Look Closer: Suburban Narratives and American Values in Film and Television

Acknowledgements

v ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Iam a product of suburbia. I grew up in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a firstring suburb just northwest of downtown Columbus. It was here that I first experienced all the benefits and drawbacks of suburbia and ultimately developed a fascination with this strangely complicated aspect of the American landscape. The inspiration for this book is rooted somewhere in my suburban upbringing, and therefore I must thank the entire city of Upper Arlington and all its residents, past and present, for their unintentional contributions to this project. I would also like to express my gratitude to the colleagues and mentors who inspired and guided me as I worked on this project in its various forms over the last few years. My fellow POPC and CMCL students kept me on my toes and pushed me to work harder. Joe Austin initially suggested that my seminar paper about suburban films might be worth developing into a larger project. Chris Anderson helped me to narrow my ideas into something manageable and graciously shared advice and wisdom about research, writing, and the pitfalls of academia. Barbara Klinger, Yeidy Rivero, and Brenda Weber provided extensive feedback on early drafts, and offered invaluable advice about turning a collection of related essays into a coherent book. Greg Waller, Robert Terrill, Cindy Smith, and Ilana Gershon provided valuable insights along the way, and Jon Cavallero offered advice, optimism, and friendship throughout the process. During my time at the University of Washington Tacoma, many of my colleagues offered support and advice as I wrote and revised my manuscript while adjusting to my first full-time faculty appointment . In particular, I want to thank Bill Kunz, Chris Demaske, Divya McMillin, Ingrid Walker, Claudia Gorbman, Joanne Clarke Dillman, Riki v iii ACKNOW LEDGMENTS Thompson, Ellen Moore, Huatong Sun, Cheryl Greengrove, Larry Knopp, Jenny Quinn, and Anne Taufen Wessells. Thanks also to Paul Lovelady for helping me retrieve illustrations for the book, and to the IAS program for providing funding that made the completion of this project possible. I am grateful to Jim Leonard, Will Scheffer, and Mark Olsen for taking time to share their thoughts about the suburban narratives that they created (Close to Home and Big Love), and to Nancy Robinson of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation for helping me to connect with these industry professionals. Portions of chapter 3 were previously published as part of an essay entitled “The Soldier in the Suburbs: The Pacifier and Post-9/11 Masculinity ,” in September 11 in Popular Culture: A Guide, ed. Sara Quay and Amy Damica (Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Press, 2010), 195–197, and are reproduced here by permission of ABC-CLIO. I thank Leslie Mitchner for seeing value in my work and for providing ideas about how to make it better; Lisa Boyajian for shepherding me through many of the details of the editorial process; and the entire production team at Rutgers University Press for transforming my words and ideas into a finished book. Thanks to Steve Macek for his thoughtful and precise feedback, which helped me to patch the holes and polish the rough edges in my manuscript, and to the anonymous reviewer whose suggestions greatly improved the overall project. I would never have been able to get this far without the support of my family. I am grateful to my parents, Dale and Judy, and my sister, Julie, as well as my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am also grateful to the many friends who offered support, prayers, advice, or a chance to have fun and forget about work. Thanks in particular to Lisa, Roger, and Mary Marchal, Molly Rule, Pat McCorkle, Rachel Jensen, Emily Buser-Gonzalez, Katie Braun, Rob Ping, Tom Slater, Robert Hasskamp , Jeff Johnson, Mitch Serslev, Shane Morrison, Ron Sebben, Gerda Fletcher, Adrienne Ione, Jason Thrasher, and Rascal. Finally, I want to thank Ed Chamberlain for supporting and encouraging me through every phase of this project. I dedicate this book to him. Look Closer ...