[audiobook] Keweenaw County (Images of America) by Jennifer Billock at Arts-Photography

Description

For eight seasons between 2001 and 2010; Foxrsquo;s 24 garnered critical accolades and became one of the most watched and discussed shows in primetime. In an innovative premise; the showrsquo;s hour-long episodes were meant to represent a real-time hour of the story; so that each twenty-four-episode season depicts a single day in the life of its characters. Influential as a popular hit; 24 was also closely linked with the ldquo;culture of fearrdquo; that dominated the post-9/11 period. In this insightful study; author John McCullough demonstrates that the series was not only unique and trendsetting; but also a complex creative response to its historical context. In three chapters; McCullough looks at 24rsquo;s form; style; and overarching themes and meanings. He argues that although the series is driven by the political and cultural shifts brought on by the War on Terror; it is routinely out of step with real history. Using Linda Williamsrsquo;s distinction between the melodramatic mode and melodrama as a genre; McCullough explores 24rsquo;s use of the action-adventure and spy thriller forms with particular attention paid to the seriesrsquo; hero; Jack Bauer; who is depicted as a tragic hero perpetually in search of a return to innocence. Ultimately; McCullough finds that the seriesrsquo; distinction lies less in its faithful re-creation of the history of the WOT than in its evocation of the sense of crises and paranoia that defined the period. McCullough also analyzes 24 as a response to television culture in the ldquo;post-networkrdquo; age; characterized by reality TVrsquo;s populist appeal and visceral content; on the one hand; and sophisticated boutique cable programming (ldquo;quality TVrdquo;); on the other. McCullough demonstrates that 24 engaged not only with the most pressing issues of world history and the geopolitics of its time; including terrrorism; neoliberalism; and the state of exception; but; on the strength of its form and style; also represents significant global trends in television culture. Fans of the show and media history scholars will appreciate this thorough study.