Overview

"The television industry is changing, and with it, the small screen's potential to engage in debate and present valuable representations of American history. Founded in 1972, HBO has been at the forefront of these changes, leading the way for many network, cable, and streaming services into the ""post-network"" era. Despite this, most scholarship has been dedicated to analyzing historical feature films and documentary films, leaving TV and the long-form drama hungry for coverage. In History by HBO: Televising the American Past, Rebecca Weeks fills the gap in this area of media studies and defends the historiographic power of long-form dramas. By focusing on this change and its effects, this book outlines how history is crafted on television and the diverse forms it can take. Weeks examines the capabilities of the long-form serial for engaging with historical stories, insisting that the shift away from the network model and toward narrowcasting has enabled challenging histories to thrive in home settings. As an examination of HBO's unique structure for producing quality historical dramas, Weeks provides four case studies of HBO series set during different periods of United States history. In each case, HBO's lack of advertiser influence, commitment to creative freedom, and generous budgets continue to draw and retain talent who want to tell historical stories."

Full Product Details

9798212163514

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

"Rebecca Weeks is a lecturer in the bachelor of art and design program at Media Design School in Auckland, New Zealand. She was the recipient of the Dame Joan Metge Post-Doctoral Research Award. In her youth PJ Wood was always fascinated with TV and broadcast production. With a BA in communication arts, her introduction to broadcasting began at a local television and radio station. She started as a part-time radio broadcaster, eventually moving into a full-time broadcast position immediately following college graduation. During these years in live radio, she developed her poise and professional ""on air"" reputation. She later left the broadcasting field to move into the healthcare corporate and nonprofit arenas, where she furthered developed her communication skills through in-person presentations, writing, and producing special events. PJ is now back in the booth with even more enthusiasm and joy for voice-over work than she had when she first began her career. In the spring of 2021, she began narrating and producing audiobooks and loves it! She particularly enjoys producing western romance and mystery/suspense stories; however, she is always exploring new genres that work well with her narration style."

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available