NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Reinventing Television and Family Life, 1960-1990 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Field of Screen Cultures By Hannah Spaulding EVANSTON, ILLINOIS September 2018 2 ABSTRACT Reinventing Television and Family Life, 1960-1990 Hannah Spaulding In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the field of television changed. A series of new electronic devices that interfaced directly with TV technology—video cameras, home recorders, cable boxes, video calling systems—were introduced to the American public. These devices promised to radically transform the medium. They worked to turn what had long been conceived as a one- way system of mass communication into an interactive and useful instrument in the management and relations of domestic life. My dissertation examines this televisual transformation. Combining archival research, discourse analysis, and close readings, it analyzes how television’s convergence with new media from 1960 to 1990 strove to redefine the medium, allowing for novel ways of engaging with the TV set that restructured and reimagined family communication and household operations. In particular, it contends that during this period both television and the idea of television transformed. In addition to being an object designed to be watched, television became a complex assemblage to be used. Once linked to these new technologies, television ceased to be the uniquely one-way receiver of broadcast signals, but became a flexible and interactive tool—a potent force in the management of the household, protection of the home, and the cultivation of the family. My dissertation explores this history of television convergence by focusing on four case studies: home videomaking, video telephony, interactive cable, and home surveillance and security. It analyzes the discourses that surrounded each of these technologies and practices, 3 unpacking the hopes they inspired and the fears they engendered as they interacted with the TV set and intervened in domestic life. In particular, my dissertation argues that these moments of technological linkage were imbricated with the structures of American domestic life. They emerged in response to changing configurations of home, gendered expectations, and the limitations and apparent decline of the nuclear family. In so doing, home videomaking, video telephony, interactive cable, and home surveillance and security functioned to offer visions of the future often rooted in nostalgic idealizations of the past. Although many of the technologies explored in this dissertation have been almost entirely eclipsed by or subsumed within computational media, television’s tenure as the communications center of the home must not be ignored. The modes of interaction, systems of surveillance, visions of domestic efficiency, and gendered assumptions they articulated did not disappear with the end of the 1980s. Far from merely a prehistory of the digital, the history of television convergence from 1960 to 1990 offers a vibrant and significant reimagining of the function of technology in the home, essential to understanding many of the practices that have come to define domestic life in the digital age. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the tireless work of my committee chair, Lynn Spigel. Her dedication, feedback, and incisive questions have pushed me to refine my ideas and deepen my research. She was always ready to step in when I was floundering, offering encouragement, guidance, and constructive critique throughout this entire process. Her unceasing rigor, elegant writing, feminist commitments, and constant attention to historiography have made her my model of scholarly excellence. I am also deeply thankful to my committee members Jacob Smith and Janice Radway. Jake’s enthusiasm and encouragement has been a constant source of support throughout all my years in the department. He has given me invaluable feedback, helped me sort out my ideas when they were at their most inchoate, and guided me through the intimidating process of article submission. I will forever be grateful to Jan for deepening my love of Stuart Hall and steering me through the complex nuances of overdetermination. Whether in the classroom or in one-on-one meetings, Jan has supported, challenged, and inspired me. My dissertation owes so much to my committee’s guidance and encouragement; you have all made me a better writer, researcher, and scholar—thank you. I am deeply grateful to the Fonds de Recerche du Québec Société et Culture that generously funded the first three years of my doctoral studies. I also am honored by the support of the Hagley Museum and Library, the Graduate School, the Sexualities Project at Northwestern, the Summer Institute at Cologne, and the Communication History Division of the International Communication Association who generously provided me with funding at different points throughout the last six years. To complete this