MetaFilter posts tagged with television and history

More Madness

mattdidthat — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:03:36 -0800

The Footnotes of Mad Men explores and discusses the historic events, themes, and cultural mores of the show.

Advertising in the public interest

Rhaomi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:54:54 -0800

"What if America wasn't America?" That was the question posed by a series of ads broadcast in the wake of the September 11th attacks, ads which depicted a dystopian America bereft of liberty: Library - Diner - Church. Together with more positive ads like Remember Freedom and I Am an American, they encouraged frightened viewers to cherish their freedoms and defend against division and prejudice in the face of terrorism (seven years previously). The campaign was the work of the Ad Council, a non-profit agency that employs the creative muscle of volunteer advertisers to raise awareness for social issues of national importance. Founded during WWII as the War Advertising Council, the organization has been behind some of the most memorable public service campaigns in American history, including Rosie the Riveter, Smokey the Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog, and the Crash Test Dummies. And the Council is still at it today, producing striking, funny, and above all effective PSAs on everything from student invention to global warming to arts education to community service.

Additional resources: A-to-Z index of Ad Council campaigns - Campaigns organized by category - Award-winning campaigns - PSA Central: A free download directory of TV, radio, and print PSAs (registration req'd) - An exhaustive history of the Ad Council [46-page PDF] - YouTube channel - Vimeo channel - Twitter feed

Bimah Me Up

mattdidthat — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:03:48 -0800

"The special moment when the Kohanim blessed the assembly moved me deeply, for it possessed a great sense of magic and theatricality... I had heard that this indwelling Spirit of God was too powerful, too beautiful, too awesome for any mortal to look upon and survive, and so I obediently covered my face with my hands. But of course, I had to peek."--Leonard Nimoy, I Am Spock

Leonard Nimoy discusses his inspiration for the Vulcan "live long and prosper" hand gesture. Rabbi Yonassan Gershom explains its Jewish origins, and discusses Jewish themes in Star Trek. Via Laughing Squid.

Museum of the Moving Image

netbros — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:33:31 -0800

Moving Image Source is devoted to the history of film, television, and digital media. It features original articles by leading critics, authors, and scholars; a calendar that highlights major retrospectives, festivals, and gallery exhibitions at venues around the world; and a regularly updated guide to online research resources. Currently featured articles include Nervous About Nixon? from David Schwartz, chief curator of the museum; The People's Director, a look at Chinese filmmaker Xie Jin; and Lessons in Darkness, extreme precipices and gray areas in the films of Barbet Schroeder.

The Archive of American Television

not_on_display — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:32:49 -0800

The Archive of American Television "produces extensive video oral history interviews with television legends of all professions and makes them available online. To date, the Archive has completed over 2000 hours of videotaped conversations with over 570 Actors, Producers, Writers, Newscasters, Executives, Directors, Craftspersons, and more. ... The interviews are conducted by reviewing the subject's life and career chronologically. They discuss their childhood, early influences, how their career began, and thoroughly cover their television careers, ending with their thoughts on the industry and legacy."*

(Internetworking Frequency, 2.4 gigacycles.)

TheOnlyCoolTim — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:36:35 -0800

The Early Television Foundation and Museum Website covers the nascent days of the nation's pastime, with interesting items like mechanical TVs and programming schedules from 1939.

Swastika Tube

hortense — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:43:50 -0800

Spiegel TV has tracked down rare Nazi TV footage, complete with everything from bizarre cabaret acts to interviews with people like Albert Speer. Pop culture done by Nazis, the banality of showbiz evil. found here alternate link

The Mike Wallace Interview(s)

steef — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:27:31 -0800

"My name is Mike Wallace. The cigarette is Philip Morris." Before there was 60 Minutes, there was The Mike Wallace Interview. Thirty minutes with Steve Allen, Frank Lloyd Wright, Kirk Douglas, Pearl Buck, and Salvador Dali, to name just a few.

Edward Samuel's Illustrated History of Copyright

carter — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:49:00 -0800

Edward Samuel's Illustrated History of Copyright A fascinating illustrated historical tour, looking at how different technologies have shaped how we think about copyright and intellectual property.

