Blog Post 3

CJ Severin 

As someone who has made art and decorated with televisions I found Anna McCarthy’s essay in Television after TV to be particularly interesting in that her approach to television studies looked both at television’s themselves as medium and at television audiences as viewers  so differently than the other texts we read in this half of the semester.  Whereas the majority of the other texts we’ve looked at have essentially meant “television” to be the thing which brings broadcast and cable programming into our homes, McCarthy examined how televisions work as parts of our everyday, non-domestic life, in and as a part of the world around us.  

My own most recent television-based project and its results can best be understood through McCarthy’s analysis of site specific television studies.  Last month for Halloween I was charged with the task of decorating for a friend’s house party and alongside the more traditional decorations I used multiple televisions playing different horror and Halloween movies to decorate and illuminate the house.  Following what McCarthy described, the televisions in areas with seats and in places where people were waiting got watched much more intently than those in hallways or more active areas, no matter what was playing on them; the wall of televisions in front of the living room couch, for example, was almost constantly being, if not watched, at least looked at.  

On the other hand, however, there was a television in the bathroom, the sole source of light in the space, which when almost entirely forgotten about.  The fact that this set, which was put in a place where the viewer was most isolated and had the most opportunity to focus solely on it, was ignored speaks to the relationship between the viewers and the content.  For traditional television content the viewer is present for the majority of the content, they form some sort of relationship with what they are watching, and even when they watch only parts of the content (as the viewers at the party did in the bathroom) they actively engage with programs/movies/advertisements.  McCarthy describes how engaging with programs in waiting areas both helps pass time and, if the loop of content is viewed multiple times, elongates it because of the nature of the bond between viewer and program.  The set in the bathroom then should fall into the first group by McCarthy’s analysis, but for some guests this was not the case because the film being shown filled the time spent in the bathroom in a negative way and thus blocked out; instead of having their own personal space away from Halloween, the party decorations intruded into their empty time and forced an uncomfortable personal engagement that many guests intentionally didn’t watch.  

The way that McCarthy approaches TV studies in her art and essay remind us that television is a medium in itself and not just a device to watch cable shows; she enables a type of study that goes beyond analyzing commercial broadcasting and looks at what active engagement means to television viewers when the content and the audiences are less predictable.

Spigel, Lynn, Jan Olsson, and Anna McCarthy. "Rhythms of the Reception Area: Crisis, Capitalism, and the Waiting Room TV." Television after TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition. Durham: Duke UP, 2004. 183-209. Print.

Blog Post 3: Late Night News

Late Night News 

    

 

               Jenkins believes that “making politics into a kind of popular culture [has allowed] consumers to apply fan expertise to their civic responsibilities.”  Forms of pop culture like photoshopped images, parody news shows, etc., have political effects because they represent “hybrid spaces where we can lower the political stakes (and change the language of politics) enough so that we can master skills we need to be participants in the democratic process” (Jenkins).  He provides The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as an example of a show that combines popular culture and political and current events.  The Colbert Report and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver also have similar functions and formats.  They all parody mainstream media news shows and critique their coverage of current issues. 
            The Colbert Report utilizes satire in order to make their points, the character Stephen Colbert is a caricature of a Republican pundit.  Funnily enough there are viewers who believe that Stephen Colbert, the person, is truly a conservative Republican and do not fully understand that he’s mocking them.  Even though this is a late night show on Comedy Central it is still informative.  When the Supreme Court ruled in the Citizens United case Colbert illuminated the process and involvement of the 501(c)(4) and Super PACs and what and how they can use their money by creating his own Super PAC.  Throughout a series of episodes portions were dedicated to his Super PAC “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” (parodying names of other actual Super PACs) and discussing the ramifications of the Court’s decision in where the money is coming from and where it is spent.  Colbert actually won a Peabody award for his SuperPAC segments as “innovative means of teaching American viewers about the landmark court decision” (Subramanian).
          Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is another show that mocks cable news.  What’s unique about this show is that since its broadcast on HBO it doesn’t rely on sponsors so Oliver can freely criticize corporations.  A benefit of having no advertising is that there are no commercials and thus more time to actually do journalism and provide more in depth reporting.  John Oliver can spend more time discussing important issues like payday loans in the United States, student debt from for-profit institutions of higher learning like University of Phoenix, or civil forfeiture.  These serious problems, which receive little to no air time on other news shows, are presented in an informative and humorous way.  
        All three shows have millions of viewers and are important to the national conversation.   For example if Jon Stewart disparages Bill O’Reilly on his show O’Reilly will then refute what Jon was discussing on his own show The O’Reilly Factor.  When they are being referenced in the mainstream media they are helping to bring certain issues to the forefront of cable news.  Even though they are biased they still bring up issues that perhaps the mainstream media is largely ignoring or not reporting on enough.  These shows educate the viewer through humor and provide other points of view than those in cable news.   
 

