Public Representations: Screen Stories, Narrative, and the Public Sphere

Author:   Beth Herst ,  Sandford Borins
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
ISBN:  

9781487503871


Pages:   448
Publication Date:   14 April 2026
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD   Availability explained
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.

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Public Representations: Screen Stories, Narrative, and the Public Sphere


Overview

Public Representations explores how popular screen stories represent, and interact with, politics, governance, and the public sphere. It analyses a selection of recent films and broadcast, cable, and streaming series from the US and the UK, as well as a multi-decade survey of comparable Canadian films and series. Drawing on a wide range of interdisciplinary scholarship and popular media commentary, Public Representations considers questions of narrative representation, political agency, and conditions of screen story production as they intersect with race and gender. Using a rich array of paratexts, including online and legacy media reviews, interviews, news reports and feature coverage, as well as metrics such as production budgets, box office figures, and awards, Public Representations traces the ways in which these screen stories function as frames of reference, and sites of contestation, for the most urgent issues within the contemporary public sphere.

Full Product Details

Author:   Beth Herst ,  Sandford Borins
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9781487503871


ISBN 10:   1487503873
Pages:   448
Publication Date:   14 April 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD   Availability explained
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.

Table of Contents

List of Tables Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Narrative, Representations, Publics 2. “It Ain’t Right”: Narrative Unease and the American Public Sphere 3. “And Then You Have to Bring in the Women”: Gender, Race, and American Public Narrative 4. American Tragedies: Race, War, Narrative, Genre 5. “She’s My President”: Gender, Politics, and the American Small Screen 6. “A Confederacy of Elected Quitters”: English Public Sphere Narratives 7. “As Canadian as Possible, Under the Circumstances”: Public Sphere Screen Stories and Small Markets 8.  Conclusion: The Politics of Representation and the Representation of Politics 9. Afterword: (A Narrative About) Teaching Public Sphere Narrative References Index

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Author Information

Beth Herst received her PhD in English literature from the University of London and has worked as a university lecturer, independent scholar, and playwright. Sandford Borins is a professor emeritus of public management at University of Toronto and internationally recognized expert in public sector innovation and narrative.

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