The Glass Teat

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First edition. Cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon TheGlassTeat.jpg
First edition. Cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon

The Glass Teat: Essays of Opinion on Television is a 1970 compilation of television reviews and essays written by Harlan Ellison as a regular weekly column for the Los Angeles Free Press from late 1968 to early 1970, discussing the effects of television upon society. [1] [2] [3]

The title implies that TV viewers are analogous with unweaned children. Discussion of television is frequently interspersed in the essays with lengthy asides about Ellison's personal life, experiences and opinions in general.

Modern critics have noted that his criticisms remain relevant. [4] The book's topics were dictated by the trends and fashions of the day.

Ellison later collected a second volume of criticism entitled The Other Glass Teat, which was published in 1975. [5]

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References

  1. Ellison, Harlan (1983) [1970]. The Glass Teat. Ace Books. ISBN   9780441289882 . Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  2. Bodroghkozy, Aniko (2001). Groove Tube: Sixties Television and the Youth Rebellion. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press. p. 290. ISBN   978-0-8223-8008-5.
  3. Spigel, Lynn; Curtin, Michael (2013) [1997]. The Revolution Wasn't Televised: Sixties Television and Social Conflict. New York and London: Routledge. p. 218. ISBN   978-1-135-20540-9.
  4. Stephen King, "Danse Macabre": Chapter VII, Page 132
  5. https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?729157 Retrieved 25 December 2022.