Citations:
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: When Old and New Media Collide
Subramanian, Courtney. http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/05/stephen-colberts-super-pac-satire-lands-him-a-peabody/

Blog Post 2: Interactive Television and VGHS

Interactive Television and Video Game High School

 

              With the advent of new technologies the relationship between the internet and television was explored by the major television networks and by computer manufacturers.  Initially devices that were created for television viewing and had internet access failed, mainly because, paradoxically, the technology was not advanced enough.  Products from companies like Microsoft were “confined to the slow business of dial-up Internet access” and “hurt by a history of network outages” (Boddy).  The ideas of interactive television could not fully be realized until the technology caught up.  Nowadays convergence between internet and television is so commonplace it just seems like an integral part of television viewing.  This convergence also led to a more personalized and interactive television. 
             Video Game High School (VGHS) is a great example of a product of televisual technologies.  VGHS is a live-action web series that takes place in the near future where video gaming is a professional competitive sport and popular all around the world.  At the elite high school students learn a curriculum entirely of video games so they can improve their skills.  The creators and writers of the show turned to Kickstarter for their funding, this action automatically creates an audience that is invested in the success of the show.  The backers from Kickstarter receive special rewards depending on the amount of money they contribute.  Perks range from a signed poster to getting executive producer credit and being able to observe any aspect of production or post-production.  Another interesting reward is “Film Camp” where the creators will teach you everything they know about online video and “help you with your channel/online video dreams” (Indiegogo.com).  This interactivity is beneficial to both the creators and viewers.  The web series platform provides more freedom for the creative personnel because they do not have to rely on and get input from studio executives at a network in order to make their project.      

             Since the web series was created for an online format there are many ways a viewer can watch Video Game High School.  You can access it for free on the production company’s YouTube channel or you can watch it directly on rocketjump.com, the production company’s website.  You can also pay for content via iTunes, Vimeo, and Amazon.  On Netflix there are two seasons available to stream, a behind the scenes documentary of the making of the show, and VGHS: The Movie which combines and edits the first two seasons into a feature length film.
             The relationship between television and the internet is continually being negotiated. Since the 1980’s we have seen many developments in televisual technology that have allowed for the convergence of television and internet.  As technology advances we will continue to witness the evolving interconnection between television and internet.

Citations:
Boddy, William. “Interactive Television and Advertising Form in Contemporary U.S. Television.” Spigel and Olson 113-162.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/video-game-high-school-vghs-season-3#activity

Blog Post #3

CNBC and Kensho Partner Up           

                       Media technology is constantly changing, allowing networks to provide more dimensional content for their viewers. While these new developments aid the industry, the industry’s success is reliant on the audience’s views, and therefore a well-informed and controlled audience.
            Caldwell argues in his piece “Televisual Audience: Interactive Pizza” that the media industry has been teaching audiences how to use new technologies for a while now. When the camcorder was first introduced in the 80’s, many people didn’t really know what to do with them, so the networks took advantage of the situation and taught them. “Although television itself had been a public target for hit-and-run interventions by tape activists in the first revolution, the tables were turned. Shows like America’s Funniest were instead public interventions into the private sphere”(275).

            So what did America’s Funniest “teach” audiences? It taught viewers that camcorders are narrow-mindedly for capturing family moments, for the purpose of creating keepsakes and personal nostalgia. The network limited the uses of the camcorder as to divert people from creating their own content for mass entertainment to keep competition and an entire industry upheaval from occurring.

            The New York Times reported on November 19^th that CNBC partnered up with Kensho, an analytic software company. This addition to CNBC’s newscasts will bring a new dynamic of insight to the audience. “The analytics will tell viewers and visitors to the CNBC website, for example, how energy stocks have historically responded after a huge snowstorm”. To the audience, the affiliation is showing them what to do with their stocks. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of power in swaying stocks (even if based off of accurate historical analysis), but CNBC is actually effecting the audience in another way.

            Just as with America’s Funniest Home Videos, CNBC is telling the viewer how this information/new advancement is best suited for use. In this case, CNBC is saying that data analysis technology should be used for following the stock market, even though the technology is in reality limitless. For example, a consumer could use Kensho’s software to analyze network or company spending to determine if they want to get involved with the organization, but instead CNBC is limiting the audience’s creativity and thereby keeping control.

