Synopses & Reviews
The second edition of this powerful analysis of African-Americans in the television insudtry since 1948 is completely updated. The increased visibility of blacks in television, the success of the Cosby Show and other sitcoms featuring black actors, and the impact of cable TV on programming are described in detail. Professor MacDonald traces the stereotyping, tokenism, and unfair treatment of blacks from the early days of the indsutry, but expresses his hope and belief that a new video order is materializing that will finally fulfill the bright promise of television.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 317-323) and indexes.
Table of Contents
PART ONE: THE PROMISE DENIED, 1948-1957. 1. The Promise. 2. Blacks in TV: Nonstereotypes versus Stereotypes. 3. Blacks in News Programs. 4. Bias in Video Drama. 5. The Perimeters of Black Expression: The Cases of Paul Robeson and Nat King Cole. PART TWO: BLACKS IN TV IN THE AGE OF CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, 1957-1970. 6. The Southern Factor. 7. Blacks and Network TV: The Early 1960s. 8. Actualities and Blacks in TV: The Early 1960s. 9. The Emergence of "Relevancy" in TV Production. 10. The Golde Age of Blacks in Television: The Late 1960s. 11. TV in the Age of Urban Rebellion. PART THREE: THE AGE OF THE NEW MINSTRELSY, 1970-1983. 12. TV and the Plitics of the Early 1970s. 13. Blacks in Television in the Early 1970s. 14. Norman Lear, Bud Yorkin, and the Flourishing of Racial Humor. 15. Blacks in Noncomedic Television. 16. The Black Televison Program. 17. The Roots Phenomena. 18. The Broadcast Synthesis: TV and African Americans by the Early 1980s. PART FOUR: BLACKS IN THE NEW VIDEO ORDER, 1983-PRESENT. 19. African Americans and the New Video Realities. 20. Toward a New Relationship in the Age of Cable. 21. The Cultural Debate.