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television



  • The Writers' Strike Opens Old Wounds

    by Kate Fortmueller

    The plot of each sequel of negotiations between the producers and writers has followed a formula of compromise for mutual self-preservation. Technological advances have convinced studio heads that they no longer need the labor of writers enough to keep compromising. 



  • Who's Afraid of a Black Cleopatra?

    by Gwen Nally and Mary Hamil Gilbert

    The controversy over the portrayal of Cleopatra by the Black British actress Adele James highlights the difficulty of reading modern ideas of race and identity back onto the past. But more interesting questions arise around why people in the present seek commonality with past figures. 



  • "Generation Connie": A News Anchor and Her First-Generation Namesakes

    The practice of choosing American names for immigrant children coincided with the peak of Connie Chung's career as the national face of CBS News. Adopting her name symbolized mobility and potential for a generation of Asian American women recently come of age. 



  • When Mississippi Banned Sesame Street

    As Mississippi prepared to launch a state-run educational television network in 1970, its members voted 3-2 that images of a multiracial group of children at play on "Sesame Street" would antagonize conservative politicians and jeopardize the network's funding.


  • How Should Popular Culture Convey History?

    by Walter G. Moss

    A recent plot point in Netflix's "The Crown" was based on a falsification of historical events. Historians who want to influence public knowledge of history need to be able to match the narrative appeal of television with a commitment to telling the truth. 



  • "A League of Their Own" Update Engages Lives of Queer Women in the 1940s

    by Lauren Gutterman

    "The series’ portrait of queer life amid World War II might seem unrealistic to some, but history reveals that queer women and trans men — from butch to femme and married to unmarried — often found opportunities to act on their desires and build queer communities."



  • "Rings of Power" Speaks to a War-Hungry Audience

    by Daniel Bessner

    Inspired by Tolkien's experiences in the Great War, his fantasy books have been taken as allegories for the fight against Nazism, the Cold War, and the War on Terror. The new series reflects the anxieties of an American empire with neither a clear enemy nor the imagination to abandon militarism. 



  • New TV Shows Reduce "Black Excellence" to Materialism

    by Tanisha C. Ford

    Equating excellence with opulence, and portraying the Black wealthy as champions of progress, ignores many of the ongoing concerns of Black Americans and highlights historically significant class divisions among African Americans.