Tag Archives: Television

Kosinski Foresaw Our Television President

By Robin Bates | Published: April 24, 2017

Jerzy Kosinski’s 1970 novella “Being There” describes a man whose obsession with television helps him thrive and even ascend to the White House. Sound familiar?

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It’s the Pictures that Got Small

By Robin Bates | Published: November 4, 2011

Watching movies at home makes them something other than movies.

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The Sexual Politics of Dexter

By Robin Bates | Published: March 25, 2011

Film Friday Last Friday I wrote about my deep distress over the season 4 finale of Dexter. (Read no further if you want don’t want the suspense ruined for you.) My friend Rachel Kranz, who introduced me to the show, wrote me the following response examining why people, men especially, find the show so captivating. […]

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Your Friendly Neighborhood Serial Killer

By Robin Bates | Published: March 18, 2011

Film Friday Today, in a slight departure, I am writing on a television series rather than a film, one that has gripped me for months. My love affair came to a crashing end last week, however, and I have resolved never to watch another episode. Since I tell my students that negative viewing experiences are […]

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American TV, the World’s English

By Robin Bates | Published: August 11, 2010

Image from Poltergeist  I am pleased that Jason Blake, who teaches English at the University of Ljubljana, is becoming a regular contributor to this website. As an English speaker living in Slovenia, Jason is particularly sensitive to questions of language. In the following essay he triggers memories for me when he talks about how television, […]

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