Difference between pages "A History of TV Style (Discussion)" and "Concept of Star (Discussion)"

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'''All groups'''
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#Star image: a "structured polysemy" (p. 63) constructed from "media texts":
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#Explain the concept that goes by the terms, "technological manifest destiny" and "technological determinism." Why is it a ''mistaken'' notion when applied to TV?
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##Promotion
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#*What are some examples that you've seen that prove this concept is wrong? (Don't rely on the examples in the book and you can refer to technology other than that involving video or TV.)
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##Publicity
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#What is a kinescope? How were kinescopes created and what characterized how they looked?
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##Film roles
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##Criticism/commentary on those roles
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{{Gallery
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#'''Groups 3 and 4:''' Dyer argues, "The star image is used in the construction of a character in a film in three ways" (127), which are listed below. Pick one current movie star and one film. How is his/her star image used in the construction of that character? Explain.
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|title=Kinescope Machines
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#*Selective use
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|width=400
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#*Perfect fit
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|height=600
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#*Problematic fit
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|lines=1
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#Explain what Dyer's signs of ''character'' are (106+):
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|align=center
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#*'''Group 1:'''
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|File:Dumont Kinescope Machines.jpg|alt5=Dumont Kinescope Machines.|Dumont Network kinescope machines.
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#*#Audience foreknowledge
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}}
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#*#Name
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#*#Appearance
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''' Group 1'''
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#*#Objective correlatives
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#Outline the history of TV editing--listing the major technological changes. How did these changes have an impact on TV style?
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#*#Speech of character
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#Why type of editing equipment do you suppose was used to cut the following programs:
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#*'''Group 2:'''
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#*''All My Children'':
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#*#Speech of others
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#*''Northern Exposure'':
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#*#Gesture
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#*''Seinfeld'':
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#*#Action
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#*''Stranger Things'':
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#*#Structure
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#*#''mise-en-scene''
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'''Group 2'''
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#*Apply Dyer's 10 signs of character to one of the characters from ''Petrified Forest''. That is, use ''one'' of the main characters (see below) and then discuss how the signs of character are used to build that character.
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#List the elements of the production of ''I Love Lucy'' that make it significant to the history of TV style. Explain ''why'' each element is important.
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#**'''Groups 3 and 4:''' Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart)
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#What are examples of recent (within the past five years) programs that are shot the same way that ''Lucy'' was shot?
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#**'''Groups 1 and 2:''' Gabrielle Maple (Bette Davis)
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#
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#Dyer's signs of ''performance'' are (134):
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##'''Group 3:''' Facial expression
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'''Group 3'''
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##'''Group 4:''' Voice
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#The history of color TV is very complicated. Create a timeline that lists the significant events leading up to color TV's widespread implementation.
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##'''Group 1:''' Gestures
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#What impact did color technology have on TV style?
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##'''Group 2:''' Body posture and movement
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#What is the NTSC and why was it created?
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#*[[Image:FortApache YorkAndThursdayqq00 00 40qq00003.jpg|thumb|right|John Wayne and Henry Fonda in ''Fort Apache'']]On pp. 145-146, Dyer discusses how John Wayne's and Henry Fonda's performances in ''Fort Apache'' use performance signs--referring specifically to a scene that is illustrated here with a frame grab and [http://tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/Fortapache01-1.php online video]. Explain how performance signs function in this scene--with each group looking at one specific performance sign (see above). How would you analyze Bogart's performance signs in [http://www.tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/Petrifiedforest.php this scene]? (Dyer similarly discusses Bette Davis' performance in ''Little Foxes'', frame grabs for which are [http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/VisualStyleIllustrations02.php#davis available here].)
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<br style="clear: both;">
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'''Group 4'''
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==Recommended-reading questions==
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#When did the remote control first appear and what were the names of the early devices?
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#Richard Dyer defines "characters" as "constructed representations of persons" (89). And he argues that how a fictional character is defined has changed over the centuries. As the novel rose to prominence in the 19th century, so did a certain "novelistic conception of character" (93). Explain what Dyer means by each of these novelistic qualities of characters:
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#*How did they work?
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#*Autonomy
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#How do modern remote controls work and when did they become commonly used?
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#*Roundness
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#What have broadcast networks done to try to combat channel changing and distractions from "second screens" (that is, cellphones, tablets, laptops)?
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#*Development
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#*Interiority (how is this different for literature and film?)
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{{Gallery
 
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|title=Early Remote Controls
 
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|width=300
 
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|height=200
 
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|lines=1
 
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|align=center
 
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|File:1956 Zenith Remote Ad.JPG|alt1=Zenith remote-control ad (1956).|Zenith remote-control ad (1956).
 
