“It’s like putting two insects together in a jar and seeing what happens…” (Hill, 2014: 3). When we are asked to define reality television this is often the analogy that comes to mind;

Edward G Robinson’s gangster Johnny Rocco in Key Largo (John Huston, 1948) seems uncertain when asked by Humphrey Bogart and Lionel Barrymore’s sequestered characters what he wants. But after some prompting, he comes up with ‘That’s it. I want more.’ Mindless acquisitiveness matches his mendacity and violence. And that’s the story with the discreditable alliance between pro sports and the screen.

Richard Wallis and Christa van Raalte argue for greater honesty and pragmatism in addressing the talent pipeline. The prominence of the creative industries in the UK government’s industrial strategy as one of eight growth sectors to be prioritised will be welcomed by most of us involved in screen education. It is as yet unclear, however, how the proclaimed undertaking to develop an appropriately skilled workforce will manifest itself.

A world in crisis: wildfires as examples of the climate crisis in the BBC News documentary looking at Heatwaves: The New Normal? In this second podcast, David and Elke are looking at Governance in Crisis – as governance that is troubled but also governance in a period of crisis.

Disclaimer: This blog post is derived from the research presented at the 9th International Visual Methods Conference, at Istanbul, Turkey. Fig.

I first started writing this blog some weeks ago after I was lucky enough to be invited along to a review performance of the Broadway stage play, Good Night, and Good Luck .  Thanks to my friendship with David Bianculli, who always gets the best tickets, I found myself in the audience of a truly astonishing play.

Should a series be watched in production, broadcast, or some other order? Most viewers will never consider this question, only turning their minds to the order in which episodes are aired or queued up on a DVD or streaming service if parts of an ongoing story are shown out of sequence.

The Star Wars franchise is perhaps best known for its rather Manichean outlook on good and evil as expressed through the ‘Dark (evil) Side’ and ‘Light (good) Side’ of the Force (similar to 气, qi, or breath/spirit in Daoism) expressed through the Jedi, a type of warrior-monk.

The AHRC What’s On? Project Team: Beth Johnson, Dave O’Brien, Laura Minor, Anna Viola Sborgi What’s Class Got to Do With It? Rethinking TV from the Inside Out School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds 19th September 2025 Keynote : Philip Ralph, award-winning writer of screenplays for television and film and plays for stage and radio Closing plenary panel A One-Day

Call for Papers – Transnational Perspectives on Anime: A Symposium, in collaboration with Japan Foundation London Location: Lancaster University Date: July 4th 2025 Anime studies has become a significant area of investigation with exponential growth throughout the 21st century and more specifically the past decade.

“If something is to stay in the memory, it must be burned in: only that which never ceases to hurt stays in the memory.” Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals Watching the recent Severance season 2 finale “Cold Harbour,” I became increasingly intrigued with the show’s explorations of selfhood and autonomy, whereby the ‘innies’ are […]