A new edition that brings the ways we watch and think about television up to the present
We all have opinions about the television shows we watch, but television criticism is about much more than simply evaluating the merits of a particular show and deeming it тАЬgoodтАЭ or тАЬbad.тАЭ Rather, criticism uses the close examination of a television program to explore that programтАЩs cultural significance, creative strategies, and its place in a broader social context.
How to Watch Television, Second Edition brings together forty original essaysтАФmore than half of which are new to this editionтАФfrom todayтАЩs leading scholars on television culture, who write about the programs they care (and think) the most about. Each essay focuses on a single television show, demonstrating one way to read the program and, through it, our media culture. From fashioning blackness in Empire to representation in Orange is the New Black and from the role of the reboot in Gilmore Girls to the function of changing political atmospheres in Roseanne, these essays model how to practice media criticism in accessible language, providing critical insights through analysisтАФsuggesting a way of looking at TV that students and interested viewers might emulate. The contributors discuss a wide range of television programs past and present, covering many formats and genres, spanning fiction and non-fiction, broadcast, streaming, and cable. Addressing shows from TVтАЩs earliest days to contemporary online transformations of the medium, How to Watch Television, Second Edition is designed to engender classroom discussion among television critics of all backgrounds.
To access additional essays from the first edition, visit the "links" tab at nyupress.org/9781479898817/how-to-watch-television-second-edition/.