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|File:Zenith Space Command.jpg|alt2=Zenith Space Command remote control unit.|Zenith Space Command remote control unit.
 
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|File:56zenith.jpg|alt3=Zenith Space Command receiving TV set (1957).|Zenith Space Command receiving TV set (1957).
 
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|File:Toshiba Remote Control CT-9863.jpg|alt4=A Toshiba remote control, photographed in 2009.|A Toshiba remote control, photographed in 2009.
 
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}}
 
  
 
== Bibliography ==
 
== Bibliography ==
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#Gary Copeland, "A History of Television Style," in Jeremy G. Butler, ''Television: Critical Methods and Applications'', '''third edition'''. Not included in fourth and subsequent editions of ''Television''.
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#Richard Dyer, ''Stars'', Second Edition, Supplementary Chapter by Paul McDonald (London: British Film Institute, 1998). [http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/DyerIllustrations_Post-2003.php See online illustrations.]
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[[Image:P3090218DyerButler.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Richard Dyer and Jeremy Butler, Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference, 9 March 2007.]]
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==External links==
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<br style="clear: both;">
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*[http://tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/Kinescope-TapeComparison.php Kinescope-Videotape comparison]
 
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*[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/Clorox.php Clorox commercials].
 
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*[http://tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/Laughin19680914.php ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''] (episode 15, 9/16/1968)
 
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*[http://youtu.be/gV0Ralac0w4 ''The Magic of Television''] (1941)
 
  
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[[Category:TCF311]]
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[[Category:TCF440/540 Discussion]]
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[[Category:TCF311 Discussion]]
 

Revision as of 21:25, 22 March 2017

  1. Star image: a "structured polysemy" (p. 63) constructed from "media texts":
    1. Promotion
    2. Publicity
    3. Film roles
    4. Criticism/commentary on those roles
  2. Groups 3 and 4: Dyer argues, "The star image is used in the construction of a character in a film in three ways" (127), which are listed below. Pick one current movie star and one film. How is his/her star image used in the construction of that character? Explain.
    • Selective use
    • Perfect fit
    • Problematic fit
  3. Explain what Dyer's signs of character are (106+):
    • Group 1:
      1. Audience foreknowledge
      2. Name
      3. Appearance
      4. Objective correlatives
      5. Speech of character
    • Group 2:
      1. Speech of others
      2. Gesture
      3. Action
      4. Structure
      5. mise-en-scene
    • Apply Dyer's 10 signs of character to one of the characters from Petrified Forest. That is, use one of the main characters (see below) and then discuss how the signs of character are used to build that character.
      • Groups 3 and 4: Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart)
      • Groups 1 and 2: Gabrielle Maple (Bette Davis)
  4. Dyer's signs of performance are (134):
    1. Group 3: Facial expression
    2. Group 4: Voice
    3. Group 1: Gestures
    4. Group 2: Body posture and movement
    • John Wayne and Henry Fonda in Fort Apache
      On pp. 145-146, Dyer discusses how John Wayne's and Henry Fonda's performances in Fort Apache use performance signs--referring specifically to a scene that is illustrated here with a frame grab and online video. Explain how performance signs function in this scene--with each group looking at one specific performance sign (see above). How would you analyze Bogart's performance signs in this scene? (Dyer similarly discusses Bette Davis' performance in Little Foxes, frame grabs for which are available here.)


Recommended-reading questions

  1. Richard Dyer defines "characters" as "constructed representations of persons" (89). And he argues that how a fictional character is defined has changed over the centuries. As the novel rose to prominence in the 19th century, so did a certain "novelistic conception of character" (93). Explain what Dyer means by each of these novelistic qualities of characters:
    • Autonomy
    • Roundness
    • Development
    • Interiority (how is this different for literature and film?)

Bibliography

  1. Richard Dyer, Stars, Second Edition, Supplementary Chapter by Paul McDonald (London: British Film Institute, 1998). See online illustrations.
Richard Dyer and Jeremy Butler, Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference, 9 March 2007.


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