Watching Television

By Todd Gitlin

Book Overview

7 essays by leading media critics explore the politics and social implications of television. "...An important step into the past wasteland era of writing about the tube." - NYT Book Review

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394746511
• ISBN13: 9780394746517
• Release Date: December 1986
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Television Keeps Us Watching

If the characters on television sitcoms sat and watched television as much we the actual watchers actually do, then we would never watch. Confused? You won't be after a romp through "Watching Television". The references to individual shows are dated, yes. And the still burgeoning VCR and Cable/satellite industries are underrepresented. But this was life before the WWW. (And before the WWF, for that matter.) The elegant point these essays make is that television makes itself irresistable by showing us things that we are convinced we can't get anywhere else. The fallacies and truths of that argument are the basis for this book. A thourough and engaging read.

Media Criticism on a readable and intelligent level.

Watching Television, while getting a bit dated now, is a fascinating collection of essay about, yes, watching television. Looking at the effects of the MTV Generation, to populism in television news, to the effects of advertising, this book is a must read for anyone who is seriously interested in Media Studies.