The Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting

The Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting
Author: Kristen J. Warner
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2015-06-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317700635

This book fills a significant gap in the critical conversation on race in media by extending interrogations of racial colorblindness in American television to the industrial practices that shape what we see on screen. Specifically, it frames the practice of colorblind casting as a potent lens for examining the interdependence of 21st century post-racial politics and popular culture. Applying a ‘production as culture’ approach to a series of casting case studies from American primetime dramatic television, including ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and The CW’s The Vampire Diaries, Kristen Warner complicates our understanding of the cultural processes that inform casting and expounds the aesthetic and pragmatic industrial viewpoints that perpetuate limiting or downright exclusionary hiring norms. She also examines the material effects of actors of color who knowingly participate in this system and justify their limited roles as a consequence of employment, and finally speculates on what alternatives, if any, are available to correct these practices. Warner’s insights are a valuable addition to scholarship in media industry studies, critical race theory, ethnic studies, and audience reception, and will also appeal to those with a general interest in race in popular culture.

The Colorblind Screen

The Colorblind Screen
Author: Sarah E. Turner
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2014
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1479893331

The election of President Barack Obama signaled for many the realization of a post-racial America, a nation in which racism was no longer a defining social, cultural, and political issue. While many Americans espouse a colorblind racial ideology and publicly endorse the broad goals of integration and equal treatment without regard to race, in actuality this attitude serves to reify and legitimize racism and protects racial privileges by denying and minimizing the effects of systematic and institutionalized racism. Ina The Colorblind Screen, the contributors examine televisionOCOs role as the major discursive medium in the articulation and contestation of racialized identities in the United States. While the dominant mode of televisual racialization has shifted to a colorblind ideology that foregrounds racial differences in order to celebrate multicultural assimilation, the volume investigates how this practice denies the significant social, economic, and political realities and inequalities that continue to define race relations today. Focusing on such iconic figures as President Obama, LeBron James, and Oprah Winfrey, many chapters examine the ways in which race is read by television audiences and fans. Other essays focus on how visual constructions of race in dramas likea 24, a Sleeper Cell, anda The Wanted acontinue to conflate Arab and Muslim identities in post-9/11 television. The volume offers an important intervention in the study of the televisual representation of race, engaging with multiple aspects of the mythologies developing around notions of a post-racial America and the duplicitous discursive rationale offered by the ideology of colorblindness."

Latinas and Latinos on TV

Latinas and Latinos on TV
Author: Isabel Molina-Guzmán
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2018-03-27
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0816537240

Critically looking at how Latinos/as have been represented in network sitcoms and what so-called colorblind humor really means--Provided by publisher.

Social TV

Social TV
Author: Cory Barker
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2022-06-27
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1496840941

Winner of the 2023 SCMS Media Industries Scholarly Interest Group Outstanding Book Award sponsored by the Center for Entertainment & Media Industries On March 15, 2011, Donald Trump changed television forever. The Comedy Central Roast of Trump was the first major live broadcast to place a hashtag in the corner of the screen to encourage real-time reactions on Twitter, generating more than 25,000 tweets and making the broadcast the most-watched Roast in Comedy Central history. The #trumproast initiative personified the media and tech industries’ utopian vision for a multi-screen and communal live TV experience. In Social TV: Multi-Screen Content and Ephemeral Culture, author Cory Barker reveals how the US television industry promised—but failed to deliver—a social media revolution in the 2010s to combat the imminent threat of on-demand streaming video. Barker examines the rise and fall of Social TV across press coverage, corporate documents, and an array of digital ephemera. He demonstrates that, despite the talk of disruption, the movement merely aimed to exploit social media to reinforce the value of live TV in the modern attention economy. Case studies from broadcast networks to tech start-ups uncover a persistent focus on community that aimed to monetize consumer behavior in a transitionary industry period. To trace these unfulfilled promises and flopped ideas, Barker draws upon a unique mix of personal Social TV experiences and curated archives of material that were intentionally marginalized amid pivots to the next big thing. Yet in placing this now-forgotten material in recent historical context, Social TV shows how the era altered how the industry pursues audiences. Multi-screen campaigns have shifted away from a focus on live TV and toward all-day “content” streams. The legacy of Social TV, then, is the further embedding of media and promotional material onto every screen and into every moment of life.

Race in American Television [2 volumes]

Race in American Television [2 volumes]
Author: David J. Leonard
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 901
Release: 2021-01-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

This two-volume encyclopedia explores representations of people of color in American television. It includes overview essays on early, classic, and contemporary television and the challenges for, developments related to, and participation of minorities on and behind the screen. Covering five decades, this encyclopedia highlights how race has shaped television and how television has shaped society. Offering critical analysis of moments and themes throughout television history, Race in American Television shines a spotlight on key artists of color, prominent shows, and the debates that have defined television since the civil rights movement. This book also examines the ways in which television has been a site for both reproduction of stereotypes and resistance to them, providing a basis for discussion about racial issues in the United States. This set provides a significant resource for students and fans of television alike, not only educating but also empowering readers with the necessary tools to consume and watch the small screen and explore its impact on the evolution of racial and ethnic stereotypes in U.S. culture and beyond. Understanding the history of American television contributes to deeper knowledge and potentially helps us to better apprehend the plethora of diverse shows and programs on Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and other platforms today.

