Competition or Cooperation? Formal and Industrial Interplay Between Cinema and Television
Dawid Junke
dawid.junke@gmail.comUniversity of Wrocław (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4894-994X
Abstract
The author attempts to describe the interplay between cinema and television, focusing on film and series as forms of communication characteristic of the respective media. The instances of competition and cooperation between the two media are presented in the technical and industrial context. The article focuses on the so-called new-generation TV shows, which are often described as displaying “cinematic qualities”. Even though such comparisons are usually rhetorical, they do have a certain analytical potential, which is revealed in the course of analysis of the rhetorics and mise-en-scène of productions such as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Lost, as well as older series, e.g. The Twilight Zone. The author concludes that “filmic” nature has been ascribed to both episodic series and highly serialized streaming shows, which are interpreted here – in accordance with Amanda D. Lotz’s argument – as instances of “Internet-distributed television” rather than a wholly new medium.
Keywords:
cinematic television, television serials, episodic series, streamingReferences
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Authors
Dawid Junkedawid.junke@gmail.com
University of Wrocław Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4894-994X
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Cultural Studies at the University of Wrocław. A scholar of popular culture, he is fascinated with TV shows, films and narratives. His research interests revolve around the cultural aspects of the production and reception of television shows. Author of the book Transcendencja i sekularyzacja. Motywy religijne we współczesnych amerykańskich serialach telewizyjnych [Transcendence and Secularization: Religious Motifs in Contemporary American Television Shows] (2018). Fulbright Slavic Award Nominee.
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