Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling Contributor(s): Mittell, Jason (Author) |
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ISBN: 0814769608 ISBN-13: 9780814769607 Publisher: New York University Press OUR PRICE: $28.50 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2015 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Television - Screenwriting - Social Science | Media Studies |
Dewey: 808.225 |
LCCN: 2014040997 |
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6" W x 8.8" (1.10 lbs) 416 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: A comprehensive and sustained analysis of the development of storytelling for television Over the past two decades, new technologies, changing viewer practices, and the proliferation of genres and channels has transformed American television. One of the most notable impacts of these shifts is the emergence of highly complex and elaborate forms of serial narrative, resulting in a robust period of formal experimentation and risky programming rarely seen in a medium that is typically viewed as formulaic and convention bound. Complex TV offers a sustained analysis of the poetics of television narrative, focusing on how storytelling has changed in recent years and how viewers make sense of these innovations. Through close analyses of key programs, including The Wire, Lost, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Veronica Mars, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Mad Men the book traces the emergence of this narrative mode, focusing on issues such as viewer comprehension, transmedia storytelling, serial authorship, character change, and cultural evaluation. Developing a television-specific set of narrative theories, Complex TV argues that television is the most vital and important storytelling medium of our time. |
Contributor Bio(s): Mittell, Jason: - Jason Mittell is Professor of Film & Media Culture at Middlebury College. His books include Genre & Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture, Television & American Culture, and Complex Television: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling, and Narrative Theory and Adaptation. He is project manager for [in]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film & Moving Image Studies, and author of numerous video essays. |