
Bootlegging the Airwaves
Alternative Histories of Radio and Television Distribution
- 208 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Bootlegging the Airwaves
Alternative Histories of Radio and Television Distribution
About this book
Long before internet archives and the anytime, anywhere convenience of streaming, people collected, traded, and shared radio and television content via informal networks that crisscrossed transnational boundaries.
Eleanor Patterson's fascinating cultural history explores the distribution of radio and TV tapes from the 1960s through the 1980s. Looking at bootlegging against the backdrop of mass media's formative years, Patterson delves into some of the major subcultures of the era. Old-time radio aficionados felt the impact of inexpensive audio recording equipment and the controversies surrounding programs like Amos 'n' Andy. Bootlegging communities devoted to buddy cop TV shows like Starsky and Hutch allowed women to articulate female pleasure and sexuality while Star Trek videos in Australia inspired a grassroots subculture built around community viewings of episodes. Tape trading also had a profound influence on creating an intellectual pro wrestling fandom that aided wrestling's growth into an international sports entertainment industry.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Hacking Broadcast History
- 1. Homemade Entertainment: The Prehistory of Bootlegging Radio
- 2. Hello Again: The Informal Old-Time-Radio Economy
- 3. Freeze-Framing Queerness: Tape Trading in Buddy-Cop Fan Cultures
- 4. We Had to Do It the Hard Way: Bootlegging Star Trek in Australia
- 5. Enough of That Garbage: Wrestling Observer and the Intelligent Wrestling-Fan Community
- Conclusion: Bootlegging after the Airwaves
- Notes
- Index