Television Dramatic Dialogue (original) (raw)

Television, as the dominant mass medium of the second half of the twentieth century and into the first decade of the twenty-first century, is responsible for bringing extensive amounts of drama into everyday life, from adaptations of classic novels and multiple episode serials to true story enactments and the scenarios played out in TV commercials. In doing so, it repeatedly displays people talking, showing audiences how characters behave in the varying circumstances of their narratives. These stories, and the talk they give rise to, mediate between the familiar and the extraordinary, and engage the imaginative powers of their receivers as well as their creators. This book offers a primarily sociolinguistic approach toward a better understanding of what the talking in these dramatic productions contributes to contemporary culture