3520 TV Theory Lecture 3: Core concets and issues in TV theory

Flow Core observation: R. Williams' encounter with American commercial television Thesis: “the real experience of television is not one of discrete items but of continuous flow” Key examples: competitive & commercial networks, some dedicated channels Scientific context: understanding the impact of early television Priorities for research: trans-program units, schedules

The moving image Core observation: absorbing and distracting qualities of the (edited) TV image Thesis: TV is “more real than the real thing” Key examples: music video, commercials, trailers Scientific context: medium theory, post-modern theory Priorities for research: Textual image-based analysis; problem of sound’s status

Aestheticisation Core observation: comprehensive manipulation of the image in recent TV Key examples: music video, spreading within factual programming Scientific context: postmodern theory, institutional theory of "televisuality" (Caldwell) Priorities for research: discussion of the aesthetic properties of aestheticisation, critique of its institutional basis

Narrative Core observation: TV narration lacks clear closures and focused progressions Thesis: TV presents the never-ending narrative, dissolved in time Key examples: series (Dallas, Cosby Show, serials (24) Scientific context: semiotics, narratology, genre studies Priorities for research: textual, special emphasis on the issue of segmentation

Live-ness Core observation: historical dominance of live modes of broadcasting Key thesis: “imagined community” Key examples: news "witnessing" (Ellis), “no sense of place” (Meyrowitz) Scientific context: medium theory, social theory on the reconfiguration of time and place Priorities for research: the conventions of authenticity, immediacy, “window on the world”

Sociability Core observation: in non-fictional television, everyday and informal behaviors are not just a means but an end Key examples: talk and live programming Scientific context: Interpretive sociology, phenomenology (Scannell) Priorities for research: mediated roles and social interactions; politeness, play, contests

Individualisation Core observation: the tendency toward behaviors that seem less role-bound, closer to the singularity of persons Key examples: news anchoring, factual and informative genres Scientific context: medium theory, the "middle region" thesis (Meyrowitz) Priorities for research: how TV technology exposes persons, its effect on address, interactions and the framing of topics

Interactivity Teleision as cause, Core observation: digitalisation transforms TV from a one-way to a two-way medium Key examples: digital TV, SMS/MMS-based TV Scientific context: theories of interactivity, “age of plenty” (Ellis) Priorities for research: diagnoses of “time famine” and “choice fatigue” (Ellis), critiques of “interactive pizza (Caldwell)

Theories of institution Teleision as cause, Main proponents: production studies, “political economy” Basic issue: How is TV shaped by its institutional contexts? Example: Increasing US competition produces the “televisual” style (Caldwell)

Theories of institution II Teleision as cause, TV as embedded in production, organisation, and policy contexts Tendences toward national specificity vs. transnationalisation Problematic issue I: determination vs. autonomy Problematic issue II: Institutional factors vs. wider societal factors (Scannell)