research, I visited numerous archives. I am very grateful to everyone at the Cable Center’s Barco Library, AT&T Archives and History Center, the Hagley Museum and Library, UCLA Arts Library Special Collections, and the 5 George Eastman Museum. I am especially indebted to William Caughlin at AT&T and Brian Kenny at the Barco Library who shared invaluable archival resources that inspired exciting new directions for this project. I am very grateful for the many incredible professors I have worked with throughout my academic journey. Hamid Naficy, Miriam Petty, Mimi White, and Jeffrey Sconce have each offered me invaluable guidance throughout my time in Screen Cultures. Whether through engaging class discussions, hallway conversations, encouraging check-ins, or rides to the train in the dead of winter, they have all been sources of support and intellectual inspiration. I am especially grateful to Ariel Rogers and Neil Verma who generously went above and beyond the call this last year. They helped me wade through the intimidating terrain of the job market, offering their time, encouragement, feedback, and invaluable perspectives. I also want to thank Jacqueline Stewart who was essential in bringing me to Northwestern and saw me through the beginnings of this project, and Jennifer Light, Hollis Clayson, and Nick Davis whose different perspectives have enriched my work and intellectual development. Finally, I want to offer my sincerest thanks to Charles Acland and Zoë Druick. You each encouraged me to pursue this PhD and are amazing mentors. I have been honored to be part of a wonderful academic community at Northwestern. Pamela Krayenbuhl, Karly-Lynne Scott, Ashley Smith, Benjamin Aspray, Laura LaPlaca, Ian Hartman, and Marisela Chavez were the best cohort I could have ever hoped for. Their encouragement, feedback, and support got me through the last six years. I am so grateful to Reem Hilu, Annie Sullivan, Simran Bhalla, Ilana Emmett, Stephen Babish, Whitney Pow, Catherine Harrington, Christopher Russell, Leigh Goldstein, Maureen Ryan, Zachary Campbell, Luke Stadel, Cara Dickason, Gry Rustad, Beatrice Choi, Lital Pascar, and Dakota Brown who 6 have helped me throughout this process, sharing their advice, resources, feedback, and friendship. Annie, my taste twin and brother, has been with me through every step of this dissertation. I am so grateful for all the support, glasses of wine, and TV sessions. I cannot imagine what I would have done without you. Laura always went above and beyond to find television episodes and served as a voice of reason in moments of panic. Simran, my fellow foreigner and aspiring champagne socialist, was always there to hear my complaints and share in my guilty pleasures. Reem basically became my mentor this past year. Thank you for all the amazing feedback, wonderful meals, and unceasing advice. Ian was always there to answer my gchats and make me laugh. Ilana, without whom the 1998 WB line-up would not be the same, thank you for the vegetarian meals and the Dawson’s Creek. And Pam, I am so grateful for the constant encouragement, support, and dinner dates. You have always been there when I needed a friend or a dance buddy. These six years would have been miserable without you. I am very grateful to all those other people in my life you have supported me throughout this whole process. My Chicago life would have been so much harder without Chelsea La Bar who kept me in coffee, pizza, and Vampire Diaries marathons, and everyone in the Modet Dance Collective who reminded me how much I love dancing and gave me a community outside of graduate school. I am also thankful for Tristana Rubio, Alix Johnson, and Zachary Meltzer who became my Montreal cohort, and Kristen Rice, Susan Edey, and Sandra Foisy whose friendship and support has meant so much to me over the last eight years. I am also deeply grateful for Rachael Picard, Tehya MacKenzie, Ariel Fournier, Martha Moses, and the whole Friday Get Together Group; you are my oldest friends. Thank you for being a constant source of support, laughter, and reality checks. 7 Finally, I am so grateful to my family. Thank you for everything throughout this entire process. Whether by letting me invade your homes, asking me questions about this project, or encouraging me, you have been integral to this dissertation. Betsy Spaulding and Kathi Cross, you are the best parents I could have ever hoped for. You have helped me in ways both big and small. I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate your support, challenging questions, constant inspiration, and eleventh hour assistance. You taught me to think critically and politically. Without you, I would not be here. Last but certainly not least, I am deeply thankful to Timothy Swiffen. You have been there for me at each step of this process. I am so grateful for your encouragement, companionship, and love. Throughout every debate, dinner, crisis, video game, and TV marathon, you have been an amazing partner and an incredible friend.