Genre and Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture

258 Pages·2004·1.374 MB·English

by  Jason Mittell

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C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
GENRE
and
TELEVISION
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C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
GENRE
and
TELEVISION
From Cop Shows to Cartoons
in American Culture
Jason Mittell
ROUTLEDGE
NEW YORK AND LONDON
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Published in 2004 by
Routledge
29 W 35th Street
New York,NY 10001
www.routledge-ny.com
Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane
London EC4P 4EE
www.routledge.co.uk
Copyright © 2004 by Taylor & Francis Books,Inc.
RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica on acid-free paper.
All rights reserved.No part ofthis book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any electronic,mechanical,or other means now known or hereafter invented,in-
cluding photocopying and recording,or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission from the publishers.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mittell,Jason.
Genre and television:from cop shows to cartoons in American culture / by Jason Mittell.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-415-96902-6 (alk.paper) ISBN 0-415-96903-4 (pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Television serials—United States.2. Television program genres—United States.I.Title.
PN1992.3.U5 M55 2004
791.45’6—dc22 2003027169
Portions ofthis book have appeared in earlier versions in the following publications:
Chapter 1,“A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory,”Cinema Journal,40:3,Spring
2001,3-24.
Chapter 2,“Before the Scandals:The Radio Precedents ofthe Quiz Show Genre,”in The
Radio Reader: Essays in the Cultural History ofUS Radio Broadcasting,edited by Michele
Hilmes and Jason Loviglio (New York:Routledge,2002),319-42.
Chapter 3,“The Great Saturday Morning Exile:Scheduling Cartoons on Television’s
Periphery in the 1960s,”in Prime Time Animation: Television Animation and American
Culture,edited by Carol Stabile and Mark Harrison (New York:Routledge,2003),33-54.
Chapter 4,“Audiences Talking Genre:Television Talk Shows and Cultural Hierarchies,”
Journal ofPopular Film and Television,31:1,Spring 2003,36-46.
Chapter 6,“Cartoon Realism:Genre Mixing and the Cultural Life ofThe Simpsons,”The
Velvet Light Trap#47,Spring 2001,15-28.
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for Ruth – beyond categories
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction:Genres That Matter xi
1 Television Genres as Cultural Categories 1
2 Before the Scandals—Genre Historiography and the 29
Cultural History ofthe Quiz Show
3 From Saturday Morning to Around the Clock— 56
The Industrial Practices ofTelevision Cartoons
4 Audiences Talk Genres—Talk Shows and the 94
Intersections ofTaste and Identity
5 Policing Genres—Dragnet’sTexts and Generic Contexts 121
6 Making Fun ofGenres—The Politics ofParody 153
and Genre Mixing in Soapand The Simpsons
Conclusion:Some Reflections on Reality Television 196
Notes 202
Appendices 228
Index 232
vii
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Acknowledgments
Acknowledgment pages in academic books are practically genres unto them-
selves,with their own particular textual conventions — like noting the collab-
orative nature of scholarship — and associated reading practices — such as
flipping first to the acknowledgments to see who is thanked or snubbed.But
while they might be formulaic and routine,they can also be quite sincere.As
this project is the culmination ofa decade ofstudy,I have numerous people to
thank for their support,input,and participation in my work.
This project originated at University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Julie
D’Acci offered engaged direction and feedback from its inception to final draft,
providing invaluable guidance from the theoretical to the pragmatic, and
always offering more respect and encouragement than I could ever need.John
Fiske taught me how to read and teach theory,and Michele Hilmes made me
(finally!) appreciate the value of history — both with remarkable collegiality,
friendship,and optimism.Many other faculty offered key insights and inspira-
tion along the way, including Don Crafton,Vance Kepley, Jo Ellen Fair, Paul
Boyer,David Weberman,Ron Radano,and especially David Bordwell.My first-
class peers, with whom I shared, debated, discovered, and developed ideas
throughout my years in Madison, added immeasurably to this project, with
particular thanks to Daniel Marcus,Kevin Glynn,Tasha Oren,Derek Kompare,
Chris Smith, Dorinda Hartmann, Donald Meckiffe, Jennifer Wang, Bill
Kirkpatrick,Philip Sewell,Christine Becker,Jennifer Fay,Sally Ross,and Scott
Higgins.Four peers were especially generous with their friendship and intellec-
tual engagement,deserving ofmore thanks than can be expressed here:Michael
Kackman,Elana Levine,Ron Becker,and Paul Ramaeker.
As my geographic range widened,more guidance,advice,and support came
from Henry Jenkins,Joshua Meyrowitz,Michael Curtin,Allison McCracken,
Susannah Stern,Kathy Battles,Sue Murray,Annette Hill,and Brian Rose,all
adding to the scholarly soup along the way.At Georgia State University,a num-
ber of colleagues provided sympathetic input and encouragement,including
David Cheshier,Sujatha Sosale,Carol Winkler,Allaine Cerwonka,and most no-
tably Greg Smith and Ted Friedman.Finally at Middlebury College,I have ben-
efited tremendously from a vibrant community allowing me to finish the
manuscript with support and intellectual engagement.Special thanks to Brett
Millier, Michael Newbury, Holly Allen, Will Nash, Deb Evans, Tim Spears,
ix