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| Plot Summary of Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television |
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"Ethel Waters. Juano Hernandez. Frank Silvera. Eddie (“Rochester”) Anderson. James Edwards. Lillian Randolph. James McEachin. Madge Sinclair.
These are just some of the names that populate Donald Bogle's masterful chronicle of the five decades of African-Americans on the small screen. The book covers the humble beginnings (Ethel Waters in an experimental 1939 broadcast and the controversial “Amos and Andy” from the early 50's) to the current fare of the late 90's and the present. Stars like Bill Cosby, Flip Wilson, and Redd Foxx are shown as trendsetters that lay the groundwork for many of the successes of Blacks on the tube in later years. The turbulent barriers that many African-American artists had to overcome in order to just be seen are vividly documented in this remarkable volume.
Bogle offers eloquent commentary on the times as they determined changes in the television industry and how networks were influenced by those times.
Award-winning productions like “Roots” and “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” are thoroughly covered by the author; he also cites African-Americans that have had successes behind the camera, as well.
There are few books on television history as entertaining and insightful as this one.
"
Reginald D. Garrard, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Kind Of History
Time of history:
- 20th century
History of a people?
Yes
Nationality?
- American--Black
History of Art?
Yes
Kind of art
- TV/Movies
Subjects of this Historical Account
Ethnicity (if plays a major part)
- Black
Is the portrayal sympathetic?
- Sympathetic
From a certain profession/group?
- artists/entertainers
Main Adversary
Ethnicity? (if plays big part)
- Black
Is the portrayal sympathetic?
- Sympathetic
Setting
United States
Yes
If applicable, liberal/conservative?
- Historian is very liberal
Style
How fast-paced is the book?
- 7 ()
Book makes you feel...
- challenged
How much focus on stories of individuals?
- Focuses on brief history of a lot of players
Is this a kid's book?
- Ages 16-Adult
Length of book
- 400-450 pages
How much emphasis on small details?
- 3 ()
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Click here for more information about this book
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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