Richard Butsch's expansive historical synthesis integrates social, economic, and political history to offer a comprehensive examination of screen media and screen culture globally as they have evolved through the 20th and 21st centuries. Deeply engaging, this is a masterful, integrated global history--
The book explores the representation of audiences throughout the twentieth century, highlighting three motifs: negative portrayals of crowds or isolated individuals and positive depictions of engaged publics. By measuring these representations against the standard of citizenship, it examines the political implications of audience perceptions in various discourses, emphasizing the ongoing concern with how audiences are viewed in society.