Brett Mills
I've been a member of the School of Television, Film and Media Studies at the University of East Anglia since 2006; from 2011 to 2013 I was Head of School. Before that I was a Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Glamorgan for six years. From 2005 to 2010 I was also an Associate Tutor for the Open University course 'DA204 - Understanding Media'.
I recently completed the 3-and-a-half-year AHRC-funded research project, 'Make Me Laugh: Creativity in the British Television Comedy Industry' (2012-15); the research associate was Sarah Ralph and the doctoral student was Erica Horton. We researched the processes television comedy projects go through, and the factors that help and hinder creativity. See www.makemelaugh.org.uk.
My research interests are comedy (especially the sitcom), popular culture, cultural hierarchies, categories and genres, and popular television (especially the documentary). And animals.
I've taught at Middlesex University, Thames Valley University, Central Missouri State University, and at the Centre for Mass Communication Research at the University of Leicester, and I spent a year in Australia as a TEFL teacher. I did my under- and post-graduate studies at Canterbury Christ Church College, receiving my degree and PhD from the University of Kent.
Phone: 01603592094
Address: Film, Television and Media Studies
University of East Anglia
Norwich, NR4 7TJ
United Kingdom
I recently completed the 3-and-a-half-year AHRC-funded research project, 'Make Me Laugh: Creativity in the British Television Comedy Industry' (2012-15); the research associate was Sarah Ralph and the doctoral student was Erica Horton. We researched the processes television comedy projects go through, and the factors that help and hinder creativity. See www.makemelaugh.org.uk.
My research interests are comedy (especially the sitcom), popular culture, cultural hierarchies, categories and genres, and popular television (especially the documentary). And animals.
I've taught at Middlesex University, Thames Valley University, Central Missouri State University, and at the Centre for Mass Communication Research at the University of Leicester, and I spent a year in Australia as a TEFL teacher. I did my under- and post-graduate studies at Canterbury Christ Church College, receiving my degree and PhD from the University of Kent.
Phone: 01603592094
Address: Film, Television and Media Studies
University of East Anglia
Norwich, NR4 7TJ
United Kingdom
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Books by Brett Mills
"A well organised reader which covers the key theories and theorists ... a required text for any student of the media and mass communication. It is a comprehensive overview of media theory, drawing together readings which represent milestones in the field with lucid explanation of their relevance and critical assessment of their impact."
Kevin Williams, Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Swansea University
"Clearly organised around key thinkers in the field, Reading Media Theory offers students an ideal combination of landmark original writings, clear and concise explanations and thoughtful reflection."
Andy Willis, Reader, School of Media, Music and Performance, University of Salford
This book takes a global view of sitcom, examining international examples as well as those produced by the more dominant British and American broadcasting industries, in order to explore the relationships between sitcom, nation, and identity. Sitcoms considered include Extras, My Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, One Foot in the Grave, Peep Show, Summer Heights High, Popetown, and Friends.
The book is split into four sections, namely Reading theory, Key thinkers and schools, Approaches and Media Theory in context. This structure is adopted in order to encourage students to familiarise themselves with the material, and the progressive pedagogical apparatus guides them to approach it gradually whilst developing their skill set. The provision of questions to prokove further thought helps to encourage the student to read more widely around the subject and engage with core concepts of both theory and learning. Ultimately the text acts as a ‘how to read’ handbook for media theory and is structured so that students can learn the literature as well as learning how to approach it.
With specific case studies of Will and Grace, The Office, and The Cosby Show, as well as analysis of a broad range of contemporary and historical examples throughout, this book will be of interest to students of sitcom and comedy, as well as to those of television and popular culture. A chapter on genre examines the history and development of sitcom and the institutional structures that produce it. There is also analysis of the differences among sitcoms produced in a range of countries, and discussion of what happens when a program gets sold and remade abroad. A chapter on representation explores debates about the ways in which sitcom chooses who to make jokes about and why, and whether this matters. And a chapter on performance argues that this is a vital, and under-explored, aspect of sitcom's funniness.
Papers by Brett Mills
the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games to show how some
media forms – especially film and music – are a part of everyday debates about
culture, whereas television is not. The Opening Ceremony was often about television,
and was consumed by billions via television – yet reviews and commentaries
about the event rarely mention television at all. This article shows that those
involved in the Ceremony who have worked successfully in television – such as
Danny Boyle and Rowan Atkinson – are similarly commonly understood via their
work in other media. The article calls for those in Television Studies to be more
vocal about the work the field does, in order to combat such erasing of television
found in Danny Boyle’s description of the Opening Ceremony not as television, but
as ‘live film’.
"A well organised reader which covers the key theories and theorists ... a required text for any student of the media and mass communication. It is a comprehensive overview of media theory, drawing together readings which represent milestones in the field with lucid explanation of their relevance and critical assessment of their impact."
Kevin Williams, Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Swansea University
"Clearly organised around key thinkers in the field, Reading Media Theory offers students an ideal combination of landmark original writings, clear and concise explanations and thoughtful reflection."
Andy Willis, Reader, School of Media, Music and Performance, University of Salford
This book takes a global view of sitcom, examining international examples as well as those produced by the more dominant British and American broadcasting industries, in order to explore the relationships between sitcom, nation, and identity. Sitcoms considered include Extras, My Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, One Foot in the Grave, Peep Show, Summer Heights High, Popetown, and Friends.
The book is split into four sections, namely Reading theory, Key thinkers and schools, Approaches and Media Theory in context. This structure is adopted in order to encourage students to familiarise themselves with the material, and the progressive pedagogical apparatus guides them to approach it gradually whilst developing their skill set. The provision of questions to prokove further thought helps to encourage the student to read more widely around the subject and engage with core concepts of both theory and learning. Ultimately the text acts as a ‘how to read’ handbook for media theory and is structured so that students can learn the literature as well as learning how to approach it.
With specific case studies of Will and Grace, The Office, and The Cosby Show, as well as analysis of a broad range of contemporary and historical examples throughout, this book will be of interest to students of sitcom and comedy, as well as to those of television and popular culture. A chapter on genre examines the history and development of sitcom and the institutional structures that produce it. There is also analysis of the differences among sitcoms produced in a range of countries, and discussion of what happens when a program gets sold and remade abroad. A chapter on representation explores debates about the ways in which sitcom chooses who to make jokes about and why, and whether this matters. And a chapter on performance argues that this is a vital, and under-explored, aspect of sitcom's funniness.
the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games to show how some
media forms – especially film and music – are a part of everyday debates about
culture, whereas television is not. The Opening Ceremony was often about television,
and was consumed by billions via television – yet reviews and commentaries
about the event rarely mention television at all. This article shows that those
involved in the Ceremony who have worked successfully in television – such as
Danny Boyle and Rowan Atkinson – are similarly commonly understood via their
work in other media. The article calls for those in Television Studies to be more
vocal about the work the field does, in order to combat such erasing of television
found in Danny Boyle’s description of the Opening Ceremony not as television, but
as ‘live film’.