Fiske's (1987) Television Culture is often noted as germinal text in the development of a television studies perspective (e.g. Gray and Lotz, 2012). Fiske (1987) is concerned with the ideological messages of television programming. Though Television Culture focuses most specifically on television programming, Fiske (1987) draws from the cultural studies tradition that puts media in a cycle of production. Therefore, Fiske (1987) understands television as a system of codes that the audience uses to navigate culture. This understanding of television leads Fiske (1987) to propose a three-part perspective on television studies.
An important contribution of Television Culture is Fiske's (1987) concept of television codes. For Fiske (1987), television's producers work to standardize the television program product in order to make their messages clear. This can happen at a narrative level, in which certain visual or aural messages have meaning based on cultural story-telling norms. For example, a woman in a black dress and pointy black hat may symbolize a witch for American audiences familiar with this common cultural depiction. Such imagery is standardized based on the circulation of this symbol in things like children's books, movies, Halloween costumes, and other television media. Television codes also include technological aspects like camera shots, lighting, and music cues. For example, the horror genre often employs swelling music just before a victim is attacked by a villain. This standardization across the genre communicates a preferred reading to viewers. As audiences grow more familiar with the genre, they are likely to understand that this technical cue points to the demise of the victim character. In order to maintain profitability, Fiske (1987) argues, television producers use and reuse this type of television code. The result is standardization across television programming. Fiske (1987) notes that television production is controlled by a relatively small segment of the population, and this group is likely to standardize television codes in a way that benefits their own ideological interests.
Though much of Television Culture focuses on television programming, Fiske (1987) also believed that the audience played an active role in consumption. The television audience does not have access to the same level of power and resources as television producers. Fiske (1987) therefore believed that the television audience struggled to make meanings within the codes offered to them by producers. To illustrate this idea, Fiske (1987) used de Certeau's concept of "making do." Fiske (1987) argued that television audiences used certain aspects of television codes to understand their roles in society, but that they also had the power to discard or contest ideas they did not find useful or acceptable. Television audiences could not make their own television media. Audiences therefore use television texts provided to cobble together meanings that they find acceptable.
Through Fiske's (1987) examination of television codes and audience readings of these codes, he propose three areas of study for television scholars. First, he emphasized the importance of the television text as a storytelling agent. He therefore saw television programs as an important focus for television studies. Second, Fiske (1987) believed that television codes were created through repetition across all television programming texts. Therefore, he encouraged television scholars to examine television texts as they related to one another. Finally, Fiske (1987) believed that the audience's readings of these texts were important to understanding their meaning in the culture. Fiske's (1987) concept of television studies therefore included a study of audience reception.
1. Television codes -- Industry has more resources
2. Industry in conversation with audience -- making do
3. Areas television studies should consider -- programs, programs' interaction with other media, audience reading practice
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