Gray (2003) argues that reception studies should move beyond fans to explore other types of textualities. While fans read texts in certain ways, non-fan and anti-fan readings renegotiate texts. This means that reception scholars are missing forms of textualities that are not represented by fan readings of texts.
1. Though fans are likely the most knowledgeable about a given text, Gray (2003) points out that everyone encounters texts fairly constantly. In order to understand how these casually encountered texts impact individuals' cultural performances, it is important to speak with people who are not fans.
2. Anti-fans hate a text, but as Gray (2003) points out, this must mean they have some attachment to the text. In order to create an anti-fan reading rather than a fan reading, the textual negotiation of an anti-fan must be considerably different from that of a fan. Importantly, though, both readings are rooted in the text.
Showing posts with label Television Studies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television Studies. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Radway (1984), "Readers and their romances"
Radway (1984) uses interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic research to examine a group of women's uses of romance novels. He research was conducted in a town she calls "Smithton," and much of her work was facilitated through the group's leader, "Dot." Though Radway (1984) admits that she expected to make an argument about the harmfully gendered messsages of romance novels, instead she found that the books were surprisingly liberating in some ways.
1. Women used romance novel reading as a way of escaping from their daily lives.
Radway (1984) argues that romance novel reading allowed women to bracket off portions of their day in which they were not responsible for care of others. Though romance novels contain somewhat normative gender roles, the way readers used these novels allowed them to circumvent some oppressive gender roles in their own lives.
2. Readers likes and dislikes shaped the continued production of available literature.
Radway's (1984) interactions with Dot let her to confirm Hall's (1980) theory that audience members formed a feedback loop with producers. Radway (1984) learned that Dot corresponded with romance novel publishers, and that the publishers took her ideas seriously. Dot was therefore able to shape which authors and types of books were published, based on her reader's circle's particular tastes. In many cases, these specifications included gendered elements, including the type of sexual encounter and the level of violence that could be tolerated by readers.
1. Women used romance novel reading as a way of escaping from their daily lives.
Radway (1984) argues that romance novel reading allowed women to bracket off portions of their day in which they were not responsible for care of others. Though romance novels contain somewhat normative gender roles, the way readers used these novels allowed them to circumvent some oppressive gender roles in their own lives.
2. Readers likes and dislikes shaped the continued production of available literature.
Radway's (1984) interactions with Dot let her to confirm Hall's (1980) theory that audience members formed a feedback loop with producers. Radway (1984) learned that Dot corresponded with romance novel publishers, and that the publishers took her ideas seriously. Dot was therefore able to shape which authors and types of books were published, based on her reader's circle's particular tastes. In many cases, these specifications included gendered elements, including the type of sexual encounter and the level of violence that could be tolerated by readers.
Cui and Lee (2010), "Negotiation of media power in the case of Super Girls’ Voice in China"
Cui and Lee (2010) use the Chinese television program Super Girls' Voice to explore the relationship between media producers and audiences. Though the author's note that the show was celebrated for altering the relationship between audience and producers in China, Cui and Lee (2010) believe that this is an overly optimistic conclusion.
1. There is a line between ordinary audience and extraordinary media. Super Girls' Voice broke this pattern.
The authors use Couldry's concept of media power, which argues that media representations maintain distinction between the media and ordinary people. They argue that Super Girls' Voice appeared to overcome this barrier by using contestants who appeared more genuine and nature. Cui and Lee's (2010) reception analysis demonstrated that readers liked the competitors who appeared ordinary.
2. As the show concluded, it reinscribed the barrier between audience and media by framing the competitors as celebrity stars.
Cui and Lee (2010) argue that the show reinstated its boundary through its handling of the competitors in the finale. While the competitors had been framed as ordinary and authentic, they were reframed as members of the media elite.
