TV, internet and other media

Tuesday, 21 September 2021 11:55

Highlighting and concealing class conflict as inequality intensifies: new TV series

Written by Dennis Broe

Dennis Broe reviews some forthcoming TV series, presented at the recent Series Mania festival in Lille It’s Emmy Award season – but rather than dwell on television’s past it might be better to dwell on its future. What follows are the best (and worst) of fall series previewed at the…

Germinal Series Mania The Unusual Suspects The Last Socialist Artefact Dough JeanPaul Belmondo

Tuesday, 07 September 2021 21:18

Series, series everywhere with no audience spared: what’s new from the world of streaming

Written by Dennis Broe

in TV, internet and other media

Dennis Broe reports from Series Mania, at Lille If not the largest, it is certainly, as Hagai Levi, the showrunner of HBO’s lead fall series Scenes From a Marriage and festival jury president, termed it, “the most important” television festival in the world.” This year’s edition of Series Mania at…

Thursday, 02 September 2021 08:34

Channel 4 for sale?

Written by Rod Stoneman

in TV, internet and other media

Rod Stoneman discusses the possible privatisation of Channel 4, and options for democratising and radicalising the channel Any thinking about the government’s proposed privatisation of Channel 4 should start by linking the future of the station with its past. In 1982 its guiding precepts were innovation and extending the range…

Media Reform Coalition

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Tuesday, 17 August 2021 09:07

Streamers versus Socialism

in TV, internet and other media

Written by Dennis Broe

Dennis Broe reports on how the streaming services are attempting to subvert government-financed and often more progressive film and television production As was detailed in Part 1 of this series, the “epic” battle being waged, or rather being reported on in the corporate entertainment press, is between streamers and theatres…

Netflix Amazon Prime Disney+ HBO

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Friday, 18 June 2021 12:11

Cancel Enid Blyton! The familiar, tired tropes of GB News and anti-Woke media

in TV, internet and other media

Written by Stuart Cartland

Stuart Cartland on Conservative populism and anti-Woke TV: how the launch of GB News represents updated versions of familiar, tired tropes. GB News represents an updated version or equivalent to the familiar and well-worn tropes of anti-political correctness of previous years. The political right dominates British media outlets and the…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 26 May 2021 10:30

Varieties of working-class women: Wanted, Bitter Daisies and Mare of Easttown

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Written by Dennis Broe

Dennis Broe discusses various depictions of working-class women in Wanted, Bitter Daisies, and Mare of Easttown In large parts of the world anywhere between 50 and 70 percent of women are now actively engaged in the workplace, with most earning less than men and many performing the essential service and…

Netflix Bitter Daisies Wanted Mare of Easttown

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 31 March 2021 08:33

Pros and Cons: Scamming Neoliberal Scammers

in TV, internet and other media

Written by Dennis Broe

Dennis Broe continues his reviews on TV series The shrinking middle class, and the pressures put on that class to survive an onslaught from the top directed at them and their working-class compatriots, is the subject of a number of contemporary series. Ozark, the most popular series on Netflix, has…

Ozark Breaking Bad Valhalla Murders Double Indemntiy Big Sky Vertigo Psycho

Sunday, 14 February 2021 12:13

Carnivore Culture, not Cancel Culture: The Mandalorian Season 2

Written by Dennis Broe

in TV, internet and other media

Dennis Broe continues his series of reviews, discussing The Mandalorian Season 2 and the growing limits on creativity in streaming services One of the surprise hits of the contemporary streaming era is the first original series on Disney+, The Mandalorian. A surprise not because it was a hit – any…

Disney+ Baby Yoda star wars Sex and the City

Friday, 01 January 2021 09:56

What's Left on the Dial? Alternative TV in the U.S.

Written by Dennis Broe

in TV, internet and other media

Dennis Broe reviews alternative TV and podcasts in the US. Image above: Amber Ruffin as Melania Trump on Late Night The US election has finally been secured with even Donald Trump tacitly acknowledging that he lost. In the aftermath, the mainstream media has now swung behind Joe Biden and the…

Melania Trump Means TV Socialist Program A Closer Look The Daily Show

Thursday, 24 December 2020 09:40

The Year of Living Digitally: 2020 Top 30 Global TV Series

Written by Dennis Broe

in TV, internet and other media

Dennis Broe reviews global streaming services, part of a generalized movement online this year, and nominates his Top 30 The biggest story in television this year was the rise of the streaming services, with Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and NBCUniversal's Peacock joining what was already the crowded field of…

Monday, 21 December 2020 21:15

Marginalised and forgotten: indigenous and working-class people in TV series

Written by Dennis Broe

in TV, internet and other media

Dennis Broe reviews TV series that focus on indigenous and working-class themes, including Mystery Road, Don’t Forget The Driver, The Connors, and Superstore. Image above: Aaron Pedersen as Jay Swan in Mystery Road Few series on television focus either on both the earth’s first inhabitants, the indigenous, now mostly quartered…

Mystery Road Don't Forget the Driver Superstore The Connors