What’s happening here? These programs are engaging with culturally and historically situated values, rituals, and industry standards (trends in set design, budgets, established network aesthetics, etc.). Analyze the mise-en-scene to find evidence for what kind of programming this is, what stories are being told, who the stories are being told to, and what distinguishes the programs from each other and/or connects them.
Here’s an article about some of the on-set drama and how the influence of the industry is made visible in the second season of Nashville.
Read this if you want another layer to consider during our conversations, especially as we watch our first pilot episode tomorrow.
If you’re looking for a way to celebrate completing your first assignment early, reward yourself by tuning in to the season 3 premiere of Scandal. I think there’s an hour-long “catch-up” special immediately before, if you’re not (yet) a fan. Read more about what to expect here and use this cheat sheet to get caught up or refresh your memory.
Also, this is a show that has an incredible second life on Twitter. Follow along at #scandal and/or #scandalABC.
Good news: We got a new classroom (CLS 250) that should have plenty of desks and be big enough that everyone can clearly see the screen.
Bad news: It’s in the Clinical Services building. Don’t know where that is? Me neither. Here’s a campus map and classroom details. If you can, try to head to class a few minutes early on Thursday so we can all find it together on the edges of campus.
Please read Amanda Ann Klein’s article over at FlowTV, “The Hills, Jersey Shore, and the Aesthetics of Class” before class tomorrow. It’s short and so very smart.
We’re going to be using Dropbox this quarter to keep up with assignments. If you don’t yet have a Dropbox account use this link to open one. Please open the account using your @uoregon.edu email address. If you have questions or problems, let me know.
There’s a whole lot of not-so-great writing about television floating around the web, but here are two recent pieces that are well worth the read:
I Have a Character Issue by Anna Gunn (NYT) and
How Roland Barthes Gave Us the TV Recap by Sam Anderson (NYT)
My first pass at a syllabus draft is up here.
Many thanks to my friend and former UO instructor, Phoebe Bronstein, whose work and expertise we will all benefit from this upcoming term.
English 110: Intro to Television Studies 