Changes in the development of television technology have also played an important role in influencing films as well as television itself. The whole concept of “live television” in the early years of television resulted in often high-quality productions because performers such as Jack Parr, Milton Berle, Arthur Godfrey, Jack Benny, and others needed to be able to ad lib their performances to live audiences. With the advent of color television in the 1950s and 60s, as well as the increasing popularity of television, television posed a major threat to the Hollywood film industry, forcing the film industry to develop new techniques such as wider screens and higher quality film stock and sound.

The rise of the “made for television” movie also resulted in changes in how films were made for television. Because the screen size for television is smaller, directors had to made sure that actors were placed closer to each other within the frame. (One reason the films for the wide screen often do not work well on television is that material on the wide ends of the frame is often omitted.) They also often organized the narrative sequence knowing that there would be breaks for commercials.

As video cameras became lighter and smaller, news journalists were able to readily access and capture news events more readily than in the past. This resulted in the portrayals of battle scenes and dying soldiers in the Vietnam War, often referred to the as the first “television war,” something that had a strong influence on public opinion about the war. As Marshall McLuhan noted in a famous quote, “Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America — not on the battlefields of Vietnam.”

Links on the media and the Vietnam War

PBS: The American Experience: Vietnam

During the 1970s, the success of prime-time soap opera drama shows such as Dallas established the pattern of the weekly serial format. This led to more stylized, realistic shows such as Hill Street Blues in the 1980s that employed a more documentary approach and treatment of everyday urban issues. This paved the way for shows such as Homicide: Life on the Street (see also hlotslinks) directed by movie-maker, Barry Levinson, who employed a lot of innovative camera techniques and editing, including the continually-moving tracking camera that become commonly used in programs such as ER, Chicago Hope, and The West Wing. The more realistic focus on the larger context of crime in Homicide also paved the way for programs such as Law and Order.

Television content also started to slowly become more diverse. The Cosby Show in the 1980s portrayed a middle-class African-American family, although some critics charge that it served to only reinforce anti-welfare attitudes regarding the value of “hard work.” Programs such as Roseanne and The East Enders in the 1990s portrayed somewhat more realistic perspectives on the life of low-income families. And, in the 1990s, PBS introduced one of the first Hispanic drama programs, American Family. However, despite the fact that there are 36.2 million Hispanics in America (2000 census), there remains little programming with Hispanic actors or actresses, or about themes and experiences of interest to Hispanic audiences (current.org).

The 1980s and 1990s witnessed the rise of cable networks that served as a challenge to the control of ABC, NBC, and CBS over both prime-time drama shows and news broadcasts. The Fox Network introduced The Simpsons and Beavis and Butthead geared for an adolescent audience. CNN introduced the 24-hour news format as well as non-stop coverage of media events such as the O. J. Simpson trial or the death of Princess Diana. HBO, not restricted by censorship control of sponsors, introduced realist programming such The Sopranos.

Radio and Television History Sites

Media Services Television History Archive

Television History — The First 75 Years

History of Television

The Museum of Television and Radio

MZTV Museum of Television, Toronto

For further reading:

Bonner, F. (2003). Ordinary television: Analyzing popular TV. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Castleman, H., & Podrazik, W. J. (2003). Watching TV: Six decades of American television. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

Edgerton, G.R., & Rollins, P. (Eds.). (2003). Television histories: Shaping collective memory in the media age. Lexington, KT: University of Kentucky Press.

Hilmes, M., & Jacobs, J. (Eds.). (2003). The television history book. London: British Film Institute.

Newcomb, H. (Ed.). (2000). Television: The critical view. New York: Oxford University Press.

Module 3: Word document

Visual Literacy: Starting with the Image

Studying Images through Still Photography

Comics and Film Technique

Film Techniques

Lighting

Editing

Sound

Using Film Techniques to Convey Cinematic Meanings

Defining Purposes for Editing Decisions: Creating Storyboards

Analysis/Evaluation of Film Technique

Film History

Television History

Accessing On-line Films / Film Reviews / Ratings / Information

Animation and Special Effects

Film Study Methods

Writing about Films

Film Study Resources

Film Journals/Magazines

References

Teaching Activities