US Dollars
“[Television] is the greatest mirror that our global society has ever held up to itself, and even though sometimes we may not like what we see, it is impossible to look away.”
—From the introduction by Chris Lamson
Tube Talk: Big Ideas in Television presents a unique collection of writing inspired by and exploring television in all its forms, from comedy, education, and commercials to news, politics, and reality. These 28 selections offer compelling perspectives on television and its place in our lives, its social impact, and its cultural influence. Inside you’ll find:
- Acclaimed authors, including Ariel Levy, Emily Nussbaum, George Saunders, Gil Scott-Heron, and E. B. White
- Writing on ethics, commercialism, diversity, reality, and censorship
- Short stories, essays, lyrics, interviews, and poetry
Please note, this book contains mature content.
Sitcoms, Comedy, Yada, Yada, Yada
- The Great Divide: Norman Lear, Archie Bunker, and the Rise of the Bad Fan
- Us and Them
- Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television
- The Amiable Madness of Green Acres
- Brad Carrigan, American
Commercial Break
- Empires of the New World*
Educational TV (But You Don't Have To Take My Word For It)
- "Time to Go": Dreaming of a Televised Future*
- Hasta Siempre
- From "Lessons from Television"
- Pursuit of the Public Interest in the Vast Wasteland
- What I Learned From Kristi Yamaguchi
Commercial Break
- Control*
TV News: And That's The Way It Is
- The Age of Show Business*
- Judge in Simpson Trial Allows TV Camera in Courtroom
- To Remember History You Have to Repeat It
- The Moon Hours
Commercial Break
- Getting Dirty
Politics and TV: Have You No Sense of Decency?
- The First Presidential Debate*
- The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
- The Missing Remote
- Dolls and Feelings: Jill Soloway's Post-Patriarchal Television*
- Pop History on an Epic Scale: Roots
Commercial Break
- Desperately Selling Soda
I'm Not a Doctor, But I Play One On Reality TV
- The TV
- Television, Reality, and Cold War Citizenship*
- In the End, They Were Born on TV
- Why is "Everyman" a White Guy?
- Kim's Fairytale Wedding*
*Indicates a selection taken from a longer work.
