About the Book
Since first going on the air in 1972, HBO has continually attempted to redefine television as we know it. Today, pay television (and HBO in particular) is positioned as an alternative to network offerings, consistently regarded as the premier site for what has come to be called "quality television." This collection of new essays by an international group of media scholars argues that HBO, as part of the leading edge of television, is at the center of television studies' interests in market positioning, style, content, technology, and political economy. The contributors focus on pioneering areas of analysis and new critical approaches in television studies today, highlighting unique aspects of the "HBO effect" to explore new perspectives on contemporary television from radical changes in technology to dramatic shifts in viewing habits. It's Not TV provides fresh insights into the "post-television network" by examining HBO's phenomenally popular and pioneering shows, including The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City as well as its failed series, such as K Street and The Comeback.
The contributors also explore the production process itself and the creation of a brand commodity, along with HBO's place as a market leader and technological innovator. Contributors: Kim Akass, Cara Louise Buckley, Rhiannon Bury, Joanna L. Di Mattia, Blake D. Ethridge, Tony Kelso, Marc Leverette, David Marc, Janet McCabe, Conor McGrath, Shawn McIntosh, Brian L. Ott, Avi Santo, Lisa Williamson Foreword by Toby Miller Marc Leverette is Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Colorado State University. He is author of Professional Wrestling, the Myth, the Mat, and American Popular Culture and co-editor of Zombie Culture: Autopsies of the Living Dead and Oh My God, They Deconstructed South Park! Those Bastards! Brian L. Ott is Associate Professor of Media Studies at Colorado State University. He is author of The Small Screen: How Television Equips Us to Live in the Information Age. Cara Louise Buckley is a lecturer at Emerson College.
Table of Contents:
Part 1: Introduction 1. Popular Representations of Development David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers, and Michael WoolcockPart 2: Literature and Fiction 2. The Fiction of Development: Literary Representation as a Source of Authoritative Knowledge David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers, and Michael Woolcock3. Notes on Teaching International Studies With Novels: ‘Hard Times’, ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ and ‘The Quiet American’ John Harriss 4. Considering ‘Pedagogical’ Fictions and Metanarratives of Development: 1 World Manga Veronica Davidov Part 3: Media and Television 5. More News is Bad News: Why Studies of ‘the Public Faces of Development’ and ‘Media and Morality' should be concerned with reality TV programmes Martin Scott 6. 'Hidden in Plan Sight': Baltimore, The Wire and the politics of under-development in urban America Simon Parker Part 4: Film 7. The Projection of Development: Cinematic Representation as An(other) Source of Authoritative of Knowledge? Simon Parker 8. Affective Histories: Imagining Poverty in Popular Indian Cinema Esha ShahPart 5: Public Campaigns 9. Visual Representations of Development: The Empire Marketing Board Poster Campaign 1926-1933 Uma Kothari 10. Band Aid Reconsidered: Sentimental Cultures and Populist Humanitarianism Cheryl LousleyPart 6: New Media 11. Blogs + Twitter = Change? Discursive Reproduction of Global Governance and the Limits of Social Media Tobias Denskus and Daniel E. Esser 12. Followme.intdev.com: International Development in the Blogosphere Ryann ManningPart 7: Conclusion 13. Conclusion: Popular Representations of Development - Taking Stock, Moving Forward David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers, and Michael Woolcock
About the Author :
David Lewis is Professor of Social Policy and Development at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), United Kingdom.
Dennis Rodgers is Professor of Urban Social and Political Research at the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Michael Woolcock is Lead Social Development Specialist with the World Bank's Development Research Group in Washington, DC, and Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University.
Review :
"The ultimate question of this varied collection is not whether HBO is TV, but whether television today is the same as it once was: has TV not changed to take account of new forms of leisure, new social and sexual mores, new modes of electronic entertainment and so on? With verve, the authors approach the HBO phenomenon from multiple perspectives to make clear its important role in a new, complex media landscape."--Dana Polan, Professor of Cinema Studies, NYU, and author of The Sopranos "If HBO represents the apogee of post-network programming, the essays collected here represent the new wave in television studies. Cutting through HBO's self-promotional hype, the authors closely examine industrial and economic issues, while also discussing specific programs and audience responses. This extremely informative book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the key issues in today's TV industry."--Heather Hendershot, author of Shaking the World for Jesus and editor of Nickelodeon Nation "The editors have carefully assembled an in-depth investigation unlike any before, and are to be saluted for the breadth and depth of this important work. HBO has redefined modern television, and this book, has in its own way, helped to redefine the way we look at HBO."--Brian Cogan, Molloy College
