African American viewers and the Black situation comedy : situating racial humor / Robin R. Means Coleman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Means Coleman, Robin R., 1969-

Series:

Studies in African American history and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans on television.

African American television viewers.

Television comedies--United States--History and criticism.

Television comedies.

Television viewers--United States.

Television viewers.

United States.

Physical Description:

xvii, 349 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Garland Pub., 1998.

Summary:

Providing new insight into debates over race and representation in the media, this ethnographic study explores the ways in which African Americans are depicted in television situation comedies and the meanings that African American audiences assign to such representations. The author ponders the reasons why blacks are relegated to comedy, and explores audiences' perspectives on a variety of issues, including how blackness is defined through television, the impact of stereotyping on societal perceptions, and the positive side of comedies.

As scholars increasingly turn their attention to questions of how audiences interpret, use, and resist media texts, this study makes a major contribution to the development of theories of reception by focusing on African American audiences, bringing their voices to bear on debates over race and representation. In her analysis of black viewers' reading of the texts, the author highlights the ways in which race is encoded into viewing experiences and illustrates how political and ideological struggles are central to discussions of representation. This book includes a Foreword by Alvin Poussaint, M.D., consultant to The Cosby Show and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-338) and index.

ISBN:

0815331258

OCLC:

39556713