In September 1960 a television show emerged from the mists of prehistoric time to take its place as the mother of all animated sitcoms. The Flintstones spawned dozens of imitations, just as, two decades later, The Simpsons sparked a renaissance of primetime animation. The essays in this volume critically survey the landscape of television animation, from Bedrock to Springfield and beyond.
The contributors explore a series of key issues and questions, including: How do we explain the animation explosion of the 1960s? Why did it take nearly twenty years following the cancellation of The Flintstones for animation to find its feet again as primetime fare? In addressing these questions,
as well as many others, the essays examine the relation between earlier, made-for-cinema animated production (such as the Warner Looney Toons shorts) and television-based animation; the role of animation in the economies of broadcast and cable television; and the links between animation production and brand image. Contributors also examine specific programs
like The Powerpuff Girls, Daria, Ren and Stimpy and South Park from the perspective of fans, exploring fan cybercommunities, investigating how ideas of
'class' and 'taste' apply to recent TV animation, and addressing themes such as irony, alienation, and representations of the family. Diane F. Alters, Alice Crawford, Rebecca Farley, Joy V. Fuqua, Wendy Hilton-Morrow, Allen Larson, David T. McMahan, Jason Mittell, Kathy M. Newman, Brian Ott,
Kevin Sandler, Michael V. Tueth, P
By:
Carol Stabile,
Mark Harrison
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 19mm
Weight: 566g
ISBN: 9780415283250
ISBN 10: 0415283256
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 27 February 2003
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
ELT Advanced
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Table of Contents Acknowledgements List of Images Introduction - Prime Time Animation: An Overview Carol A. Stabile and Mark Harrison Part 1: Institutions: 1. 'Smarter than the Average Art Form': Animation in the Television Era Paul Wells 2. The Great Saturday Morning Exile: Scheduling Cartoons on Television's Periphery in the 1960s Jason Mittell 3. Re-Drawing the Bottom Line Allen Larson 4. Flintstones to Futurama: Networks and Prime Time Animation David T. McMahan and Wendy Hilton-Morrow 5. Synergy Nirvana: Brand Equity, Television Animation, and Cartoon Network Kevin Sandler 6. The Digital Turn: Animation in the Age of Information Technologies Alice Crawford Part 2: Readings: 7. Back to the Drawing Board: The Family in Animated Television Comedy Michael Tueth 8. From Fred and Wilma to Ren and Stimpy: What Makes a Cartoon Prime Time ? Rebecca Farley 9. 'We Hardly Watch that Rude, Crude Show:' Class and Taste in The Simpsons 10. Misery Chick: Irony, Alienation, and Animation in MTV's DariaKathy Newman 11. 'What Are Those Little Girls Made Of?' The Power Puff Girls and Consumer Culture 12. 'Oh My God, They Digitized Kenny!' Travels in the South Park Cybercommunity V4.0 List of Contributors
Authored by Stabile, Carol
