Book Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Introduction: Sweeping statements and broad horizons; 1 Action heroes: Don Quixote or James Bond?; 2 Adaptations: TV drama vs. literary prestige; 3 Soaps: The influence of Latin America; 4 Costume drama: "Life as it really is"; 5 Melodrama: Little people in the Big City; 6 Heroines: Airports, planes, and wedding trains; 7 Comedy: Nervous giggling and its serious object; 8 Law and order: Making sense of something; 9 Criminal series: Soviet traditions come home; 10 Conclusion: Fighting the good fight; Filmography; Notes; Index
Summary
Examining the role of dramatized narratives in Russian television, this book stresses the ways in which the Russian government under Putin use primetime television to express a new understanding of what it means to be Russian, answering key questions of national identity for modern Russians in dealing with their recent history:?What really happened to us?? and, accordingly,?Why??. The book covers important issues in Russian television today, including:.:.; the reworking of new?national? on-screen heroes.; its relationship with classic literature.; the revisionist portrayal of a romantic por