Research Catalog

Title

More than meets the eye : watching television watching us / John J. Pungente, Martin O'Malley.

Author

Pungente, John J.

Publication

Toronto : M&S, c1999.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

O'Malley, Martin

Description

254 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

"John Pungente has dedicated his career to the proposition that we are smarter than our television sets - notwithstanding some evidence to the contrary. Martin O'Malley for many years dedicated his television-watching time to nothing but baseball. Under Pungente's guidance, however, he has now discovered that there are other delights for the discriminating viewer. Together, in More than Meets the Eye, they offer readers an entertaining guide to critical viewing." "There is nothing wrong with television itself, as the authors see it: it's all part of our common culture. We may enjoy some programs more than others and some programs are certainly better made than others, but they all tell us something interesting about ourselves." "Controversial themes are tackled head-on. In a chapter entitled "Buy Me That" the authors deal with rampant commercialism, from toy-driven cartoons to product placement on sitcoms. (It's no accident that Walker, Texas Ranger, drives a Dodge pickup truck.) In "He Shoots, He Kills!" the authors argue that the issue of violence on television often misses the point - that news reports and professional sports may be far more disturbing than Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Beasties. And, in "Bishop Sheen Touches an Angel, " the authors delve into the complex issue of values, both religious and secular, that are purveyed as part of television's daily fare." "This is a thoughtful, insightful, and often surprising guide for worried parents, occasional couch potatoes, and all the rest of us who may think we sometimes spend too much time in front of the great "glass teat." Book jacket."--Jacket.

Subjects

• Television
• Television programs
• Television broadcasting
• Television criticism

Genre/Form

Television programs

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction: Ignatius, Meet Buffy! Buffy, Meet Ignatius! 1 -- 1 Inside Plato's Cave 20 -- 2 Vampires, Lawyers, Aliens, Doctors, and Cops 32 -- 3 All in the Family: Sitcoms as Modern Miracle Plays 63 -- 4 Bishop Sheen Touches an Angel: Values on Television 88 -- 5 He Shoots, He Kills! Violence on Television 111 -- 6 Buy Me That! Television and Consumerism 131 -- 7 Television's Funhouse Mirror: Soap, Talk, and Trash 153 -- 8 You Provide the Prose, I'll Provide the War: Television News 175 -- 9 Television Gives Good Grief: From JFK to Diana 200 -- Final Thoughts: Say Goodnight, Dick. Goodnight, Dick 222 -- Appendix 1 Media Education in Canada 227.

ISBN

0771071000 :

LCCN

cn^99930261^

OCLC

45500500

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library