Course Syllabus

Glued to the Screen: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture

 

 

Tv Shows (from top left to right bottom): Stranger Things (2016-), The Kingdom (1994-97), Scenes From a Marriage (1974), Top of the Lake (2013-17), Twin Peaks (1990-91; 2017), The Mandalorian (2019-), Game of Thrones (2011-19), I Love Lucy (1951-57) and Tales From the Loop (2020-).

Semester & Location:	Spring 2024 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Film Studies, Media Studies, Communication
Prerequisite(s):	None
Faculty Member:	Morten Egholm mge@dis.dk
Time & Place:	Monday & Thursdays 13.15-14.35 in the DIS Movie Theatre in V23

 

Course Instructor

Morten Egholm

Ph. D., Film Studies, University of Copenhagen, 2009. Cand. mag., Scandinavian Studies, Film and Media Theory, University of Copenhagen, 1997. Associate professor, Danish Language, Literature and Culture, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, 2002-2006. Has written several articles in Danish, English and Dutch on film history, Danish literature, Danish mentality, and European and American TV series. Editor (2010-2015) and peer reviewer (2015-) of the film journal Kosmorama. With DIS since 2008, since January 2012 as full time faculty.

Course Description

From broadcast syndication to Netflix binge watching, our experience with television is constantly changing. Yet, what persists is its power to reflect and shape our societies’ norms and values. This course introduces the notion of TV as a cultural forum, a social regulator, and a reflection of many of the most important existential questions in our time. Using examples from American and European (especially Scandinavian) television, we will analyze how TV operates by working through social and existential issues, and how TV shows mirror societal concerns and assumptions.

At the same time, the course offers an introduction to television history in the USA and Europe/Scandinavia, on the one hand presenting the rise of television and streaming in its various organizational forms (e.g. BBC in 1936, DR (in Denmark) in 1951, HBO in 1972, and Netflix in 1997), and on the other, looking at specific television genres and programs in the social contexts from the time in which they were made. Furthermore, the focus will be esthetically, focusing on the narratological and stylistic development of audiovisual storytelling. Each class will concentrate on one period, theme or aspect of television history and/or analysis.

We will – either with episodes watched in total length (as homework) or with small extracts shown in class – focus on 1) works with TV historical importance when it comes to contemporary reception (e.g. I Love Lucy, Miami Vice, M*A*S*H, The Twilight Zone, Dallas, Dynasty, The Cosby Show, Monopoly, The Killing, Borgen, Shame, Roots, Mad Men, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and The Mandalorian) and/or 2) works that have contributed to bring television to new places thematically, narratological, and/or stylistically (e.g. Twin Peaks, Scenes From a Marriage, The Kingdom, The Young Pope, The Decalogue, Top of the Lake, Breaking Bad, The Affair, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Lost, The Leftovers, Tales from the Loop, Homeland, Homecoming, and Fargo). The approach will be analytical, esthetical, and historical.

Tying in with the TV-historical side of the course, in the latter part of the course we will take a detailed look at the revolution in moving images which started with time-shifting devices such as VCR, larger selections of cable channels, and the remote control, and which is now present in streaming services, youtube videos and a convergence between TV and film material. How does television ”after” television maintain its social significance also when watched individually on personal screens?

To cover as many relevant analytical and historical approaches as possible, the course will be divided in to the following six thematic blocks:

I: The Beginnings of Televsion (2 classes)

II: The Biggest Classical TV Genres: Sitcom, Soap, and Crime (7 classes)

III: Televised History Lessons (2 classes)

IV: Fantasy and Magic Realism (2 classes)

V: Art House and Auteur TV (4 classes)

VI: The Rise of Streaming Services and Web Series (5 classes)

 

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, each student will have gained:

• A sound knowledge of the history of television (mainly TV fiction) in the Western hemisphere and its relation to cultural and social conditions.
• An understanding of basic procedures of media analysis.
• The ability to produce an academic research paper demonstrating critical media literacy and the ability to interpret and discuss the history of TV and particularly fiction, in the U.S. and partly in Europe/Scandinavia.

TV Episodes

For this class we will be watching 28 tv episodes in total length, almost all of them will be homework. 24 of the episodes can be found under Modules here in Canvas (either as a canvas file or a canvas link), 3 can be found on the Nordic version of Netflix (and do also have a link in Canvas Modules). The episodes we are analyzing in total length are:

Title:	Year:	Access:
Marty	1953	Canvas File in Modules
The Lucy Show	1963	Canvas File in Modules
The Addams Family	1964	Canvas File in Modules
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	1965	Canvas File in Modules
All in the Family	1971	Canvas Link in Modules
Scenes From a Marriage	1974	Canvas Link in Modules
Holocaust	1978	Canvas File in Modules
Monopoly	1978	Canvas File in Modules
Dynasty	1980	Canvas Link in Modules
Twin Peaks	1990	Canvas File in Modules
The Kingdom	1994	Canvas Link in Modules
Six Feet Under	2001	Canvas File in Modules
Breaking Bad	2008	Netflix
Modern Family	2009	Canvas File in Modules
The Bridge	2011	Netflix
Game of Thrones	2011	Canvas File in Modules
Top of the Lake	2013	Canvas File in Modules
Shame	2016	Canvas Link in Modules
The Young Pope	2016	Canvas File in Modules
Stranger Things	2016	Netflix
Killing Eve	2018	Canvas File in Modules
Klovn	2018	Canvas File in Modules
Beforeigners	2019	Canvas File in Modules
The Mandalorian	2019	Canvas File in Modules
The Ambassador	2020	Canvas File in Modules
Tales from the Loop	2020	Canvas File in Modules
Kamikaze	2021	Watching together in class
Lord of the Rings	2022	Canvas File in Modules

 

NB! Please note that the list is chronological in order to give you a historical overview. We will not view the shows in exactly that order, here you have to follow the Course Summary below. A full chronological list with the canvas link to the above mentioned titles, and where some suggested, relevant viewings (which all will be mentioned in classes) are added, can be found here: $CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/modules 

 

Readings

All readings can be found here on Canvas in Files

Anderson, Christopher. “HBO: Producing an Aristocracy of Culture in American Television,” in The Essential HBO Reader, eds., Gary R. Edgerton and Jeffrey P.Jones, Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2009.

