I recently had the opportunity to research the number of television shows that have been produced and found it to be outstanding. According to epguides, there are currently over, 4800 television shows. This number is mind-boggling. These shows are broken down into different genres, and all have a different viewer base. Now, from my personal experience, I can account for only tuning in to maybe 100 of these shows, give or take a few. I am known to watch my favorite series like everyone else, but by no means am I a couch potato. In this first blog, I hope to catch your attention and convince you that my view will further help you understand television. Additionally, I will state my goals for doing TV Criticism, as well as my view of television as an object of study and I will finish by asking you for your participation-- for your own opinion on some of these 4800 shows that have been aired over the years.
I am one of those people who wait for that certain day of the week when my favorite episode is on. I’m anxious to see what happens next…..who dies….who doesn’t…etc. I am also known to get a little heated in the middle of my favorite shows. My goals for starting this blog on television are not to rip apart certain shows, but quite the opposite. My view, like O’Donnell’s, is to have a deeper understanding and go beyond face value to understand culture and society. Gronbeck and Sillars do the best to sum up the job of a “critic” when they state, “ A critic makes an argument that describes, interprets or evaluates the messages to which people are exposed in public or collective ways.” My main goal for “Tuned In” is to engage you, as a reader, and to help both yourself and I to have a better understand of the shows we watch and how they relate to our culture and society.
I have never realized the power of television until now. My relationship to television in the past was purely for entertainment. After reading a chapter by Corner, I realized that television must be an object of study. Millions of People across the world tune in every night to either evening news or local shows. They absorb what they watch. A great example of this would be the topic of politics. Corner states. “ This is often television seen as a poor substitute, as eroding an achieved level of democratic practice by the offering of a flawed, partial, strategically managed rendering of reality which nevertheless claims high evidential status and receives good levels of credibility from the popular audience.”(4) What he means here is that the news is biased on how they portray politics, especially during elections.
As the weeks go on, I urge you, as a reader, to stop by and talk about your favorite shows on television right now, or to simply respond to my posting. Currently, these last couple weeks I have been addicted to the series, Lost. My sister sent me seasons 1-3, telling me “It’s the best show ever “ and that I have to watch it. Well, she was right, and now I’m hooked.! Also, If there’s any “Sons of Anarchy Fans”, or “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” fans out there, please stop by because I am so excited that the new season just started! Again, I urge you to share your thoughts with me, even if you have to trash what I say! Good Viewing!
References
Corner, J. (1999). Critical Ideas in Television Studies. New York: Oxford University Press.
O’Donnell, V. (2007). Television Criticism. New York: Sage.
Sillars, M. O. and Gronbeck, B. E. (2001). Communication Criticism: Rhetoric, Social Codes, Cultural Studies. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment