Color by Fox

The Fox Network and the Revolution in Black Television

Author: Kristal Brent Zook
ISBN: 9780195106121

Following the overwhelming success of "The Cosby Show" in the 1980s, an unprecedented shift took place in television history: white executives turned to black dollars as a way of salvaging network profits lost to videocassettes and cable TV. Not only were African-American viewers watching disproportionately more network television than the general population but, as Nielsen finally realized, they preferred black shows. As a result, African-American producers, writers, directors, and stars were given an unusual degree of creative control over shows such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Roc," "Living Single," Martin, and "New York Undercover." Locating a persistent black nationalist desire--a yearning for home and community--in shows produced by and for African Americans, Kristal Brent Zook shows how these productions revealed complex and contradictory politics of gender, sexuality, and class. Incorporating interviews with such prominent executives, producers, and stars as Keenen Ivory

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publish Date: 1999

Subjects: Performing Arts / Television / General

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Cross-Cultural Center (Location: Black/African American (BLCK))