"Between Habit and Thought in the New Serial Drama" invites the passionate viewer of TV fiction to embark on a journey unveiling the levels of reflection and meaning presented by some contemporary TV dramas. In particular, five titles are explored by John Lynch who adopts a philosophical standpoint, together with a look at the analysis of media, and focuses his analysis on US serials – and not series – as he specifies in the first pages, precisely indicating the format he is discussing. These are complex narratives which are based on complex storytelling and functional aesthetics, crisscrossing the fictional with the real and capable of attracting viewers at different levels. As Lynch himself states, the central idea of the book concerns precisely the fact that ‘that seriality is something that weaves itself into our lives’ (p. 18). They are media productions that call for self-reflection and expand our encyclopedia of reference (Eco, 1979), by becoming part of that large reservoir of narratives characterizing cultural memory, our history.
Mascio Antonella (2023). Book Review - John Lynch,Between Habit and Thought in the New Serial Drama. London & New York: Routledge,2021. CRITICAL STUDIES IN TELEVISION, Volume 18, Issue 3, 1-3 [10.1177/17496020231177839].
Book Review - John Lynch,Between Habit and Thought in the New Serial Drama. London & New York: Routledge,2021
Mascio Antonella
2023
Abstract
"Between Habit and Thought in the New Serial Drama" invites the passionate viewer of TV fiction to embark on a journey unveiling the levels of reflection and meaning presented by some contemporary TV dramas. In particular, five titles are explored by John Lynch who adopts a philosophical standpoint, together with a look at the analysis of media, and focuses his analysis on US serials – and not series – as he specifies in the first pages, precisely indicating the format he is discussing. These are complex narratives which are based on complex storytelling and functional aesthetics, crisscrossing the fictional with the real and capable of attracting viewers at different levels. As Lynch himself states, the central idea of the book concerns precisely the fact that ‘that seriality is something that weaves itself into our lives’ (p. 18). They are media productions that call for self-reflection and expand our encyclopedia of reference (Eco, 1979), by becoming part of that large reservoir of narratives characterizing cultural memory, our history.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
