
HIV on TV
Popular Culture's Epidemic
Malynnda A. Johnson(Author)
Lexington Books (Publisher)
Published on 15. September 2018
Book
Hardback
182 pages
978-1-4985-4726-0 (ISBN)
Description
In the 80's and 90's it was Designing Women and The Real World, today it's Grey's
Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder. 35 years since HIV hit prime time it
remains a hot topic for TV producers to include in storylines. While the motivation
behind creating an HIV narrative is sometimes the disseminate facts about HIV and STIs, far
more often it is the sexy ratings a show can receive by including a "taboo" or controversial topic. As a result, while some education is provided to audiences, far more shows are found only perpetuating misinformation and stereotypes. As a result viewers, young populations especially,
continue to believe they are not at risk.
HIV on TV: Popular Culture's Epidemic offers a discussion of how HIV has
permeated popular culture. News broadcasts, movies, television shows, even music
lyrics have imbedded messages about HIV. Examining over 35-years of the
HIV evolution on television this book offers a critical lens for examining how medial topics, specifically HIV, are covered in the media. Cutting across three common genres (news, drama, and comedy), characterizations, contexts, and themes are critically analyzed to uncover what each genre has contributed to audience's understanding of risk, and what it is like to live with HIV. In total, the book offers three perspectives of the lessons presented about HIV. First, is the view from the screen; asking what the characters themselves say to the viewer. Second the book shares results from interviews with viewers themselves who have recalled seeing the shows mentioned. Finally, the book offers thoughts and reflections from writers, producers, and actors involved in the narratives. Providing the greatest insight, an interview with Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, Road to Recovery, Looking) offers his experience in playing multiple roles as someone living with HIV and a challenge to media writers to be cautious in how they choose to write HIV into a storyline.
Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder. 35 years since HIV hit prime time it
remains a hot topic for TV producers to include in storylines. While the motivation
behind creating an HIV narrative is sometimes the disseminate facts about HIV and STIs, far
more often it is the sexy ratings a show can receive by including a "taboo" or controversial topic. As a result, while some education is provided to audiences, far more shows are found only perpetuating misinformation and stereotypes. As a result viewers, young populations especially,
continue to believe they are not at risk.
HIV on TV: Popular Culture's Epidemic offers a discussion of how HIV has
permeated popular culture. News broadcasts, movies, television shows, even music
lyrics have imbedded messages about HIV. Examining over 35-years of the
HIV evolution on television this book offers a critical lens for examining how medial topics, specifically HIV, are covered in the media. Cutting across three common genres (news, drama, and comedy), characterizations, contexts, and themes are critically analyzed to uncover what each genre has contributed to audience's understanding of risk, and what it is like to live with HIV. In total, the book offers three perspectives of the lessons presented about HIV. First, is the view from the screen; asking what the characters themselves say to the viewer. Second the book shares results from interviews with viewers themselves who have recalled seeing the shows mentioned. Finally, the book offers thoughts and reflections from writers, producers, and actors involved in the narratives. Providing the greatest insight, an interview with Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, Road to Recovery, Looking) offers his experience in playing multiple roles as someone living with HIV and a challenge to media writers to be cautious in how they choose to write HIV into a storyline.
Reviews / Votes
The author of this volume provides a deeply engaging and enriching account of HIV/AIDS (mis)representations and (mis)constructions in the popular media. Well-researched and beautifully written, this book provides a robust framework-theoretical and methodological-for understanding how our notions of illness and disease are socially constructed and influenced by the media. -- Arvind Singhal, University of Texas at El Paso The arguments and insights in this manuscript are both new and important. A researcher in AIDS representation myself, I have been shocked and disappointed by the lack of information and-crucially-cultural analysis of the AIDS epidemic. This work offers an important contribution to a conversation in which there are relatively few participants. -- Aimee Pozorski, Central Connecticut State University HIV on TV: Popular Culture's Epidemic demands that readers take popular culture representations of HIV and AIDS seriously. In addition to providing a rich history of how HIV has been portrayed in television and film, Johnson offers her candid assessments about how media creators must repair the problems that continue to persist in popular culture depictions of HIV. The book offers the opportunity for scholars who study media, health, rhetoric, popular culture, sexuality, and/or journalism to combine various threads of thought and enhance how they envision popular culture as a form of education. -- Jimmie Manning, University of NevadaMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
2 b/w photos; 1 tables;
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
423 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4985-4726-0 (9781498547260)
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
Other editions
Person
Malynnda Johnson is assistant professor of communication at Indiana State
University.
University.
Content
Introduction
Part One - Teaching HIV
Chapter One: Television as Teacher
Chapter Two: Conceptualizing HIV in the Media
Part Two - Previously On.... HIV on Television
Chapter Three: This Just In, HIV in the News
Chapter Four: Oh the Drama! The Many Sides of HIV in Dramatic Shows
Chapter Five: HIV as a Punchline: Comedic Narratives on Stage and Screen
Chapter Six: Didactic Dichotomy of HIV Narratives
Part Three - AIDS: The Body, The People, The Perceptions
Chapter Seven: Characters and the "AIDS Body"
Chapter Eight: Negative in Life, Positive on Screen
Chapter Nine: "Those People Are at Risk"
Part Four - Stay Tuned for Clips of Next Season
Chapter Ten: Overcoming the Barriers and Moving Forward
Appendix 1: Show Listing
Part One - Teaching HIV
Chapter One: Television as Teacher
Chapter Two: Conceptualizing HIV in the Media
Part Two - Previously On.... HIV on Television
Chapter Three: This Just In, HIV in the News
Chapter Four: Oh the Drama! The Many Sides of HIV in Dramatic Shows
Chapter Five: HIV as a Punchline: Comedic Narratives on Stage and Screen
Chapter Six: Didactic Dichotomy of HIV Narratives
Part Three - AIDS: The Body, The People, The Perceptions
Chapter Seven: Characters and the "AIDS Body"
Chapter Eight: Negative in Life, Positive on Screen
Chapter Nine: "Those People Are at Risk"
Part Four - Stay Tuned for Clips of Next Season
Chapter Ten: Overcoming the Barriers and Moving Forward
Appendix 1: Show Listing

