Television : Critical Methods and Applications

Written in clear and lively prose, Television explains how television programs and commercials are made, and how they function as producers of meaning. Author Jeremy Butler demonstrates the ways in which cinematography and videography, acting, lighting, set design, editing, and sound combine to produce meanings that viewers take away from their television experience. This popular text teaches students to read between the lines, encouraging them to incorporate critical thinking into their own television viewing. Television provides essential critical and historical context, lucidly explaining how different critical methods have been applied to the medium, such as genre study, ideological criticism, and cultural studies. Hundreds of illustrations from television programs introduce the reader to the varied ways in which television goes about telling stories, presenting news, and selling products, and a companion Web site (www.TVcrit.com) supplements the textwith color frame grabs and illustrative video clips. Highlights of this third edition include: *new segments on "reality" television and television animation since 1990; *an updated and expanded chapter surveying critical methods applied to television; *a wide variety of examples, including recent television shows; and *a supplemental DVD to provide teachers with video examples and exercises. With its distinctive approach to examining television, this text is appropriate for courses in television studies, media criticism, and general critical studies. In addition, Televisionwill encourage critical thinking in television production courses.

Jeremy G. Butler has taught the critical study of television, film and new media since 1980. After receiving his Ph.D. in film at Northwestern University, he began teaching television and film courses at the University of Alabama. Later, he developed Web design courses at Alabama and the University of Arizona. He has published on topics such as the sitcom, the soap opera, and television stardom in Screen, Cinema Journal, Journal of Film and Video, and Journal of Popular Film and Television, among others. He also edited one of the first anthologies of critical studies of television/film stars, Star Texts: Image and Performance in Film and Television. Butler is active in numerous Internet projects. He founded several ‘Net resources for TV/film teachers and students—including an e-mail discussion list (Screen-L) and a Website (ScreenSite)—and served as the Society for Cinema and Media Studies first information technology officer. Additionally, Butler has produced films, video projects, and Web sites.