Notes on Critical Approaches to Television Criticism

Chapter II. Nature of TV Criticism (skipping historical information)

P. 31:  What criticism is not:  unsupported  opinions or necessarily negative (“analysis” better)

P. 29: What criticism is: systematic, descriptive, analyzing, interpreting.

Contains: thesis (proposition), rational argument and evidence.

Chapter I. Context of Criticism: Television and Society

Television use is heavy: in US, averages are 7.5 hours/day/set; 20,000 hours by end of HS.

Functions of television:

• Entertainment

• Socialize and educate

• Create community and consensus

• Information

Characteristics of television:

• Industry, (big) business

• Appliance

• Flow (coherent)

• Fragmented (incoherent)

Critical Analysis

• Interpret, understand experience

• Evaluate TV by standards of aesthetics, ethics, values, ideology.

• Uncover and create preferred and oppositional meanings