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June 2004, Week 4

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Subject:
From:
"Larsson, Donald F" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 25 Jun 2004 11:34:02 -0500
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A correspondent on another list sends this query.  SCREEN-L seemed like a natural resource.  You can send replies to the address at the end of the query:

My friend (the one writing the book about color TV) is doing research for one of his books.  He wants to know the names of film titles that feature a character interacting with a TV.  As he explains it, "By 'interacting' I mean where a television set in a film scene appears like another character, causing an action or reaction in an actor or acting as a Greek chorus, silently commenting on the action (as the set that shows only static in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE) when James Dean comes home drunk to face his father and mother.  In the Douglas Sirk film, Jane Wyman sees her reflection in the set and realizes what she faces, a life as an old maid watching television alone for the rest of her life, if she doesn't take up Rock Hudson's invitation.  In the Todd Haymes film, the television set (which is not operating and stands to Julianne Moore's right in the dark) offers no consolation.  The set, which is a reminder of Quaid and his job, appears cold and distant, as does Quaid on Moore's left.  With the set on one side of Moore and Quaid on the other, Moore is trapped between the two and forced to deal with her husband's revelation.  I am only looking for clips either from 1950s films (or post-50s films set in the period) for a section of my documentary series and a book looking at post-WWII television in the American home.

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