We Now Conclude Our Broadcast Day

dhammond — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 23:59:39 -0800

2007 has come to a close and so we now conclude our broadcast day. WCBS, New York City (1960s) WKYC, Cleveland (1976) WJZ, Baltimore (1981) WCBS, New York City (1981) CHCH, Hamilton, ON (1979) WUAB, Cleveland (1981) KOAP, Oregon (1981) WCLQ, Cleveland (1982) WNAC, Boston (1982) KXLY, Spokane, WA (1982) KTHI, Fargo, ND (1983) KFSM, Fort Smith, AR (1983) KCET, Los Angeles (1984) WNEW, New York City (1984) KTXL, Sacramento, CA (1985) KHQ, Spokane, WA (1985) WLVT, Allentown, PA (1986) WNEV, Boston (1986) WSBK, Boston (1986) WUSI, Carbondale, IL (1986) WNJS, Camden, NJ (1986) KITV, Honolulu, HI (1986) KCOP, Los Angeles (1986) CBWT, Winnipeg, MB (1986) WABC, New York City (1986) WNBC, New York City (1986) WNYW, New York City (1986) WTNH, New Haven, CT (1986) KYW, Philadelphia (1986) WPVI, Philadelphia (1986) WTAF, Philadelphia (1986) WPHL, Philadelphia (1986) WTAE, Pittsburgh (1986) WBOC, Salisbury, MD (1986) KOMO, Seattle (1986) KHQ, Spokane, WA (1986) WNET, Trenton, NJ (1986) WNJT, Trenton, NJ (1986) WTVN, Columbus, OH (1987) CBUT, Vancouver, BC (1987) CHEK, Victoria, BC (1988) WPTF, Durham/Raleigh/Fayetteville, NC (1988) WCOM, Mansfield, OH (1988) WJZY, Charlotte, NC (1989) WRAL, Raleigh, NC (1989) WNRW, Winston-Salem, NC WKFT, Fayetteville NC (1993) KDLT, Sioux Falls, SD (1993) WNYC, New York City (1996) WOAY, Oak Hill, WV (2007) Lots more patriotism and conclusions of broadcast days at TV-Signoffs.com: Piedmont Triangle, North Carolina | Charlotte, North Carolina | Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville | South Carolina | Tennessee | Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia | North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma | California, Oregon and Washington | Los Angeles | U.S. Cable Stations | 1950s TV sign-off audio recordings

Spots Before Your Eyes

LinusMines — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 11:23:44 -0800

Spots Before Your Eyes, an award-winning series of animated shorts promoting tolerance and human relations, produced in the 1950s by the American Jewish Committee (at AJC Archives)

The Valve Page

Mwongozi — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 05:38:53 -0800

The Valve Page Featuring exceedingly old radios, televisions, and other old electronics from the UK.

Tickets, please.

braun_richard — Mon, 31 Jan 2005 17:28:35 -0800

TV Tickets! A great gallery of tickets to TV show tapings, some going back to the 1950s. Includes some fascinating commentary by Mark Evanier.

Have you seen this girl?

Captaintripps — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 12:23:32 -0800

Carol Hersee playing tic tac toe with a clown is one of the most widely-seen images on television. The demi-famous Test Card F, its history and purpose.

Jodie Dallas LIVES!

WolfDaddy — Tue, 11 May 2004 11:06:46 -0800

If you're in New York City or LA between now and June 27th, the Museum of Television and Radio is presenting "Not That There's Anything Wrong With That --The History of Gay and Lesbian Images on Television" (via the Queer as Folk section of Showtime's site) (Anyone else remember Robert Reed playing a transsexual on Medical Center?)

greatest german

stbalbach — Sun, 30 Nov 2003 20:30:12 -0800

Three million Germans have voted post-war Chancellor Konrad Adenauer as the greatest German of all time. Reformation Monk Martin Luther came second, with communist philosopher Karl Marx third. Composer Johann Sebastian Bach and writer Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe were also in the running. Adolf Hitler and other Nazis were excluded from the poll.

The Open Video Project

taz — Sun, 12 Oct 2003 12:11:57 -0800

The Open Video Project offers nearly 2,000 videos from various sources and collections, including such gems as 34 reels from the 1930s and 40s in the Digital Himalaya Project, a series of classic television commercials, and, from the Library of Congress, some shorts from the early 1900s, including the popular 2 a.m. in the Subway and A Ballroom Tragedy ("Vaudeville" is a good search term for finding more like this). Also, especially for MeFi, Johnny Learns His Manners.

Television History - The First 75 Years

crunchland — Sun, 07 Sep 2003 18:29:15 -0800

all about TV.

bitdamaged — Mon, 29 Jul 2002 22:05:59 -0800

So I'm watching Dog eat Dog tonight Mostly for the incredibly tasty Brooke Burns. And for the contestant to win, one of the losers had to miss the question "Which 32'd president said 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself?'". Now the guy said he was guessing and answered "Roosevelt", but he didn't clarify, Teddy? or FDR? They said he got it right so the contestant lost. Personally I think a retraction or apology is due.

dglynn — Mon, 21 Jan 2002 23:07:59 -0800

"You just don't want to hear anyone scream anymore.." Blackhawk Down on the History Channel, includes interviews with American soldiers and Somalian militiamen.

owillis — Wed, 25 Oct 2000 15:02:30 -0800

Internet To Be Bigger Than TV - UCLA Report "For the first time in the history of television, TV usage by children under 14 declined," recalled Cole. "Kids finally found something that was more interesting than TV. It was an epiphany moment for me." Download the report here.

grumblebee — Tue, 13 Jun 2000 09:44:46 -0800

The first episode of 1900 House was really cool, and I can't wait to watch the rest tonight. The main link (above) is to pbs.org's cool site about the project. And if you're not a fan of "reality TV," but you like history, you might still enjoy the Victorian links page.

Note: I love the Victorian period, but there are other periods that also interest me. It would be REALLY cool to watch a show called "Middle Ages House," but I doubt that will ever be possible. There were so many health and safety issues involved in just going back 100 years. In fact, the producers had to make some concessions for the safety of the family. No network would ever take the insurance risk of placing a family in any sort of authentically reproduced early period.