Politics and Politicians in Contemporary US Television

by Betty Kaklamanidou (editor), Margaret Tally (Editor)

Bringing together well-established scholars of media, political science, sociology, and film to investigate the representation of Washington politics on U.S. television from the mid-2000s to the present, this volume offers stimulating perspectives on the status of representations of contemporary US politics, the role of government and the machinations and intrigue often associated with politicians and governmental institutions. The authors help to locate these representations both in the context of the history of earlier television shows that portrayed the political culture of Washington as well as within the current political culture transpiring both inside and outside of "The Beltway." With close attention to issues of gender, race and class and offering studies from contemporary quality television, including popular programmes such as "The West Wing," "Veep," "House of Cards," "The Americans," "The Good Wife "and "Scandal," the authors examine the ways in which televisual representations reveal changing attitudes towards Washington culture, shedding light on the role of the media in framing the public s changing perception of politics and politicians. Exploring the new era in which television finds itself, with new production practices and the possible emergence of a new political genre emerging, "Politics and Politicians in Contemporary U.S. Television "also considers the humanizing of political characters on television, asking what that representation of politicians as human beings says about the national political culture. A fascinating study that sits at the intersection of politics and television, this book will appeal to scholars of popular culture, sociology, cultural and media studies."

178 pages, Hardcover

Published October 21, 2016

Reviews

[Rafael Nardini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para começar, tenhamos bem claro: até aqui o evento de maior impacto na campanha eleitoral para a Presidência da República no Brasil - assim como nos EUA - foram produzidas pela televisão. Foi a velha TV, não foram as redes sociais. Não foram os canais de YouTube, não foram as correntes de asneiras no WhatsApp ou no Telegram, mas é a velha televisão de sinal aberto que vem gerando os fatos mais determinantes da corrida eleitoral.
Há ainda outro aspecto que fortaleceu a TV. Embora o jornalismo dito convencional tenha perdido espaço na dieta informativa (e desinformativa) das sociedades democráticas, a pandemia levou as pessoas a buscarem informações confiáveis na imprensa profissional, especialmente nos telejornais.
Houve ai um ganho de credibilidade, que também contribuirá para que eleitores e eleitoras olhem com alguma atenção para o horário eleitoral.
Os marqueteiros mais sabidos sabem que, em tempos de tecnologias digitais, alguma coisa no eleitor ainda é analógica.