Arnold, Sarah. "Netflix and the Myth of Choice/Participation/Autonomy", in The Netflix Effect, Bloomburry, 2016

Boddy, William. "The Beginnings of American Television" in: Television: An International History, Oxford University Press, 1998

Forrest, Jennifer and Sergio Martinez. "Remapping socio-culturual specificity in the American remake of The Bridge" in: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, Vol. 29, no. 5, Routledge, 2015.

Gjelsvik, Anne. "Unspeakable Acts of (Sexual) Terror as/in Quality Televison" in: Women of Ice and Fire: Gender, Game of Thrones and Multiple Media Engagements, Bloomsburry, 2016.

Matt Hills. ""I'll See You Again in 25 Years": Paratextually Re-commodifying and Revisiting Anniversary of Twin Peaks" in Return to Twin Peaks, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

Jenkins, Henry: ""Do You Enjoy Making the Rest of Us Feel Stupid?": alt.tv.twinpeaks, the Trickster Author, and Viewer Mastery*" in: Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture, New York University Press, 2006

Mintz, Lawrence E. "Ideology in the Television Situation Comedy" in Studies in Popular Culture, Vol. 8, No. 2, 1985.

Mittell, Jason. "Narrative complexity in contemporary American television." The velvet light trap 58, no. 1 (2006): 29–40.

Sylvertsen, Trine M. "Public Service Broadcasting" in: A Future for Public Service Television, Goldsmith Presss, 2018.

Tyron, Chuck. "TV Got Better: Netflix's Orignal Programming Strategies and Binge Watching" in Media Industries Journal 2.2, 2015.

Evaluation and Grading

Grading breakdown 

Assignment	Percent
Short paper (3 pages/1000 words)	20 %
Individual class presentation	20 %
Final paper	30 %
Class Participation	30%

 

Short Paper

A 3 pages/1000 words paper where you can choose between the two following possibilites:

1) Analyze one of the series covered in class (incl. the ones we have only seen an extract or framegrab from) in a genre persepctive. Example: 'I Love Lucy' as a typical sitcom of the 1950's and 1960's

2) Compare two of the series covered in class (incl. the ones we have only seen an extract or framegrab from) on a thematic, narratological and/or stylistic level. Example: The Depiction of Criminals in 'The Alfred Hitchcock Hour' and 'The Bridge'

At least two academic sources are required. The Short Paper is due March the 3rd at 23:59 (submit it on Canvas or e-mail it to mge@dis.dk).

 

Individual Class Presentation 

Each student has to pick one of hers/his favorite TV shows and present it for 6-8 minutes for the class. A well chosen small clip (max. 2 minutes) from the show is expected as part of the presentation. The presentation should be e-mailed as a power point presentation to me (mge@dis.dk) at least 15 minutes before class starts. 

 

Research Paper

The topics for the research paper are decided by the student and the instructor together. It can be on (or relate to) subjects and TV shows dealt with in the course, but it is also fine to analyze shows chosen by the student. At least 3 academic sources are required.

Suggested structure of your paper:

1. Table of contents.
2. Introduction:
   • Presentation of the subject to be investigated.
   • An overview of the contents.
   • A comment on the methodology.

3. Analysis: Short description(s), comments, discussions, comparisons.
4. Summary and conclusion.
5. Notes & Bibliography.

In the Introduction, the factual material is presented. The main emphasis, though, should be on the analysis - that is: your personal discussion of the material. It is necessary to present the substance of the topic through paraphrasing and quotations (remember, always to footnote/endnote sources of direct quotations), but it is not sufficient only to paraphrase. The analysis of the material - your personal understanding and interpretation - is the important part of the paper. The paper should normally include a relatively detailed analysis of one of the TV works you have seen within the subject.

Length: Appr. 6 type written pages, or approx. 1800 words.

The Research Paper is due May the 12th at 23:59. Submit it on Canvas (or e-mail it me: mge@dis.dk).

 

Participation grade 

Participation in class requires being prepared to discuss the readings and to reflect on them in class. Any attempt at making a point that is relevant in relation to readings and audiovisual material will be welcomed and noted. 

Approach to Teaching

Teacher's comment: I hold that learning happens not only when attaching new concepts and facts to your individual pre-existing experiences, but also when being challenged by something initially foreign and mystifying, which may force you to re-think what you already knew. So, in class I will on the one side try to make sense of things together with students, and on the other side be ready to supply what I believe to be the missing pieces to that puzzle. Not least, the chance to be challenged in my own knowledge structures and opinions is a great fringe benefit for myself.

Expectations of the Students

Teacher's comment: My basic assumption about students is that you are present because you are interested in the subject on offer. For this reason, I expect that you will wish to prepare in advance, contribute to the learning situation with informed reflections and questions, and try to find out more about anything you realize you do not yet grasp or simply want to follow up on. 

To allow for the best possible learning climate, please don't take out your laptops or phones unless called for.

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

 

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