Australian Left Review

Article Title

TV Without Tears - Outline of a Socialist Approach to Popular Television

Abstract

The basic outlines of the confrontation between high and mass culture are familiar. But the left’s stance in this arena deserves closer examination. In terms of conscious ideology, the left displays a supportive attitude toward “people’s culture” (toward Leadbelly’s blues, say, or “primitive” art). However, below this tendency an elitist vision holds sway, and popular TV feels the full glare of this vision.