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CS92PROD
Television Storytelling: Consuming Darkness
CHUM 362
Fall 2016
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: ANTH 361, FILM 362, AMST 362

This course investigates how and why a "dark sensibility" has emerged in television serials, with attention to its implications for television storytelling on the one hand, and for viewer practices and subjectivities on the other hand. While most evident on premium and basic cable channels, where it crosses dramatic and comedic genres, the downbeat tone has also been selectively incorporated into broadcast television and processed for wider distribution. What industrial and socio-cultural conditions have enabled such an affective shift in an industry that, since its early days, has been known for telling reassuring stories and promoting an ethic of consumption? Does the shift constitute a break, or can it be interpreted as an intensification of features long present in televisual formats? Is the contemporary taste for darkness among demographically valued viewers merely a marker of distinction, or does it reflect and reinforce a significant shift in mood among segments of the professional middle class? Can narratives about flawed protagonists, failed institutions, and limited possibilities nourish new forms of hope and provide resources for remaking subjectivities and reimagining futures?
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA FILM
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (ANTH)(CWRC)(FILM-MN)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-29-2024
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