Assoc. Professor Barbara Selznick sat down with Mark McLemore on today’s episode of Arizona Public Media’s Arizona Spotlight to talk about her recently published book TV’s American Dream: US Television after the Great Recession.
In the book, Selznick examines the U.S. television industry and its pursuit of audiences whose ideas about hope, fairness, work, and economic class were shaped by the Great Recession. Exploring shows across platforms from legacy networks to Netflix, she takes a deep dive into TV’s representations of the American Dream.
“It’s my favorite thing to teach, and it’s because it changes every single time I have to teach something about television,” shares Selznick.
Reflecting on the role of nostalgia, the recession, and entertainment Selznick says “I think television became comfort food, in part because we had the rise of streaming happening at the same time and you can see ‘oh you know that show that made you feel really good because there were no problems in your life? You can watch that over and over again!’ … I think when you combine the recession with the availability of streaming that moved towards ‘let’s watch things that make us feel good.'”
Listen to Barbara's interview with Arizona Spotlight