Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Feeling Bad: Emotions And Narrativity In Breaking Bad, E. Deidre Pribram Ph.D.

Faculty Works: COM (1993-2016)

In an interview that took place in January 1984, five months before his death, Michel Foucault relates an anecdote to illustrate what he means by 'relations of power':

For example, the fact that I may be older than you, and that you may initially have been intimidated, may be turned around during the course of our conversation, and I may end up being intimidated before someone precisely because he is younger than I am. (292)

His is a simple, almost offhand anecdote but one that has lingered in my mind precisely because of the inadequate means we possess to explain …

Emotions, Genre, Justice In Film And Television: Introduction And Chapter 1, E. Deidre Pribram Ph.D.

Faculty Works: COM (1993-2016)

In many ways film and television studies are ideally suited for detailed analyses of the place of emotions in narrative and social discourses and practices. Emotions always have been central to how popular culture "works," how it creates its impact and meanings. Popular culture's complex, intricate deployments of emotion are a primary means by which it achives its status as popular. Cultural theorists have moved toward the analysis of popular culture precisely because it has mass emotional appeal and resonance. Herein lies its significance.

Cold Comfort: Emotion, Television Detection Dramas, And Cold Case, E. Deidre Pribram Ph.D.

Faculty Works: COM (1993-2016)

To speak about emotions is to attempt to address a notoriously challenging and vast category of cultural existence, aking to undertaking an analysis of "the body" or "reason." But as contemporary work in cultural studies and poststructuralism has shown, undertaking explorations of the body and reason are extremely pressing and productive areas of critical inquiry. Culturalist approaches to emotions, however, have only recently begun to emerge as a distinct area of investigation. A useful entry point into the complexities of emotion as a sociocultural category is Raymond Williams' concept, structure of feeling.

Viewer Discretion Advised: Moral And Emotional Codes In Nypd Blue, E. Deidre Pribram Ph.D.

Faculty Works: COM (1993-2016)

NYPD Blue's opening shot is a white-on-black warning label: "This police drama contains adult language and partial nudity. Viewer discretion is advised." A self-imposed rating on the part of ABC, the show's broadcaster, it originated in response to the police drama's "controversial" use of (limited) profanity and partial nudity, a singular departure for conservative, "family-oriented" U.S. television networks and their advertisers. The addition of a viewer advisory, initiated by network and advertising caution, played on the show's controversial status, turning it to promotional advantage. From its debut, the series began to be watched by many viewers curious about the fuss, …