1. There is a line between ordinary audience and extraordinary media. Super Girls' Voice broke this pattern.
The authors use Couldry's concept of media power, which argues that media representations maintain distinction between the media and ordinary people. They argue that Super Girls' Voice appeared to overcome this barrier by using contestants who appeared more genuine and nature. Cui and Lee's (2010) reception analysis demonstrated that readers liked the competitors who appeared ordinary.
2. As the show concluded, it reinscribed the barrier between audience and media by framing the competitors as celebrity stars.
Cui and Lee (2010) argue that the show reinstated its boundary through its handling of the competitors in the finale. While the competitors had been framed as ordinary and authentic, they were reframed as members of the media elite.
Bird (2003), "Media Ethnography"
1. Though audiences are active, they are also constrained by the media they consume. Audience activity is not an option in some cases.
Bird (2003) qualifies the active audience assumption in this piece. She argues that many audiences are active many times. However, there are limits to audience activity along many different planes. Class status may limit the available options for consumers of internet technologies, for example, and body size may limit the playfulness and usefulness of mediated images of weddings. She also points out that audiences have limited choices from which to draw, since media economies only circulate certain options.
2. Audience pleasure can lead to increasingly dangerous media production techniques.
Bird (2003) notes the increase in re-creations on news and reality programming. She argues that this technique has led to a blurring between fiction and journalism. This is an effect of audience pleasure, since news networks are profit-driven. However, by providing this form of media to viewers, Bird (2003) worries, news organizations may be misleading the public.
3. Ethnography can help us understand how audiences are simultaneously creative and constrained.
Bird (2003) maintains the importance of learning what real people actually do with media. She adds that studies of audiences need to also account for the constraints placed on audiences by powerful media industries.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Rogers (2008), "Meat and the Crisis of Masculinity in Contemporary Television Advertisements"
Rogers (2008) study examines the "crisis of masculinity" in terms of three similar food advertisements. In these commercials, masculinity is understood as opposite feminized food choices and the environment.
1. The crisis in masculinity involves pitting masculinity against femininity, physical strength against intellectual development, sexual virility against restraint, and working class versus white collar jobs.
Rogers (2008) argues that these commercial represent men reclaiming the masculine element of each of these dichotomies through their food choices. Though the commercials do not explicitly address a threat to masculinity, they signal this threat by overemphasizing the importance of masculinity in areas like food, vehicles, and environments.
2. These commercials signal women as the cause of the crisis of masculinity.
In his analysis, Rogers (2008) argues that women are often positioned as the cause of men's loss of masculinity. Women in the ads try to influence their partners to eat "chick food," drive minivans, and assemble fancy furniture.
3. These commercials indicate that reclamation of masculinity can only happen through disregard to the environment and animals.
Rogers (2008) argues that the absent referent in these commercials is the process of obtaining red meat: suffering, exploitation, and the slaughter of animals, as well as the degradation of the environment.
1. The crisis in masculinity involves pitting masculinity against femininity, physical strength against intellectual development, sexual virility against restraint, and working class versus white collar jobs.
Rogers (2008) argues that these commercial represent men reclaiming the masculine element of each of these dichotomies through their food choices. Though the commercials do not explicitly address a threat to masculinity, they signal this threat by overemphasizing the importance of masculinity in areas like food, vehicles, and environments.
2. These commercials signal women as the cause of the crisis of masculinity.
In his analysis, Rogers (2008) argues that women are often positioned as the cause of men's loss of masculinity. Women in the ads try to influence their partners to eat "chick food," drive minivans, and assemble fancy furniture.
3. These commercials indicate that reclamation of masculinity can only happen through disregard to the environment and animals.
Rogers (2008) argues that the absent referent in these commercials is the process of obtaining red meat: suffering, exploitation, and the slaughter of animals, as well as the degradation of the environment.
