Responses to Julia

Discuss the range of viewer responses to Julia described by Bodrohkozy's article.  Based on your viewing of the pilot and our discussion of television and race in the 1960s, why do you think the show was interpreted so many different ways? Why, for example, would some critics refer to the show or the character Julia as “white?”

Blue Skies

Why do you think that Thomas Streeter titles his essay the way he does?  What do “blue skies” and “strange bedfellows” have to do with 1960s discussions about the possibilities of cable television?  Does the language used around cable at that time sound similar to the way new media technologies are discussed today? Explain. 

'Low Brow' Genres

How does Horace Newcomb's essay complicate Newton Minow’s assessment of television as a “vast wasteland”? Why does he believe that 'low brow' genres such as the western can be more complicated than they seem?  Do you agree?  Perhaps give an example of a contemporary 'low brow' show and explain why it might or might not have social relevance. 

Socially Relevant Coverage in the 1960s

Why did the networks begin to lengthen their news coverage, broadcast presidential debates, and program more socially-relevant documentaries like Crisis during the 1960s?  How did this material illuminate civil rights issues and inflect the way that people understood national politics? 

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

We can see subculture beginning to be featured in Dobie Gillis. How was this evidenced in the episode we viewed?  How might either Dobie's or Maynard's masculinities be considered non-normative? Feel free to compare the two characters.