            “In a news release, the companies said that they would also collaborate on digital products that bring ‘actionable insights and analytics to ordinary investors’.” This statement not only blatantly states the companies' manipulative thoughts (interesting word choices on their part), but also brings to question CNBC’s view of their audience. This brings the conversation to Miller. Miller discusses the difference in how the industry perceives their audience between Television Studies 1.0 and 2.0 in his book titled Television Studies: The Basic. Television Studies 1.0 treats the viewers as though they possess sponges for brains that will soak up anything presented to them in a brainwashing manner. Television Studies 2.0 sees television as completely not having any influence on the audience. By stating that they are presenting the audience with “actionable insights,” CNBC is claiming to provide suggestions which viewers should and will follow without questioning them, thereby controlling their audience.

Sources:

Caldwell, John Thornton. "Televisual Audience: Interactive Pizza."Televisuality: Style, Crisis, and Authority in American             Television. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1995. 249-83. Print.

Kaufman, Leslie. "A Partnership With CNBC Adds Context to Its News."The New York Times. The New York Times, 19                      Nov. 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

Miller, Toby. Television Studies: The Basics. London: Routledge, 2010. 110-45. Print.

Blog post #3

                    Reality show with the mordern audience

            Television is a vast, phosphorescent Mississippi of the senses, via which one may lose one’s sense of judgment and eventually one’s mind (Miller). Reality TV series such as America’s Next Top Model have ultimately become a staple of TV programing with obvious benefits to broadcasters in light of the fact that they are relatively not as expensive as producing scripted movies, and the fact that they can adapt to broadcast scheduling flexibility. However, the advantages they proffer to viewers are seemingly less clear.  Television critical theory since the mid-80s can be characterized by a certain amount of desperation: a frantic attempt to revive an audience it had originally helped to textually deaden (Caldwell) .In this way, programs that deem to capture audience viewership is relatively welcomed by networks regardless of what is communicated to the said audiences.

            Legitimate concerns surrounding the messages inherent in such a reality TV series are beginning to emanate. Television in the true sense is perceived as a model for social interaction as well as social behavior. This concept is especially true for young viewers who pick social cues from shows such as these. Caldewell writes that television viewer has never been passive-nor even typically theorized as passive by the industry are never be passive.(Caldwell) As we can see, America’s Next Top Model has come to portray sociocultural standards of how the feminine body is to be presented. The show consistently throws at viewers what it considers to be the ideal female body. Yet the models portrayed in the show are truly below what is medically considered healthy or natural body weights. The message transmitted to viewers are simply unhealthy and unrealistic notions which imply in the truest sense that a woman has to unhealthy for her to be beautiful. The concept that an individual can neither be too thin or too wealthy is all too prevalent within our society and is being propagated by such TV series.

             America’s Next Top Model, which is currently one of the most watched (Young) leaves many wondering why the show is such a success, when all it portrays or communicates is that for the typical woman to be considered beautiful, her body has to be conditioned to conform to relatively expensive beauty oriented regimens and unhealthy eating habits. The average female viewer of such a show basically is usually incapable of financing such beauty regimens. Hence, the beauty concept communicated on America’s Next Top Model tends to function as a dominant social context force, compelling women who are considered as being typical and average in society to be perceived as less attractive and less valuable than the women within society who are ridiculously thin or those who hold monetary, social or political power. It is paramount that as a society and as viewers of the TV phenomenon, we identify and realize that what such shows communicate are ideals that are oppressive, classist and sexist.

           Subjective assessments of appearances invariably have a significant effect on the psychological experiences and development of viewers. TV series such as America’s Next Top Model trigger subjective assessments in viewers, especially its female viewers thus propagating notions of body dissatisfaction. In situations when medical science has weighed in on media analysis, especially within the context of neurological effects of certain TV series, it was ascertained that the effects could be schizophrenic (Caldwell).Another notion portrayed by this TV series is the concept that to be tagged as beautiful, or valuable, viewers have to adopt the conventional middle class, conservative and largely white centric sensibilities, which are perceived as hallmarks of success. I perceive this as being highly racist. The show symbolizes the notion that those who embody the white, middle class standards by feigning eloquent speech via diminishing their accent or conditioning their bodies are rewarded with value and esteem (Julie-Ann).

