Entertaining television
The BBC and popular television culture in the 1950s
Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Women Authors, Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Television
| Author: | Su Holmes | ISBN: | 9781526101600 |
| Publisher: | Manchester University Press | Publication: | November 1, 2015 |
| Imprint: | Manchester University Press | Language: | English |
| Author: | Su Holmes |
| ISBN: | 9781526101600 |
| Publisher: | Manchester University Press |
| Publication: | November 1, 2015 |
| Imprint: | Manchester University Press |
| Language: | English |
Entertaining television challenges the idea that the BBC in the 1950s was elitist and ‘staid’, upholding Reithian values in a paternalistic, even patronising way. By focusing on a number of (often controversial) programme case studies – such as the soap opera, the quiz/ game show, the ‘problem’ show and programmes dealing with celebrity culture - Su Holmes demonstrates how BBC television surprisingly explored popular interests and desires. She also uncovers a number of remarkable connections with programmes and topics at the forefront of television today, ranging from talk shows, 'Reality TV', even to our contemporary obsession with celebrity.
The book is iconclastic, percipient and grounded in archival research, and will be of use to anyone studying television history.
Entertaining television challenges the idea that the BBC in the 1950s was elitist and ‘staid’, upholding Reithian values in a paternalistic, even patronising way. By focusing on a number of (often controversial) programme case studies – such as the soap opera, the quiz/ game show, the ‘problem’ show and programmes dealing with celebrity culture - Su Holmes demonstrates how BBC television surprisingly explored popular interests and desires. She also uncovers a number of remarkable connections with programmes and topics at the forefront of television today, ranging from talk shows, 'Reality TV', even to our contemporary obsession with celebrity.
The book is iconclastic, percipient and grounded in archival research, and will be of use to anyone studying television history.
