Look closer : suburban narratives and American values in film and television

Resource Information

The work Look closer : suburban narratives and American values in film and television represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Look closer : suburban narratives and American values in film and television

Title remainder

suburban narratives and American values in film and television

Statement of responsibility

David R. Coon

Creator

• Coon, David R., 1974-

Subject

• Suburban life in motion pictures
• Suburban life on television
• United States -- In motion pictures
• United States -- On television

Language

eng

Summary

In recent years, the media landscape in the United States has followed a pattern similar to that of the physical landscape by becoming increasingly suburbanized. Although it is a far cry from reality, the fantasy of a perfect suburban life still exists in the collective imagination of millions of Americans. This dream of suburban perfection is built around a variety of such ideologically conservative values and ideals as the importance of tradition, the centrality of the nuclear family, the desire for a community of like-minded neighbors, the need for clearly defined gender roles, and the belief that with hard work and determination, anyone can succeed. Building on the relationships between suburban life and American identity, Look Closer examines and interprets recent narratives that challenge the suburban ideal to reveal how directors and producers are mobilizing the spaces of suburbia to tell new kinds of stories about America. David R. Coon argues that the myth of suburban perfection, popularized by postwar sitcoms and advertisements, continues to symbolize a range of intensely debated issues related to tradition, family, gender, race, and citizenship. Through close examinations of such films as American Beauty, The Truman Show, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith as well as such television series as Desperate Housewives, Weeds, and Big Love, the book demonstrates how suburbia is used to critique the ideologies that underpin the suburban American Dream

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

791.43/62

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

PN1995.9.S74

LC item number

C66 2014

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography