On the recent,
unprecedented plethora of great AmericanStudies television shows.
We
AmericanStudiers (if I may speak for the tribe for a moment) pride ourselves on
our ability to analyze any and all cultural texts, including the most seemingly
innocuous or straightforward ones. Take TV shows, for example: a dedicated
AmericanStudier like myself would have to be willing and able to find cultural
depth and meaning in nothing less than a Baywatch. Thesis: the
beach both as the site of an idealized, picturesque American mythos and yet, just
under the surface of those enticing California waters, as a realistic world full
of dangers and threats that require a team of national heroes ready and willing
to sacrifice themselves for our communal safety. (Okay, I grant you that “national
heroes” is a bit of a stretch when it comes to the likes of Hasselhoff and Anderson,
but it’s just a starting point.) When it comes to AmericanStudies, that is, it’s
all part of the text.
But that textual
ubiquity shouldn’t elide a crucial distinction: between the majority of
cultural texts and those few that themselves comprise, include in and indeed
make central to their own work, complex portrayals and analyses of American
culture and identity. When it comes to television, the last couple of decades—a
period that has been generally described as a golden era for the medium, a
perspective with which I would definitely agree—have featured an incredible
range and depth of such overtly AmericanStudying shows: The Sopranos, The West Wing, Deadwood, The Wire, Mad Men, Band of Brothers, Breaking Bad, Treme, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, The Newsroom, Masters of Sex, and
The Bridge, to compile only a partial
list. It’s such a long list, indeed, that even this committed and pop
culture-loving AmericanStudier has only been able to watch the full run of a
small percentage of those shows (The West
Wing, The Wire, Mad Men, and Band of
Brothers) and hasn’t yet had a chance to watch any of the most recent ones
(those listed between Homeland and The Bridge).
That’s one thing
I’m thankful for, to be sure: how much great AmericanStudies TV I have ahead of
me, still to watch and explore (nominations in comments for which of those
other shows I should check out first are very welcome!). I’m also deeply
thankful for all the shows and moments I’ve already been able to check out over
the last few years, and how much they’ve become a part of my scholarly
perspective—it’s no coincidence that I’ve cited The
West Wing, The
Wire, and Band
of Brothers in posts on this blog, and I’m quite sure those won’t be
the last times. And finally, I’m incredibly thankful for the ways in which this
space—literally; and as a mode of broad, public AmericanStudies thinking toward
which I’m moving more and more fully all the time—have helped me engage with
every layer and aspect of American culture and society, including the many great
AmericanStudies TV shows of the last couple decades.
Next giving of
thanks tomorrow,
Ben
PS. Who or what
do you thank?
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