Prime time prisons on u.s. tv
Subtitle: representation of incarceration
By: Bill Yousman.
Series: Media and culture -- v. 10
Publisher: Peter Lang
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 200
ISBN-13: 9781433104770; 9781433104763
Subjects: Prisons -- United States; Prisons in mass media
Description: "In the current era of rampant incarceration and an ever-expanding prison-industrial complex, this crucial book breaks down the distorted and sensationalistic version of imprisonment found on U.S. television. Examining local and national television news, broadcast network crime dramas, and the cable television prison drama Oz, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the stories and images of incarceration most widely seen by viewers in the U.S. and around the world. The textual analysis is augmented by interviews with individuals who have spent time in U.S. prisons and jails; their insights provide important context while encouraging readers to critically reflect on their own responses to television images of imprisonment. Appropriate for both undergraduates and postgraduates, Prime Time Prisons on U.S. TV is useful for courses in media criticism, media literacy, popular culture, television studies, and criminology."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : incarceration in the U.S; title: Media power and the social construction of fear; title: Media stories about crime and punishment; title: The news hole : local television news and the lack of coverage of U.S. prisons; title: Locking down the narrative : national television news coverage of the American penal system; title: That's entertainment? : prime time drama and incarceration; title: Watching a nightmare : Oz and the terror of images; title: Conclusion : television, incarceration, imagination.