Television Show Trends, 2016-2020

Television Show Trends, 2016-2020
Author: Yvonne D. Leach
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2023-12-04
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476689229

What do Euphoria, Normal People, Atlanta, Ramy, Vida, I May Destroy You, Stranger Things, and Lovecraft Country have in common? In the 2016-2020 time period they were created, these TV shows exemplified one (or more) of four noteworthy trends: authenticity, diversity, sexual candor, and retrospection. This is the first book to examine live action, fictional television shows produced within a five-year period through the lens of the trends that they epitomize. For each show, the following is discussed: the significance of the platform and the format; the intentions of the creators and showrunners; pertinent background information; similar shows and precedents; the storytelling approach; the cinematic form; and finally, how the show is emblematic of that particular trend. Since trends have the possibility of becoming part of the mainstream, they are important to identify as they emerge, especially for viewers who have a keen interest in narrative television shows.

Open TV

Open TV
Author: Aymar Jean Christian
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2018-01-09
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1479874221

Introduction: independents change the channel -- Developing open tv: innovation for the open network, 1995-2005 -- Open tv production: revaluing creative labor -- Open tv representation: reforming cultural politics -- Open tv distribution: struggling for an independent market -- Scaling open tv: the challenges of big data television -- Epilogue: open tv and the future of the networked era

Camp TV

Camp TV
Author: Quinlan Miller
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2019-04-04
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1478003391

Sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s are widely considered conformist in their depictions of gender roles and sexual attitudes. In Camp TV Quinlan Miller offers a new account of the history of American television that explains what campy meant in practical sitcom terms in shows as iconic as The Dick Van Dyke Show as well as in more obscure fare, such as The Ugliest Girl in Town. Situating his analysis within the era's shifts in the television industry and the coalescence of straightness and whiteness that came with the decline of vaudevillian camp, Miller shows how the sitcoms of this era overflowed with important queer representation and gender nonconformity. Whether through regular supporting performances (Ann B. Davis's Schultzy in The Bob Cummings Show), guest appearances by Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly, or scripted dialogue and situations, industry processes of casting and production routinely esteemed a camp aesthetic that renders all gender expression queer. By charting this unexpected history, Miller offers new ways of exploring how supposedly repressive popular media incubated queer, genderqueer, and transgender representations.

Auditioning for Film and Television

Auditioning for Film and Television
Author: Nancy Bishop
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2021-12-30
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1350155969

"This is a terrific guide for young actors...I read it cover to cover and then went out and bought copies for all my kids because, truthfully, it puts an experienced eye on pretty much all of life's early encounters.” – Donald Sutherland “When I was about to go into my callback with Sacha Baron Cohen, Nancy told me, 'Just enjoy the experience; you have nothing to lose,' and she speaks a lot about that in this book. She takes the worry out of auditioning and helps us see the fun and positive side of the experience. Nancy is a true champion for diversity and I am so grateful she has opened the doors for Eastern European artists.” – Maria Bakalova Auditioning for Film and Television is a must-have guide, written from the perspective of a casting director and offering actionable advice on audition technique, scene analysis, online casting and social media. Since the first edition was published in 2009, this practical workbook has helped countless actors learn the craft of auditioning for screen. Owing to the seismic changes within the industry following on from the #MeToo movement and, of course, the impact of social media and ever-advancing technology, how auditioning and casting are conducted has radically changed. This third edition of Auditioning for Film and Television addresses these issues and how they come into play in the audition room, offering guidance on areas such as: - How actors can most professionally conduct themselves in a casting situation, and on set, when there is sexuality inherent in a role - How both interviewers and interviewees can keep the relationship clear, professional and above board - What resources are available if issues arise In addition, readers continue to benefit from the author's tried-and-tested advice that will help them to succeed in this crowded and competitive industry.

The Colorblind Screen

The Colorblind Screen
Author: Sarah Nilsen
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1479891533

"In The Colorblind Screen, the contributors examine television's role as the major discursive medium in the articulation and contestation of racialized identities in the United States. While the dominant mode of televisual racialization has shifted to a "colorblind" ideology that foregrounds racial differences in order to celebrate multicultural assimilation, the volume investigates how this practice denies the significant social, economic, and political realities and inequalities that continue to define race relations today. Focusing on such iconic figures as President Obama, LeBron James, and Oprah Winfrey, many chapters examine the ways in which race is read by television audiences and fans. Other essays focus on how visual constructions of race in dramas like 24, Sleeper Cell, and The Wanted continue to conflate Arab and Muslim identities in post-9/11 television. The volume offers an important intervention in the study of the televisual representation of race, engaging with multiple aspects of the mythologies developing around notions of a "post-racial" America and the duplicitous discursive rationale offered by the ideology of colorblindness." -- Publisher's website.