I’ve just posted the 30th UNLV Gaming Podcast–Benjamin Min Han’s excellent Gaming Research Colloquium talk that I recorded earlier today. Here’s the description:
30-March 24, 2011
Benjamin Min Han
“We’re Right Next Door’: Televisual Las Vegas in Cold War America”
Han, currently a graduate student in cinema studies at New York University, is looking at how television performances helped to shape perceptions of Las Vegas. Since World War II, Las Vegas has evolved into an entertainment capital of the world. While we often associate Las Vegas with gambling and casinos, many foreign ethnic talents arrived in the city to perform in hotels and nightclubs. These talented performers were instrumental in the development of televisual Las Vegas. This talk explores the migration of ethnic talent, and how such prominent Las Vegas entertainment business figures like Jack Entratter and Bill Willard envisioned transforming the city into a primary center of television production from the 1950s to 1970s.Listen to the audio file (mp3)
View flyer (pdf)
It was a really interesting talk that I hope people listen to. Han was the final Gaming Fellow for the 2010-11 academic year, and I’m really pleased with how well the program turned out.
In general, I think we’ve had some pretty good podcasts this year. I’m looking forward to doing even more. Sue Kim Bonifazio, of the Kim Sisters, came for the talk, and she says she’s got a book coming out soon–hopefully I can interview her around the time it’s released.
If you’re not familiar with the Kim Sisters, who Han references in his talk, here’s a video clip: