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Published by John Libbey Media, 1995 The blurb says: The possible effect of television on its viewers has
been a source of controversy for decades, and the subject comes with a research
mountain to match. Over the years, the flickering box has been blamed for every
kind of social problem and antisocial act, and in many cases has been found guilty
by an audacious but often surprisingly shaky range of studies. The hypothesis
that television makes people mad, bad, or otherwise dangerous to know has been
tested in multifarious ways; whilst other researchers have investigated whether
television might actually do viewers some good.
Moving Experiences is a comprehensive overview and critique of this body of research. It clearly and energetically examines all of the major studies in the field, drawing firm conclusions not only on the notoriously vexed question of TV violence, but also about the impact of campaigns which are specifically intended to persuade. The prosocial content of educational and everyday programmes is also considered. Uniquely, the book rips the academic arguments and findings from the vacuum in which they are generally produced, and pitches them mercilessly against numerous examples of TV content, from Sesame Street to The Simpsons, Casualty to Cracker, and finds that there can be more to television than meets the eye.
"Crushingly thorough and pitilessly well-researched... It deserves to be read."
"An authoritative and intelligent study of the 'effects' of television... This much needed voice of reason illustrates how scientific research can be not only misleading, but also politically biased."
"An extraordinarily solid critical summary... Moving Experiences is an excellent book for all who want to get an overview of the state of contemporary media effects research."
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