Television Directors, Race, and Gender : Written Out of the Story

This book challenges the predominant framing of US television as a writer’s or producer’s medium by suggesting that television directors are a vital component of TV artistry. Looking beyond a perspective that favors the narrative and economic aspects of television but undervalues the medium’s formal elements, the book explores how directors use the visual and aural to contribute layers of meaning that add to the thematic development of television texts. Starting from the belief that television aesthetics partially reveal the ways in which directors (and their collaborators) contribute to the overall thematic development of a program, the author offers five case studies that map out the ways that directors have contributed to television drama throughout the medium’s approximately 80-year history. By devoting special attention to the presence and voices of directors from marginalized backgrounds, the book creates opportunities to discuss television from perspectives that emphasize issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This original and insightful work will appeal to students and scholars of television studies, television production and media production, critical media studies, media authorship, gender studies, and race and media. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Written Out of the Story Glancing, Gazing, and Television Directing Towards a More Equitable and Inclusive History of US Television Organization and Structure Notes References Part I Directors From Other Mediums 1 “Marty”: Delbert Mann, Paddy Chayefsky, and Live Television Direction Directing Live Television “Marty’s” Production History On the Air Broadcasting Ethnicity Audience Reactions Conclusion Notes References 2 Martin Scorsese: The Blues, Boardwalk Empire, Vinyl, and Celebrity Filmmakers as TV Auteurs Authorship and the Television Career of Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues Boardwalk Empire Vinyl Conclusion Notes References Part II Television Directors From Marginalized Backgrounds 3 Hill Street Blues: Randa Haines, Gabrielle Beaumont, and Women Directors in Television History The Visual Style and Production History of Hill Street Blues Hill Street Politics Randa Haines and Intersectional Identities Gabrielle Beaumont, Gender, Race, and Italian-American Representations Conclusion Notes References 4 NYPD Blue: Paris Barclay, Blackness, Whiteness, and the Cop Show Paris Barclay Cop Show Politics The Racial Politics of NYPD Blue Establishing NYPD Blue’s Style and Representing Italian Americans in Season 1 Representing Blackness On Blue Paris Barclay’s Intervention Conclusion Notes References 5 The Sopranos: Lorraine Senna Vs. David Chase and Pilot Episode Directors Nostalgia in Coppola, Scorsese, and The Sopranos Pilot Episode Directors, The Sopranos’ Production Process, and David Chase “Down Neck” The Whiteness of Italian Americans and Claims of White Male Victimhood Identifying With Tony Soprano “Made in America” Nostalgia and Stylistic Evolution Notes References Conclusion: Included in the Picture Notes References Index