Common Sense
Intelligence as Presented on Popular Television
Published on 7. March 2008
Book
Hardback
310 pages
978-0-7391-1521-3 (ISBN)
Description
This anthology examines the constructions of intelligence and intellectuality in popular television and the socio-cultural implications of those constructions. It considers the complexity of popular television images, the influences of these images as they both verify and vilify intelligence, and explores a range of representations of intelligence on television by looking at a variety of TV genres and through a variety of theoretical perspectives and methods. Topics range from broad explorations of patterned representations on television to examinations of particular genres, including science-fiction and reality programming, to in-depth analyses of specific programs such as The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Six Feet Under. This book is grounded in the assumption that knowledge and intelligence are currency in the economics of power and that, given that the proliferation of certain images and the relative absence of others in fictional, reality, and fact-based media play an important role in social-order maintenance, a critical examination of how intelligence is demonstrated, portrayed, and evaluated in the public sphere is crucial.
Reviews / Votes
The book fills a gap in the study of popular television and provides in total or in part some valuable material for students of cultural studies. -- Kathleen Collins, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
656 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7391-1521-3 (9780739115213)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
Chapter 1 Table of Contents
Chapter 2 Introduction
Part 3 Surveying Smarts on the Television Landscape
Chapter 4 1 The Social Construction of Modern Intelligence
Chapter 5 2 Representations of Intelligence on Prime-Time Television
Part 6 Social Class, Gender, and Youth Culture
Chapter 7 3 Class and the Intellectual inThe Simpsons
Chapter 8 4 Keeping the Intelligent Woman "In Her Place" Within the Patriarchal Social Order: Containing the Unruliness of Genius Brenda Chenowith
Chapter 9 5 "And I Haven't Beed a Nerd for a Very Long Time"-Intelligence and Subjectivity inBuffy the Vampire Slayer
Chapter 10 6 Is School Cool? Representations of Academics and Intelligence on Teen Television
Part 11 Scientists and Science Fiction
Chapter 12 7 Sexy Nerds: Illya Kuryakin, Mr. Spock, and the Image of the Cerebral Hero in Television Drama
Chapter 13 8 Brains in Service of Brawn: The Scientist/Soldier Dynamic in Science Fiction Television
Chapter 14 9 Priming Science Attitudes in Fictional Presentations:The CSI Effect
Part 15 Talk Shows and Reality Television
Chapter 16 10 Media-Constructed Anti-Intellectualism: The Portrayal of Experts in Popular US Television Talk Shows
Chapter 17 11 Portrayals of Intelligence in Reality Television
Chapter 18 12 "Faking" Intelligence? Representing Intelligence in TLC'sFaking It
Chapter 19 About the Authors
Chapter 2 Introduction
Part 3 Surveying Smarts on the Television Landscape
Chapter 4 1 The Social Construction of Modern Intelligence
Chapter 5 2 Representations of Intelligence on Prime-Time Television
Part 6 Social Class, Gender, and Youth Culture
Chapter 7 3 Class and the Intellectual inThe Simpsons
Chapter 8 4 Keeping the Intelligent Woman "In Her Place" Within the Patriarchal Social Order: Containing the Unruliness of Genius Brenda Chenowith
Chapter 9 5 "And I Haven't Beed a Nerd for a Very Long Time"-Intelligence and Subjectivity inBuffy the Vampire Slayer
Chapter 10 6 Is School Cool? Representations of Academics and Intelligence on Teen Television
Part 11 Scientists and Science Fiction
Chapter 12 7 Sexy Nerds: Illya Kuryakin, Mr. Spock, and the Image of the Cerebral Hero in Television Drama
Chapter 13 8 Brains in Service of Brawn: The Scientist/Soldier Dynamic in Science Fiction Television
Chapter 14 9 Priming Science Attitudes in Fictional Presentations:The CSI Effect
Part 15 Talk Shows and Reality Television
Chapter 16 10 Media-Constructed Anti-Intellectualism: The Portrayal of Experts in Popular US Television Talk Shows
Chapter 17 11 Portrayals of Intelligence in Reality Television
Chapter 18 12 "Faking" Intelligence? Representing Intelligence in TLC'sFaking It
Chapter 19 About the Authors