Dreams in American Television Narratives: From Dallas to Buffy, Bloomsbury Academic
by Cynthia Burkhead
Dreams in Television Narratives is the first comprehensive analysis of one of American television's most frequently utilized tropes, the dream. From its beginning, television has been a storytelling medium. Whether delivered to a live audience or played out on a sound stage, narratives and those who write them have always been the crux of the television program. While film can claim a long history of scholarly inquiry into the connection between film and dreams, no comprehensive research exists on the subject of television dreams. Locating its primary function as narrative, the author uses examples from American sitcoms and dramatic programs, analyzing the narrative functions of dreams using, as its frame, Carl Jung's narrative stages of the dream: exposition, development, culmination, and conclusion. While television dreams are analyzed throughout, case studies of the television programs The Sopranos and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are included to show in detail how dreams function throughout a television series. Includes a compendium of over 1000 television episodes that include dreams, a valuable tool for any television scholar or enthusiast.
"In this deftly written, cogent, comprehensive, and pioneering study, a must read for every fully conscious TV scholar, Cynthia Burkhead not only wakes up television studies to the neglected oneirics of its intricate narratology but provides some dreamy interpretations of the most engaging and essential televisual reveries. -- David Lavery, Author Of Joss Whedon, A Creative Portrait From Buffy The Vampire Slayer To Marvel's The Avengers Dreams in American Television Narratives: From Dallas to Buffy is a pioneering study of a cutting-edge topic. This book offers an engaging examination of 'television dreaming' in American-produced TV drama, showing how dreams function not only to deepen and extend TV drama stories, but also as vehicles for the psychological probing of television's most intriguing characters. Focusing on TV dramas of the last three decades - from the 1990s 'quality' era to the most audacious examples of 'complexity' from recent years - this study demonstrates that the increased prevalence and significance of dreams in American TV drama owe much to the multi-layered, serialised modes of storytelling that increasingly define this once formulaic and episodic programme category. -- Trisha Dunleavy, Associate Professor Of Media Studies At Victoria University Of Wellington, New Zealand, And Author Of Television Drama: Form, Agency, Innovation"
by Cynthia Burkhead
Dreams in Television Narratives is the first comprehensive analysis of one of American television's most frequently utilized tropes, the dream. From its beginning, television has been a storytelling medium. Whether delivered to a live audience or played out on a sound stage, narratives and those who write them have always been the crux of the television program. While film can claim a long history of scholarly inquiry into the connection between film and dreams, no comprehensive research exists on the subject of television dreams. Locating its primary function as narrative, the author uses examples from American sitcoms and dramatic programs, analyzing the narrative functions of dreams using, as its frame, Carl Jung's narrative stages of the dream: exposition, development, culmination, and conclusion. While television dreams are analyzed throughout, case studies of the television programs The Sopranos and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are included to show in detail how dreams function throughout a television series. Includes a compendium of over 1000 television episodes that include dreams, a valuable tool for any television scholar or enthusiast.
"In this deftly written, cogent, comprehensive, and pioneering study, a must read for every fully conscious TV scholar, Cynthia Burkhead not only wakes up television studies to the neglected oneirics of its intricate narratology but provides some dreamy interpretations of the most engaging and essential televisual reveries. -- David Lavery, Author Of Joss Whedon, A Creative Portrait From Buffy The Vampire Slayer To Marvel's The Avengers Dreams in American Television Narratives: From Dallas to Buffy is a pioneering study of a cutting-edge topic. This book offers an engaging examination of 'television dreaming' in American-produced TV drama, showing how dreams function not only to deepen and extend TV drama stories, but also as vehicles for the psychological probing of television's most intriguing characters. Focusing on TV dramas of the last three decades - from the 1990s 'quality' era to the most audacious examples of 'complexity' from recent years - this study demonstrates that the increased prevalence and significance of dreams in American TV drama owe much to the multi-layered, serialised modes of storytelling that increasingly define this once formulaic and episodic programme category. -- Trisha Dunleavy, Associate Professor Of Media Studies At Victoria University Of Wellington, New Zealand, And Author Of Television Drama: Form, Agency, Innovation"
Lost Thought: Leading Thinkers Discuss Lost, ed. Pearson Moore.
"LOST Thought is a lively collaboration between 22 leading experts in the online LOST world and the academic community. Every contributor brings unrestrained passion to these 25 wide-ranging and vital discussions of the personal, cultural, social, and literary implications of the most fascinating, multi-faceted creation ever presented on television. LOST is approached as living, breathing text whose mythology, themes, and theses challenge our culture and our society at every level."-Pearson Moore, editor
"LOST Thought is a lively collaboration between 22 leading experts in the online LOST world and the academic community. Every contributor brings unrestrained passion to these 25 wide-ranging and vital discussions of the personal, cultural, social, and literary implications of the most fascinating, multi-faceted creation ever presented on television. LOST is approached as living, breathing text whose mythology, themes, and theses challenge our culture and our society at every level."-Pearson Moore, editor
Joss Whedon: Conversations, University of Mississippi Press
David Lavery and Cynthia Burkhead, Editors
No recent television creator has generated more critical, scholarly, and popular discussion or acquired as devoted a cult following as Joss Whedon (b. 1964). No fewer than thirty books concerned with his work have now been published (a forthcoming volume even offers a book-length bibliography), and ten international conferences on his work have convened in the U.K., the United States, Australia, and Turkey. Fitting then that this first volume in the University Press of Mississippi's "Television Conversations" series is devoted to the writer, director, and showrunner who has delivered Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB, 1997-2001; UPN, 2001-3), Angel (The WB, 1999-2004), Firefly (2002), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Webcast, 2008), and Dollhouse (FOX, 2009-10).
