Divine Programming: Negotiating Christianity in American Dramatic Television Production 1996-2016
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AlbakiReads Editorial How American TV drama has negotiated Christianity and audience identity
How American TV drama has negotiated Christianity and audience identity
Charlotte E. Howell examines how dramatic television between 1996 and 2016 developed, marketed, and framed Christian representation amid changing ideas about “family-friendly” programming, middle-American audiences, and upscale niche viewers. Drawing on case studies and interviews, the book considers series including 7th Heaven, Friday Night Lights, Rectify, Supernatural, Jane the Virgin, Daredevil, and Preacher. Its analysis is organized around four approaches to religious representation—establishment, distancing, displacement, and use—across multiple genres and outlets. Howell argues that industry ambivalence toward religion, alongside shifting assumptions about desirable audiences, shaped portrayals of white Christianity and often moved them into fantastic genres.
Good fit for readers who enjoy
- Students and researchers of television, media, and popular culture
- Readers interested in religion’s representation within U.S. entertainment industries
- Those studying audience segmentation, television production, and cultural identity
Themes
Christianity on televisionTelevision production and marketingAudience nichesWhite middle-American identityReligious representation
Based on publisher information and book metadata.
Book Overview From the mid-90s to the present, television drama with religious content has come to reflect the growing cultural divide between white mi...
From the mid-90s to the present, television drama with religious content has come to reflect the growing cultural divide between white middle-America and concentrated urban elites. As author Charlotte E. Howell argues in this book, by 2016, television narratives of white Christianity had become entirely disconnected from the religion they were meant to represent. Programming labeled 'family-friendly' became a euphemism for white, middlebrow America, and developing audience niches became increasingly significant to serial dramatic television. Utilizing original case studies and interviews, Divine Programming investigates the development, writing, producing, marketing, and positioning of key series including 7th Heaven, Friday Night Lights, Rectify, Supernatural, Jane the Virgin, Daredevil, and Preacher.
As this book shows, there has historically been a deep ambivalence among television production cultures regarding religion and Christianity more specifically. It illustrates how middle-American television audiences lost significance within the Hollywood television industry and how this in turn has informed and continues to inform television programming on a larger scale. In recent years, upscale audience niches have aligned with the perceived tastes of affluent, educated, multicultural, and-importantly-secular elites. As a result, the televised representation of white Christianity had to be othered, and shifted into the unreality of fantastic genres to appeal to niche audiences. To examine this effect, Howell looks at religious representation through four approaches - establishment, distancing, displacement, and use - and looks at series across a variety of genres and outlets in order to provied varied analyses of each theme.
As this book shows, there has historically been a deep ambivalence among television production cultures regarding religion and Christianity more specifically. It illustrates how middle-American television audiences lost significance within the Hollywood television industry and how this in turn has informed and continues to inform television programming on a larger scale. In recent years, upscale audience niches have aligned with the perceived tastes of affluent, educated, multicultural, and-importantly-secular elites. As a result, the televised representation of white Christianity had to be othered, and shifted into the unreality of fantastic genres to appeal to niche audiences. To examine this effect, Howell looks at religious representation through four approaches - establishment, distancing, displacement, and use - and looks at series across a variety of genres and outlets in order to provied varied analyses of each theme.
Book Details Format: Paperback | Pages: 270 | Language: English | Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PR | ISBN: 0190054387
FormatPaperback
Pages270
LanguageEnglish
ISBN0190054387
EAN9780190054380
PublisherOXFORD UNIV PR
Publication Date2020-03-19
AccessoriesNo Accessory
ConditionNew
Product TypeQUALITY PAPERBACK BOOKS
Weight0.9 Pounds
Length9.1 Inches
Width6.1 Inches
Height0.7 Inches
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