Máire Messenger Davies

This book discusses key controversies in the public sphere about children's relationship with the media, especially television drama.

Children, Television Storytelling and the Public Sphere

'Dear BBC'

Roberta Pearson

At the heart of one of the most successful transmedia franchises of all time, Star Trek, lies an initially unsuccessful 1960s television production, Star Trek: The Original Series. In Star Trek and American Television, Pearson and Messenger Davies, take their cue from the words of the program’s first captain, William Shatner, in an interview with the authors: “It’s a television show.” In focusing on Star Trek as a television show, the authors argue that the program has to be seen in the context of the changing economic conditions of American television throughout the more than four decades of Star Trek’s existence as a transmedia phenomenon that includes several films as well as the various television series. The book is organized into three sections, dealing with firstly, the context of production, the history and economics of Star Trek from the original series (1966-1969) to its final television incarnation in Enterprise (2002-2005). Secondly, it focuses on the interrelationships between different levels of production and production workers, drawing on uniquely original material, including interviews with star captains William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart, and with production workers ranging from set-builders to executive producers, to examine the tensions between commercial constraints and creative autonomy. These interviews were primarily carried out in Hollywood during the making of the film Nemesis (2002) and the first series of Star Trek: Enterprise. Thirdly, the authors employ textual analysis to study the narrative “storyworld” of the Star Trek television corpus and also to discuss the concept and importance of character in television drama. The book is a deft historical and critical study that is bound to appeal to television and media studies scholars, students, and Star Trek fans the world over. With a foreword by Sir Patrick Stewart, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek and American Television

Childhood and children's culture are regularly in the forefront of debates about how society is changing - often, it is argued, for the worse. Some of the most visible changes are new media technology; digital television; the internet; portable entertainment systems such as games, mobile phones, i-pods and so on. Television, the most popular medium with children for the last thirty years, is becoming less so. This book is intended to broaden the public debate about the role of popular media in children's lives. Its definition of 'media' is wide-ranging: not just television and the internet, but also still-popular forms such as fairy tales, children's literature - including the triumphantly successful Harry Potter series - and playground games. It sets these discussions within a framework of historical, sociological and psychological approaches to the study of children and childhood. At times of rapid technological change, public anxieties always arise about how children can be protected from new harmful influences. The book addresses the perennial controversies around media 'effects' from a range of academic perspectives. It examines critically the view that technology has dramatically changed modern children's lives, and looks at how technology has both changed, and sustained, children's cultural experiences in different times and places. Does new interactive technology give children a 'voice'? It can permit children to be their own authors and to engage in civil society, as well as to explore taboo and potentially dangerous areas. The book discusses how children can use technology to enhance their role as 'citizens in the making', as well its utilizing more playful applications. The book includes interviews with both producers and consumers - media workers, and children and their families, and has historical and contemporary illustrations.

Máire Messenger Davies

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