evolution of television advertisements fascinating and without this class I never would have discovered my interest in this.
ReplyDeleteThis past semester of Television History has been a very enlightening experience for me. Of the things i learned I found the period of Deregulation and synergy to be the most interesting. One reason is because In class we learned how Rupert Murdock bought and merged different media outlets until he owned one of the biggest media mega corporations, News Corp. Because organizations such as the wall street journal and FOX are both owned by the parent company News Corp the cost of advertising for The Simpson in The wall street journal is significantly less than using a competitor. I had head of the buzz word synergy before but never understood what i meant fully until i had this concept explained in the heilms reading. Another thing that this week enlightinged for me was how many companies dominate the american media market. I became a bit aware of this when earlier this past year Disney bought LucasFilms and decided to make a new StarWars Movie. In class we looked at an Info graphic that shows the most notable acquisitions by the big six corporations and i was shocked to know learn that some of the big three networks were owned by these mega companies. Learning about the Network era and their counter-programming was also very interesting. and is cool to think about when you look at shows that are on TV today.One example of current day counter programming would be the TV show "Arrow" produced by the CW is based on lesser known DC comics hero The Green Arrow, while FOX has recently signed up to produce a TV show called Gotham a show about the City that Batman is from before batman dawns his cowl. Both of these shows are aiming for a similar audience and that would be people who have interest in Comic book hero storylines while not exactly mainstream heroes. because the shows are on different days of the week both draw the same audience to opposing networks different nights of the week.
ReplyDelete