If Whedon has shown himself to be a virtuoso screenwriter/script-doctor, director, comic book author, and librettist, he is as well a masterful conversationalist. As a DVD commentator, for example, the consistently hilarious, reliably insightful, frequently moving Whedon has few rivals. In his many interviews he likewise shines. Whether answering a hundred rapid-fire, mostly silly questions from fans on the Internet, fielding serious inquiries about his craft and career from television colleagues, or assessing his disappointments, Whedon seldom fails to provoke laughter and reflection.
David Lavery and Cynthia Burkhead, Editors
No recent television creator has generated more critical, scholarly, and popular discussion or acquired as devoted a cult following as Joss Whedon (b. 1964). No fewer than thirty books concerned with his work have now been published (a forthcoming volume even offers a book-length bibliography), and ten international conferences on his work have convened in the U.K., the United States, Australia, and Turkey. Fitting then that this first volume in the University Press of Mississippi's "Television Conversations" series is devoted to the writer, director, and showrunner who has delivered Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB, 1997-2001; UPN, 2001-3), Angel (The WB, 1999-2004), Firefly (2002), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Webcast, 2008), and Dollhouse (FOX, 2009-10).
If Whedon has shown himself to be a virtuoso screenwriter/script-doctor, director, comic book author, and librettist, he is as well a masterful conversationalist. As a DVD commentator, for example, the consistently hilarious, reliably insightful, frequently moving Whedon has few rivals. In his many interviews he likewise shines. Whether answering a hundred rapid-fire, mostly silly questions from fans on the Internet, fielding serious inquiries about his craft and career from television colleagues, or assessing his disappointments, Whedon seldom fails to provoke laughter and reflection.
The Essential Sopranos Reader , University Press of Kentucky
David Lavery, Douglas Howard, and Paul Levinson, Editors
Includes "The Narrative Necessity of Dreams in The Sopranos," by Cynthia Burkhead
The Sopranos is recognized as the most successful cable series in the history of television. The Washington Post has called the popular series, winner of twenty-one Emmys and five Golden Globes, "the television landmark that leaves other landmarks in the dust." In every aspect -- narrative structure, visual artistry, writing, intertextuality, ensemble acting, controversial themes, dark humor, and unflinching examinations of American life -- The Sopranos has had few equals.
Offering a definitive final assessment of the series, The Essential Sopranos Reader aims to comprehensively examine the show's themes and enduring cultural significance. Gender and ethnicity, the role of dreams, the rebirth of HBO, the series' controversial finale, and other topics come under scrutiny in this highly accessible, engaging collection. The book concludes with an interview with Dominic Chianese, who played Uncle Junior in all six seasons of the show.
Grace Under Pressure: Grey's Anatomy Uncovered, Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Cynthia Burkhead and Hillary Robson, Editors
“Television has always seduced viewers with guilty pleasures, shows and series never missed but never admitted to. Being only human, television scholars, too, have their embarrassing delights, and one of mine has continued to be Grey's Anatomy. But now that we have Grace Under Pressure, Cynthia Burkhead and Hillary Robson's smart and astute collection, it is time to come out of the (medical) closet, get out of the elevator, and accept, guilt-free, Shonda Rimes' medical melodrama into the quality pantheon.” -- David Lavery, Founding Editor of Critical Studies in Television
Student Campanion to John Steinbeck, Greenwood Publishers
By Cynthia Burkhead
Since the publication of Tortilla Flat in 1935, Steinbeck's treatment of American landscapes and themes has struck a chord with readers. His novels Of Mice and Men (1937), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and Cannery Row (1945) were instant critical and popular successes. Each went on to become a feature film, which added to Steinbeck's cultural impact. His works have long endured to earn a place in the canon of American Literature. This book guides readers through these and other important Steinbeck works, particularly those that are most often taught, including The Pearl (1945), The Red Pony (1933), and significant short fiction. Clear analysis of each work includes discussions of character development, plot and setting, thematic treatment, historical contexts, and alternate critical readings. A biographical chapter, as well as an examination of the author's contributions and career, helps readers gain a sense of Steinbeck the man and his position as one of America's most important writers.
“Starred Review ...well organized and geared toward the general reader. Because Steinbeck is required reading in many high school curriculums, this would be a valuable resource for students. Highly Recommended.”–Library Media Connection
By Cynthia Burkhead
Since the publication of Tortilla Flat in 1935, Steinbeck's treatment of American landscapes and themes has struck a chord with readers. His novels Of Mice and Men (1937), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and Cannery Row (1945) were instant critical and popular successes. Each went on to become a feature film, which added to Steinbeck's cultural impact. His works have long endured to earn a place in the canon of American Literature. This book guides readers through these and other important Steinbeck works, particularly those that are most often taught, including The Pearl (1945), The Red Pony (1933), and significant short fiction. Clear analysis of each work includes discussions of character development, plot and setting, thematic treatment, historical contexts, and alternate critical readings. A biographical chapter, as well as an examination of the author's contributions and career, helps readers gain a sense of Steinbeck the man and his position as one of America's most important writers.
“Starred Review ...well organized and geared toward the general reader. Because Steinbeck is required reading in many high school curriculums, this would be a valuable resource for students. Highly Recommended.”–Library Media Connection