             Images portrayed in TV series project a rather dangerous benchmark on what has come to be standard feminine beauty thus emitting powerful influence on the way the female body is viewed and consequently how women themselves view their bodies and their inner selves. It is important that society identifies, reveals and challenges the negative discourses that are being communicated by such series.

Works Cited

Caldwell, John Thornton. "Televisual Audience Interactive Pizza." Televisuality: Style, Crisis, and Authority in American Television. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1995. N. pag. Print.

Miller, Toby. Television Studies: The Basics. London: Routledge, 2010. 110-45. Print.

Scott, Julie-Ann. "Revising Bodily Texts to the Dominant Standard: A Feminist Rhetorical Criticism of the Makeover Episode of America's Next Top Model" 2013.

Molly Young. “Tyra Banks's unusual brand of feminism” Retrieved from http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/tyra-bankss-unusual-brand-feminism November 25, 2014

Blog Post 3

Julian Ryan Breyette

November 25^th, 2014

Professor Brent Smith-Casanueva

Blog Post #3

            In this last portion of our semester I found John Caldwell’s essay entitled “Televisual Audience: Interactive Pizza” extremely intriguing and coherent with the themes that we have discussed this semester. The thesis that I found most interesting is that television has always been interactive in the sense that networks never considered viewers as passive, but from the very beginning have known that television is an activity in which the user is engaged and observant, not passive, therefore making it the perfect tool for advertising. In the series Keeping Up With The Kardashians, advertising within the program is used constantly, proving the points that we have discussed in class as well as the thesis of Caldwell’s essay. 

            Caldwell, an author that I have enjoyed reading very much so this semester due to his wit and straightforward writing style says, “Broadcasters from the start did not see the viewer as a couch potato, but as an active buyer and discriminating consumer.” (Caldwell 254) This is the key point to consider in this essay, and in the program Keeping Up With The Kardashians, broadcasted on the E! Network. Within the program, advertising is included seamlessly from companies such as Fiji Water, Starbucks Corporation, Land Rover, Chanel, Mercedes Benz, and other highly profitable companies.

            Audiences of this program who do not study television or media in depth may not notice that this advertising is heavily included within the program. However this semester we talked extensively in class about how the truly effective form of advertising is not through traditional commercials. Commercials are often fast-forwarded through with newer technologies such as DVR, or sometimes envied entirely when programs are viewed via Netflix or another streaming source. But when the advertisements are incorporated into the programs themselves, the viewer observes them directly. Furthermore, the viewers of a show like Keeping Up With The Kardashians are most likely fans of the program, and the people pushing the products, further reinforcing the effectiveness of the advertising.

            I agree with Caldwell that television has always been interactive in the sense that networks have always known how to benefit from their viewers economically by using television as a marketing tool. The program Keeping Up With The Kardashians uses this industry-old method to advertise to their viewers without having to do so during the actual commercials. Both the networks and the companies advertising on them benefit from this arrangement because the products are advertised by people that the viewers admire, making them more likely to sell to the company's target consumers. For the the television personalities and networks the benefit comes from a substantial financial contribution for simply having Kim Kardashian sip a drink of Starbucks or step into her Mercedes Benz G-Wagon.

Blog Post 3: Problems with the Televisual Audience

Isabella Wood

109094674

CCS 313

Professor Smith-Casanueva

Blog Post #3: Problems With the Televisual Audience

The issue with televisual audiences is that they have become increasingly harder to reach. As media has expanded it has began to use different parts of the Internet as outlets. Now instead of people only receiving entertainment from a television-set there are multiple ways to access television shows and news programs. There are websites such as Hulu, Netflix, and HBOGO. Amazon and Yahoo also have television shows on their websites. People also use Apple TV and DVRs for immediate access to the shows that they want to watch. This limits people from watching shows that they might not have heard of before. Before when people only had a certain amount of channels and only the Television to watch it through, they watched all of the shows that came on. This made ratings pretty even. Now with all of these options, it’s difficult to get the majority of the audiences to watch one show. Also, now people are being pigeonholed into certain genres, so it’s difficult to get people to convert. When you watch a show on an Internet based entertainment medium, you receive suggestions for shows similar. Thus making people more willing to watch the shows that are suggested to them. All of this culminates into the problem of being able to reach a mass audience at one time.

