This original and engaging book investigates American television viewing habits as a distinct cultural form. Based on an empirical study of the day-to-day use of television by working people, it develops a unique theoretical approach integrating cultural sociology, post modernism and the literature of media effects to explore the way in which people give meaning to their viewing practices. While recognising the power of television, it also emphasises the importance of the social and political factors which affect the lives of individual viewers, showing how the interaction between the two can result in a disengagement with corporately produced culture at the same time as an appropriation of the images themselves into people's lives.

"...a must-read for anyone interested in issues of media, culture, and society, including the fields of sociology, anthropology, media and communication studies, American studies, cultural studies, journalism, and media education. The text is suitable for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses and should be required for any projects examining different approaches to media influence, audience interpretation, and contemporary culture." Journal of Communication

"Lembo artfully and skillfully makes his case... His findings affirm just how complicated television viewing actually is, and how nuanced analysts should be when studying it." Denise D. Bielby, Contemporary Sociology