Common Sense Intelligence as Presented on Popular Television

by Holderman, Lisa; Bracken, Cheryl Campanella; Conners, Joan L.; Conway, Mary T.; Franzini, Amy Richards; Ellzey, Marilyn; Hart, Kylo-Patrick R.; Kahlenberg, Susan; Mains, Christine; Miller, Alison; Pettey, Gary R.; Randell-Moon, Holly; Sturgis, Amy H.; Tho

• ISBN13: 9780739115213
• ISBN10: 0739115219
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-07
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

This anthology examines the constructions of intelligence and intellectuality in popular television and the socio-cultural implications of those constructions. It considers the complexity of popular television images, the influences of these images as they both verify and vilify intelligence, and explores a range of representations of intelligence on television by looking at a variety of TV genres and through a variety of theoretical perspectives and methods. Topics range from broad explorations of patterned representations on television to examinations of particular genres, including science-fiction and reality programming, to in-depth analyses of specific programs such as The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Six Feet Under. This book is grounded in the assumption that knowledge and intelligence are currency in the economics of power and that, given that the proliferation of certain images and the relative absence of others in fictional, reality, and fact-based media play an important role in social-order maintenance, a critical examination of how intelligence is demonstrated, portrayed, and evaluated in the public sphere is crucial.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Intelligence on Television	p. 1
Surveying Smarts on the Television Landscape
The Social Construction of Modern Intelligence	p. 7
Book, Street, and Techno Smarts: The Representation of Intelligence on Prime-Time Television	p. 107
Social Class, Gender, and Youth Culture
Better Keep the Egghead: Pragmatism in The Simpsons	p. 143
Keeping the Intelligent Woman "In Her Place" within the Patriarchal Social Order: Containing the Unruliness of Genius Brenda Chenowith on Six Feet Under	p. 163
Being a Nerd and Negotiating Intelligence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer	p. 173
Is School Cool? Representations of Academics and Intelligence on Teen Television	p. 187
Scientists and Science Fiction
Sexy Nerds: Illya Kuryakin, Mr. Spock, and the Image of the Cerebral Hero in Television Drama	p. 201
Brains in Service of Brawn: The Scientist/Soldier Dynamic in Science Fiction Television	p. 217
The CSI Effect: Scientists and Priming on Prime Time Television	p. 233
Talk Shows and Reality Television
Media-Constructed Anti-Intellectualism: The Portrayal of Experts in Popular U.S. Television Talk Shows	p. 249
Portrayals of Intelligence in Reality Television	p. 269
"Faking" Intelligence? Representing Intelligence in TLC's Faking It	p. 283
Index	p. 297
About the Authors	p. 299
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