by Michael Z. Newman
about Michael Z. Newman
Michael Z. Newman is Professor of Media, Cinema, and Digital Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in the Department of English. He is the author of Indie: An American Film Culture, Video Revolutions: On the History of a Medium, Atari Age: The Emergence of Video Games in America, and the co-author with Elana Levine of Legitimating Television: Media Convergence and Cultural Status.
Ball-and-Paddle Games
Abstract: As the name PONG implies, the ball-and-paddle games of the 1970s are adaptations of familiar amusements: not just table tennis but also soccer, hockey, and other sports simulated on boards and tables. The emergence of video games in the home begins with ball-and-paddle games, which Michael Z. Newman argues, carry on a tradition of family leisure in the domestic sphere and transform the typically feminized space of the home into a playground for masculine competition and technological innovation.
Everyday Italian
Abstract: While all commercial television has an investment in promoting consumerism in its audiences, few genres are as focused on the various dimensions of consumption as cooking shows. Michael Z. Newman analyzes Food Network’s Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis as an instance of lifestyle television, perpetuating cultural norms of gender, class, and taste.