The article Yahoo’s Tumblr Teams Up With TV Shows to Reach Their Audiences written by Leslie Kaufman, mentions how Yahoo which owns Tumblr, teamed up with The Voice in order to increase participation and gain a broader audience. It started during the most recent season finally when someone’s artwork from Tumblr was displayed in the background of a performance. The purpose of this was to reach the audience of Tumblr. “Yahoo is betting that Tumblr’s alliances with popular television shows like “The Voice” will help drive its growth.” (1) Tumblr has also attracted features of other shows like MasterChef and Halt and Catch Fire. Although there is a lot of optimism, there is still a small audience with Tumblr. It is the fastest growing social media, so it has that advantage, but it doesn’t have the audience like Twitter and Facebook. So, it still has not solved the problem to reach all audiences.

In Caldwell’s article Televisual Audience he mentions that audience is a very crucial component of television. He mentions that audiences are directed to use new media technologies because it will spark a new interest in what the audience is watching. He says, “Any discussion of the televisual audience, then, must look more closely at the specific appeals that such shows make specific to viewers.” (2) Shows are being made in certain spots to attract the audience to that spot.

A trend that has started because audiences are being directed into new forms of media is binge watching. It’s so common now that the term “binge-watching” was added to Webster’s Dictionary. Media sources, like Netflix, release shows that have been on television for a while and seven seasons will go up at a time. So, instead of watching once a week for a couple of years, now you can watch a whole series in less than a month. There is also the method of creating shows and releasing them by seasons. Netflix has put out shows like House Of Cards and Orange is the New Black, which have come out by season and have created quite a large following.

I believe that there is no issue in having enough people to watch these shows. There are people who watch television on a daily basis. The issue is what time they choose to watch these shows and the path that it will take them to get there. It is the way that media and entertainment outlets are set up now, people are given a narrow view of what is available. The solution to the problem could be solved if the direction of how to get to the show is improved.

Sources

1. Kaufman, Leslie. "Yahoo’s Tumblr Teams Up With TV Shows to Reach Their Audiences." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

2. Caldwell. "Televisual Audience." (n.d.): n. pag. Print.

Blog Post 2: Television is a Catering Service

Isabella Wood – 109094674

CCS 313.01

Brent Smith-Casanueva

Blog Post #2

Television is a Catering Service

The article Television Habits Leaving Cable Behind written by a Staff Writer of the Herald Tribune brings up the point that basic cable Television is becoming outdated. “The raw truth is, television simply fulfilling the needs of viewers anymore. The modern viewing audience has more sporadic habits than the audience of the past.” (1) Now, there are more mediums sprouting for audiences to indulge in their own visual pleasure.

When Television first became popular between the 1950s and 1960s there were a few basic programs with a newscast here and there. All shows had a set time and channel that they were shown on. If you weren’t ready to watch them at the time that they were on, then you missed it and that was that. Not to mention, the channels were also very limited. There were maybe only four or five.

Television now has completely changed in regards to what is available to the public audience. If you want to watch a certain show you can pretty much do that whenever you want to. “The time of watching is varied from live to on-demand.”

(2)

There is also a show for every interest on TV now. If you want to watch a thrilling show about drugs, might I suggest Breaking Bad? Or what if you want to watch a show about people competing to be the best chef? Have you seen Top Chef? What about Iron Chef? Or maybe you’re more in the mood for a comedy. Have you seen the latest episode of New Girl? If you’re in the mood for a genre, no matter how specific it is you will most likely find a show that correlates.

Not only are there many shows, but there are also a multitude of mediums to satisfy this continually developing audience. In the industrial world 98% of households own at least one Television set. (3)

Now producers of shows have to keep up with not only the content of their shows, but also how their show is being shown. The medium that the show is being shown through is just as crucial to the audience as what the show is about. If you have a show shown through only one medium then less people will watch it. Availability is what is most important now. “”The medium is the message” because it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action.” (4)

The development of Television is due to innovation and connection with the Internet. Now not only are there thousands of channels offered by our cable and satellite providers, but there are also other mediums to show Television shows from. If you have an Apple TV then you can use Netflix, Hulu Plus, Showtime on Demand, HBO GO, YOUTUBE, PBS, and more. That’s just one little box and it offers all of that. It’s more than a lifetime of programs to watch. “TV is more diverse, more diffuse, more popular, more powerful, and more innovative than ever.” (2)

References

1.     "Television Habits Leaving Cable behind." ASU Herald. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

2.     Miller, Toby, and Andrew Lockett. "P. 175-189." Television Studies. London: BFI Pub., 2002. N. pag. Print.

3.     "Digital Divide: Global Household Penetration Rates for Technology."Bright Side of News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

4.     McLuhan, Marshall. "Introduction." Understanding Media. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.