Gen X TV: The Brady Bunch to Melrose Place (Television and Popular Culture) - Tapa dura

No generation eludes definition as much as ""Generation X"". Rob Owens opens with a history of network and cable television since the birth of Generation X, but goes on to explore the symbiotic relationship between television and this largely misunderstood age group. From the first megahit ""The Brady Bunch"" to today's ""Friends"", Owen unflinchingly describes the ""boob tube"" as the ubiquitous babysitter for millions of young people. Television, Owen maintains, consumes innocence as viewers encounter countless episodes of society's woes, from political strife and environmental decimation to everyday violence and crime. The peculiar television style of Gen-X sitcoms - sarcastic, quick and flashy - especially appeals to his generational cohorts, Owen states, for that is the perspective these Xers place on the world at large. Music television introduces still another aspect of visual cognition that reinforces such perceptions. And how do the Internet and online computer services fit into all of this? Since it first entered the mainstream in late 1993, the Internet has rapidly become a forum for anyone with anything to say about TV, music, and entertainment. Unlike twenty years ago, when ""Trekkies"" had to correspond by mail or attend conventions to share information, the mass technology of the nineties has made information the most plentiful and the cheapest commodity on the market. In fact, now network researchers and TV show producers actually solicit viewers' comments about particular shows online.

Author and illustrator Rob Owen has worked as a graphic designer and professional artist for many years. During his process of obtaining his BFA from Loyola University in New Orleans, he studied writing, graphic design, and many art forms, including drawing, photography, videography, and painting. After Hurricane Katrina, Owen was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme cancer, a fatal brain cancer, and is one of the few survivors. He has been fascinated by the people and culture of New Orleans since moving to the city in high school. This is Owen's first book. A lifelong southerner who has lived in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and South Carolina, Owen has always had an affinity for art and storytelling.