UNH Speakers Bureau

Peyton Place: A Consideration of Its Role in Film and Television History

 

Program Description:

What do Peyton Place and Hollywood in the late 1950s have in common? At first glance, each town presented a perfect picture of social tranquility and quiet prosperity, but underneath the glittering facade loomed anxious denial and impending crises. This talk considers what Peyton Place can tell us about how Hollywood began to confront its darkest secrets - changing social mores, shrinking audiences, and a rapidly declining studio system. The talk will also explore what Peyton Place, both as a movie and prime time soap opera, reveals about Hollywood's often uneasy relations with the newest medium to take up residence in tinsel town - television.


Speaker:

Jeff Klenotic

Associate professor Jeffrey Klenotic teaches media history, media literacy and cultural studies at the University of New Hampshire Manchester. In 1997, he won the UNH Manchester Excellence in Teaching Award. Professor Klenotic maintains a program of research focusing on media and cultural history. His work appears in academic journals and books, including Film History: An International Journal, The Communication Review, Velvet Light Trap, The Sounds of Early Cinema, The Encyclopedia of Film, and The Encyclopedia of Early Cinema. Originally from New Castle, Pennsylvania, Professor Klenotic studied at Pennsylvania State University, receiving a BA in Speech Communication with an emphasis in Rhetoric. He went on to study Film and Cultural Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, earning an MA and Ph.D. in Communication. (*M)

Other topics offered by Jeff Klenotic