Essay final
LadyMe 
Chapter_13_Television_and_Video_Art.pptxThe Humanities Through the Arts Tenth Edition
Lee A. Jacobus │ F. David Martin
(NOTE: Pay particular attention to terms in italicized red font)
©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
1
Chapter 13
Television and Video Art
©McGraw-Hill Education.
2
Introduction
TV, the most widely used artistic medium in contemporary culture, grew out of radio broadcasts.
It has been shaped by the needs of advertisers.
Early television had limitations because of screen size, but not so much now with large screens in homes.
Technology such as large screens, surround sound, LCDs, and digital high definition have all changed television from the “small box” of the 1950s.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
3
Subject Matter of Television and Video Art
Television
Subject matter varies widely from drama, comedy, political and historical issues, and documentaries.
It can be realistic or surrealistic, animated or with real characters.
Video Art
Antithesis of commercial television.
More experimental than television because it does not have constraints of advertisers.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
4
Commercial Television, 1
History
For over 60 years, NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox Entertainment dominated.
In the past 20 years, cable and other streaming services have changed the way viewers watch television.
The television series
Early comedies reflected social or ethnic issues, with story lines viewers could identify with.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
5
Commercial Television, 2
The self-contained episode
Programs had beginning, middle, ending, and needed no preparatory information or explanation.
The television serial
The concept began in radio, and continues today.
Resolutions are only minor so viewers will continue watching.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
6
The Mini-Series
Rich Man, Poor Man, 1976, was the first prime-time serial based on a novel.
Roots, 1977, based on Alex Haley’s novel, was pivotal in many ways, including story line, number of viewers, and treatment of social/historical issues.
Never had so many Americans faced questions about slavery and what it meant to those who were enslaved.
It changed the way Americans thought about entertainment.
Fig. 13-4. Scene from Roots
©McGraw-Hill Education.
7
HBO Series
The Sopranos, 1999-2007, attracted audiences that network programming could not.
Each episode was not self-contained like network programming.
It changed the way Americans could view a series (“binge-watching”).
©McGraw-Hill Education.
8
HBO’s The Wire
Subject matter is crime drama focusing on frustrations of a police unit that uses wiretapping to catch drug traders.
Some critics say it could be the best drama ever produced for television.
Seeing city problems for what they are helps to clarify values we all must fight for.
All cities have the same complex problems that are addressed in the show.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
9
Focus on Downton Abbey
Opposite of Roots and The Wire in subject matter.
It became the most watched TV show in the world in 2013.
It portrays historical events as seen by the ones who experienced them.
How the characters react to social and political change is the appeal and why audiences keep watching it.
Fig. 13-8. Scene from Downton Abbey.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
10
Video Art
Avoids dramatic narrative involving tension, climax, or resolution.
Experimental in nature and radical in structure.
Dates back to 1950s.
Early artists include Nam June Paik, Peter Campus, Janine Antoni.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
11
Wrap-Up of the Chapter: Terms and People to Remember
Terms
Video Art
Television series
Self-contained episode
Television serial
Binge-watching
People and Programs
Nam June Paik
Peter Campus
Janine Antoni
Bill Viola
Rich Man, Poor Man
Roots
The Sopranos
The Wire
Downton Abbey
©McGraw-Hill Education.
