The Civil Rights Movement: The Power of Television

Overview: “I am not a nigger” (Thomas). These five words seared through American television screens in May of 1963. James Baldwin, a preacher and novelist, declared his freedom from the chains of discrimination in an interview with Kenneth Clark and forever changed the conscience of black and white television owners. When asked if he was optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the nation, Baldwin made one thing clear: the fate of America lies within the ability to answer the question, why was the ‘nigger’ created? Born in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin grew up following in his father’s footsteps as a preacher, then went on to work on a railroad in New Jersey and eventually became a freelance writer and moved to Europe. Despite spending the majority of his adult life in Paris, Baldwin demonstrated the power of media by never ceasing to tell the story of his life as black man living in America, the influence of brotherhood, and the power of voice (Reference.com). Moments similar to Baldwin’s interview validate the reign of television and the impact of media on the Civil Rights Movement. During the interview, all the personal challenges that James Baldwin faced become apparent in his mannerisms, his gestures, and in every one of those five words. Baldwin’s unique and articulate comments, combined with access to the majority of American citizens via television media, left an impression that would span across states and decades. Commonly heard legal and moral arguments on injustices such as segregation and discrimination paled in comparison to Baldwin’s interview. It must be noted that the impact media had on the Civil Rights Movement was not unintentional by organizational leaders. For that reason, this paper will examine the use of television as a means to build momentum towards change, the implications of peaceful demonstrations on public consciences, the Church and its role in sustaining the movement via media, and the ability of unbiased television to shatter stereotypes. Despite the prominence of racially biased television and media during the Civil Rights Movement, coverage of demonstrations and interviews of protestors sparked national interest and quickened the pace towards racial equality. By employing understanding I have gained from documentaries, footage of demonstrations, online encyclopedias, journal articles, essays, and personal perspectives given by journalists who themselves covered the Civil Rights Movement, I intend to inform my reader about the implications of media coverage during the Civil Rights Movement

Small Town America Under the “Lights”: Contemporary Images of Rural America in the Series Friday Night Lights

What is Small Town America? The answer to this varies based on a person’s experiences. This is not always from real-world exposure, but often vicariously through television. For some, television is the only opportunity to create a perception for such areas. For others, television could reinforce or sway their perceptions of Small Town America. Therefore, a comprehension of the identity for Small Town America broadcasted through the small screen is important. This research utilized the theory of semiotics to analyze cinematography and mise-en-scene in the opening credits of Friday Night Lights to unearth the themes and overarching ideology for Small Town America conveyed by the series. A modern depiction of rural America that played on considered “traditional values” arose. Unexpectedly, the research also unveiled the inability for an “authentic” or cohesive identity for Small Town America, or any person, location or group for that matter, to exist

Employment Expectations in Television 1955-1960 Report

A report of a survey conducted by the Radio-Television Department of Columbia College, Chicago of the working leadership of America\u27s television stations, networks and allied organizations focused on employment prospects in television stations during 1955 to 1960 in the United States.https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cldocs/1003/thumbnail.jp

Television beyond itself in Latin America

Television in Latin America continues to be an important medium for the population; politics, history, the market, and especially the culture and its audiences keep television alive. In spite of the fact that millennials enjoy television from a variety of screens, television contents remain as a reference in everybody´s audiovisual experiences. With changes in its reception, production, programming, and business models, television “exploits”, instead of disappearing, amplifying itself into the televisual, keeping itself as a multicultural experience, and as a unique opportunity for its audiences’ reinvention of themselves

Television beyond itself in Latin America

Television beyond itself in Latin Americ

American Culture: A Sociological Perspectives

The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western origin but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Pacific Island, and Latin American people and their cultures. American culture encompasses the customs and traditions of the United States. The United States is sometimes described as a "melting pot" in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct "flavors" to American culture. The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world\u27s most dominant economic and military power. Likewise, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television. The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western culture (European) origin and form but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Polynesian, and Latin American people and their cultures. The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America. It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

La Televisión más allá de sí misma en América Latina

Television in Latin America continues to be an important medium for the population; politics, history, the market, and especially the culture and its audiences keep television alive. In spite of the fact that millennials enjoy television from a variety of screens, television contents remain as a reference in everybody´s audiovisual experiences. With changes in its reception, production, programming, and business models, television “exploits”, instead of disappearing, amplifying itself into the televisual, keeping itself as a multicultural experience, and as a unique opportunity for its audiences’ reinvention of themselves

A Kindler, Gentler Time : How Pleasantville and The Truman Show Fix the 1950s Suburban Ideal

The Truman Show and Pleasantville both present a vision of the 1950s that is manufactured and mediated by television. I attempt to explain this using Lauren Berlant\u27s model of the pilgrimage narrative, in which a character encounters true America in Washington, DC. Instead of locating America in the nation’s capital, though, I argue that these films locate America in the idealized suburbs of the 1950s. I propose that this pilgrimage differs from the one Berlant outlines in one crucial way: the capital can be visited at any time, but if America is really located in 1950s suburbia, then citizens of the 1990s have missed the boat on encountering the nation. The anxiety that “real” America may be a relic of the past may help explain why both these movies’ versions of the 1950s have to be constructed by television. Both films associate the 1950s with the camera of the television show, which they depict as manipulable and unreliable. In contrast, they associate the perspective of the 1990s with the seemingly objective camera of the film itself. The television shows in both movies construct a version of the 1950s that is “fixed” by 1990s values, erasing or repairing the racism and sexism associated with the decade. At the same time, though, in refusing to allow women to partake or succeed in pilgrimages, and in excluding people of color from meaningful roles in the narrative, both films ultimately advance the argument that the only people equipped to successfully encounter the nation are white men

Roone Arledge: A Tribute

The death of Roone Arledge this past week marks the passing of one those remarkable figures in recent history who had a major influence on mass culture in America. He changed the viewing habits of Americans, transformed the way in which television covers sport, altered the nature and character of American sport, and transformed the way in which television presents reality to the American public. For all of these reasons Roone Arledge cast a large shadow over America in the second half of the twentieth century

Fahrenheit 451: Tempreture Rising

Fahrenheit 451 is acknowledged by many theorists as one of the most symbolic dystopias of the twentieth century, and although the novel has been analyzed extensively with a focus on the influence of mass communication, no study has addressed the hyperreal factors of television in Bradbury\u27s world. Bradbury has expressed his concern about the influence television has on the masses, not only in his fictional dystopia, but in American society today. Television\u27s capability of mass-producing simulacra promotes hyperreality, which results in a distortion of meaning and implosion of reality. This study will use Jean Baudrillard\u27s theory of hyperreality as a frame to examine the influence television has on the world of Fahrenheit 451 and compare it to television\u27s influence in post-modern America, specifically the post-9/11 era. It will address the medium of entertainment, primarily reality TV, to examine how television is used to distort meaning in human relationships, spirituality, and history in both societies. It will also examine how media corporations have taken on many qualities of entertainment programs. The study will also include an analysis of how television has influenced the social and political factors in both societies, and entertain Baudrillard\u27s claim that America can go beyond the imaginary of science fictions novels like Fahrenheit 45