Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality / Edition 1

by Jonathan Gray

Overview

Using our favorite Springfield family as a case study, Watching with The Simpsons examines the textual and social role of parody in offering critical commentary on other television programs and genres. In this book, Jonathan Gray brings together textual theory, discussions of television and the public sphere, and ideas of parody and comedy. As a study, including primary audience research, it focuses on how The Simpsons has been able to talk back to three of television's key genres - the sitcom, ads, and the news - and on how it holds the potential to short-circuit these genres' meanings, power, and effects by provoking reinterpretations and offering more media literate recontextualizations.

Through examining television and media studies theory, the text of The Simpsons, and the show's audience, Gray attempts to fully situate the show's parodic humor within the lived realities of its audiences. In doing so, he further explores the possibilities for popular entertainment television - and particularly comedy - to discuss issues of political and social importance.

About the Author:
Jonathan Gray is Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900415362022
Publication date:	12/01/2005
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Gray is Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. His research and publications examine television and film textuality, audiences, and entertainment’s contribution to the public sphere.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction     1
Reading through intertextuality     17
Intertextuality and the study of texts     19
Watching with The Simpsons     41
Domesticom parody, genre, and critical intertextuality     43
The logic of television and ad parody     69
News parody and the public sphere     94
Talking with The Simpsons     117
Parody and/as interpretive community     119
'The Simpsons attitude'     142
Conclusion     169
Appendix     174
Notes     176
Bibliography     179
Index     195

Editorial Reviews

'essential reading for fan and academic alike.' - The Velvet Light Trap

From the Publisher