Now that we're near the end of the semester, what have you learned or taken away from the study of Television History? Feel free to focus on one topic or provide a short summary of various points.
I have taken away several things from this TV History course. Firstly, I had no idea of the stereotypes pervasive in early television. Amos 'n' Andy and Beulah really opened my eyes to this point and it was great to see how shows like Julia broke down these early stereotypes. Secondly, it was interesting to see how genres like sci-fi and western had began and developed over the course of history. These and other genres are still popular today and knowing where they came from and how they changed over time gave me great insight on how they still remain popular today. Lastly, it was good to have a more academic perspective towards television. Old shows that I had watched as a kid have new meaning now that I understand how they related to the time period they aired in. This way, I can understand the relevance and impact they had and still have today. Taking this course really allowed me to understand the sentiment and culture of decades past.
This class has proven to be way more enlightening than I originally imagined. I have learned many things but the biggest concept that I really stood out as something I had never really given much thought to was that the television system we have today was not an inevitable outcome. Every decision made, from what kind of programs were made, to how long they would be, to how they would be aired, etc., was made as a response to something. Everything from politics, to the economy, to civil rights, to racial issues had a strong effect on where television is today and where it is going to go tomorrow. Everyone was just figuring it out as time went on. But what if things had been done differently? What if American television had gone the way of Britain and been funded through the government? Or what if it was never commercialized or regulated at all and just existed as a way of communication like it was originally thought of as. It is easy for us now to look back in an informed historical way to see how these changes were shaped but people at the time were making these decisions with no idea of the consequence.
As a Biopsych major, I came into this class not really knowing what to expect. SAC 355 has helped me realize how representative television is of our society. It's a simple concept that should be blatantly clear without taking a class, but intellectually it's not something that I ever really thought about before. Close analysis, which is important because every detail of every television show was closely scrutinized while being made, is able to provide some solid information about our own society. Also, every show that has ever been made has had to appeal to the people in its time period. It's amazing how backwards some things seem now that were completely normal during the time of our parents. While watching the screenings I always try to put myself in the mindset of someone watching during that time period.
Its also been interesting to learn about how the network system evolved. Prior to this class, I never really thought about any of the workings going on behind the television screen. Learning about all the evolution of the FCC and the evolution of the big networks are things I never would have done without this class. The FCC could have regulated television much differently, which would have led to a very different programming experience than the one we know now. Notably, this could have been bad or good depending on your own opinion.
I have taken away several things from this TV History course. Firstly, I had no idea of the stereotypes pervasive in early television. Amos 'n' Andy and Beulah really opened my eyes to this point and it was great to see how shows like Julia broke down these early stereotypes. Secondly, it was interesting to see how genres like sci-fi and western had began and developed over the course of history. These and other genres are still popular today and knowing where they came from and how they changed over time gave me great insight on how they still remain popular today. Lastly, it was good to have a more academic perspective towards television. Old shows that I had watched as a kid have new meaning now that I understand how they related to the time period they aired in. This way, I can understand the relevance and impact they had and still have today. Taking this course really allowed me to understand the sentiment and culture of decades past.
ReplyDeleteThis class has proven to be way more enlightening than I originally imagined. I have learned many things but the biggest concept that I really stood out as something I had never really given much thought to was that the television system we have today was not an inevitable outcome. Every decision made, from what kind of programs were made, to how long they would be, to how they would be aired, etc., was made as a response to something. Everything from politics, to the economy, to civil rights, to racial issues had a strong effect on where television is today and where it is going to go tomorrow. Everyone was just figuring it out as time went on. But what if things had been done differently? What if American television had gone the way of Britain and been funded through the government? Or what if it was never commercialized or regulated at all and just existed as a way of communication like it was originally thought of as. It is easy for us now to look back in an informed historical way to see how these changes were shaped but people at the time were making these decisions with no idea of the consequence.
ReplyDeleteAs a Biopsych major, I came into this class not really knowing what to expect. SAC 355 has helped me realize how representative television is of our society. It's a simple concept that should be blatantly clear without taking a class, but intellectually it's not something that I ever really thought about before. Close analysis, which is important because every detail of every television show was closely scrutinized while being made, is able to provide some solid information about our own society. Also, every show that has ever been made has had to appeal to the people in its time period. It's amazing how backwards some things seem now that were completely normal during the time of our parents. While watching the screenings I always try to put myself in the mindset of someone watching during that time period.
ReplyDeleteIts also been interesting to learn about how the network system evolved. Prior to this class, I never really thought about any of the workings going on behind the television screen. Learning about all the evolution of the FCC and the evolution of the big networks are things I never would have done without this class. The FCC could have regulated television much differently, which would have led to a very different programming experience than the one we know now. Notably, this could have been bad or good depending on your own opinion.