Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously [Paperback]

David Bianculli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000 | Series: Television

The first book to seriously defend TV, Teleliteracy asserts that television is actually opening the American mind. Insightful interviews with Peter Jennings, Bill Moyers, Bill Cosby, and others serve to illustrate television's educational and social value. "A ringing defense of TV as a forum for art, information, and education".--Kirkus Reviews.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"It's time to realize TV must be doing something right to reach and affect so many people and that teleliteracy is something to be quantified and upgraded and utilized, not ignored," David Bianculli declares in his defense of teleliteracy--the widespread knowledge of television that ties Americans together in ways other media cannot. He acknowledges the faults of television -- sex and violence to a widespread audience -- but contends that TV has delivered positive role models, good storytelling and likable characters. Bianculli, a television critic for The New York Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer, offers an interesting defense of a much-maligned medium. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This conversationally written, zesty but hollow manifesto extolling the benefits of television is only likely to persuade the switched-on. Bianculli, TV critic for the New York Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer , concedes that "90% of television is . . . crap," but insists that "the best of television is very good indeed." Far from being a corrupter of literacy, the tube, he speciously argues, can make viewers more literate through programs like Sesame Street and adaptations of Dickens or Trollope that send viewers back to the novels. Dismissing links between TV violence and street violence as impossible to prove, he urges that classrooms teach children what TV can offer and praises the medium's coverage of the Gulf War. Drawing on interviews with Linda Ellerbee, Bill Cosby, Peter Jennings, Kurt Vonnegut, Shelley Duvall and others, Bianculli presents a rosy image of television as a growing, maturing medium, better now than in its golden age. A gimmicky "teleliteracy quiz" is included. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press; 1 edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815606532
• ISBN-13: 978-0815606536
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,397,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Bianculli has been a television critic for more than thirty years, currently on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He is also the author of two books on television and its impact: Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously and Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good News, Paperback on the way., August 11, 2000

By 

walter gibson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teleliteracy (Paperback)

How wonderful that Mr. Bianculli's excellent book is being re-released. I read this when it first came out and could not put it down. Mr. Bianculli is a television expert who is not afraid of sharing his knowledge with readers. This is a must have for anyone who owns a television. Mr. Bianculli is an incredibly gifted writer who creates easy-to-read, informative chapters. In short, buy anything written by this man.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teleliteracy by Bianculli, June 27, 2004

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (Paperback)

The author explains the role of television in our modern society.
A main thesis of the work is that the TV provides information
which is too important to ignore. The author explains how the
TV has created a global village of local, national and international news. In addition, the television plays classic
movies, shows for children and the daily soap operas. Important
comedy shows provide entertainment for millions of viewers.
The book explains that our television is a necessary part of modern society. It entertains, informs and enlightens in ways
that other media simply cannot replicate. This book is a good
value for the price charged. It has a
considerable constituency in the media and the general public.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, but fails to convince, August 2, 2002

By 

ensiform (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (Paperback)

A rather lengthy argument by a TV critic for respecting television as a medium and appreciating the rich cultural gifts it's given us. The author's right when he shows that new media are always reviled by the protectors of the old, from Plato to the very recent birth of "film studies" as a legitimate field. And yes, many critics of TV are simply following this pro-status quo, kneejerk line of reasoning. But Bianculli goes a little overboard. Yes, a lot of BBC specials and American literary adaptions are high theater, and "The Simpsons" is a very clever reflection and parody of our society. But he has to keep referring again and again to the same thirty shows, in all the 50 year history of TV, to make his point. Obviously, when television is used to adapt literary works, or documentaries, it's a very powerful medium, and kneejerk criticism of it - "Turn TV Off day" including the news, Discovery Chanel, etc. - it's absurd. And he certainly makes his point that what's on TV becomes common knowledge (does anyone disagree?). But popularity isn't a sign that a medium deserves respect. What Bianculli constantly steps around in his at times repetitive treatise is that 99% of TV is, at most, amusing; at worst, appallingly inane. In short, he succeeds in arguing that TV is a superb medium of creative expression; but he fails to convince that the great bulk of what is actually on TV is worth watching.