McRobbie (2009), "Post-feminism and Popular Culture"
McRobbie (2009) describes post-feminism as a "double entanglement." Post-feminism contains both neo-conservative ideas about gender, sexuality, and the family, as well as liberal ideas about choice as it relates to kinship and domestic sphere issues. On one hand, this involves many of feminism's ideas being understood as "common sense." On the other, post-feminism tends to lash out against feminist ideas with intense hatred. McRobbie describes this as "feminism taken into account" (p. 259).
McRobbie (2009) identifies a number of advertising and entertainment media programs in which feminism is "taken into account." For example, she describes overtly sexist advertisements for the WonderBra and a Citreon car in which women flaunt their nearly naked bodies. The assumption is that these women are empowered to make their own choice; they are not being exploited. Exploitation is nodded to, but dismissed, as though it is no longer relevant today.
This same theme can also be found in television narratives about young women choosing partners. Shows like Bridget Jones and Sex and the City, for example, are programs about women who choose conservative choices. The women in these narratives choose to focus their lives on finding men, despite the constant narrative reminder that they could choose otherwise. The choices granted by feminist struggle of past generations is thus taken into account only to be rejected. Feminist choices cause these women insecurity and uncertainty.
McRobbie (2009) identifies a number of advertising and entertainment media programs in which feminism is "taken into account." For example, she describes overtly sexist advertisements for the WonderBra and a Citreon car in which women flaunt their nearly naked bodies. The assumption is that these women are empowered to make their own choice; they are not being exploited. Exploitation is nodded to, but dismissed, as though it is no longer relevant today.
This same theme can also be found in television narratives about young women choosing partners. Shows like Bridget Jones and Sex and the City, for example, are programs about women who choose conservative choices. The women in these narratives choose to focus their lives on finding men, despite the constant narrative reminder that they could choose otherwise. The choices granted by feminist struggle of past generations is thus taken into account only to be rejected. Feminist choices cause these women insecurity and uncertainty.
Gray (2003), "The Simpsons Go Global"
Gray (2003) suggests that “where the Americanization and cultural imperialism thesis
at times comes close to positing the existence of a unitary and strictly managed
vision of America beaming down from satellites above, this article will suggest
that, in fact, there exist numerous competing Americas in the American global
media, some of them satirically looking back at and attacking other Americas as
presented in the more happy, glowing, and affirmative of American media
products” (p. 131).
In other words, Gray (2003) uses interviews with various non-American consumers of The Simpsons to argue that American media does not cross borders without shifting its meanings. For the participants in Gray's (2003) study, The Simpsons was a text upon which to draw ideas about America. While some participants understood the show as satirical, others felt that the series was a reflection of American laziness and consumerism.
Jenkins (2004), "The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence"
For Jenkins (2004), convergence culture is marked by contradiction. Simultaneously, convergence contains increased diversity of programming and decreased diversity of media ownership. Media convergence is a process marked by a shift in patterns of media ownership and the relationship between technologies, industries, markets, genres, and audiences. Jenkins (2004) argues that this shift impacts the way we interact with media.
This shift is marked by both positives and negatives. Convergence culture can benefit audiences, since it decreases production and distribution costs and expands the range of delivery channels. Unfortunately, there are also problems with this process, including a concentration of media ownership and privileging of affluent and technologically savvy.
Along with convergence culture's shift in media production, Jenkins (2004) identifies changes in consumption practices. He argues that new audiences are active, migratory, socially connected, and take media into their own hands.
This shift is marked by both positives and negatives. Convergence culture can benefit audiences, since it decreases production and distribution costs and expands the range of delivery channels. Unfortunately, there are also problems with this process, including a concentration of media ownership and privileging of affluent and technologically savvy.
Along with convergence culture's shift in media production, Jenkins (2004) identifies changes in consumption practices. He argues that new audiences are active, migratory, socially connected, and take media into their own hands.
Newman and Levine (2012), Legitimating Television
Newman and Levine (2012) ask how and why television's former status as a denigrated, low-brow medium has been overturned. Once associated with mindless consumption, television programming is now said to be experiencing a cultural renaissance, as evidenced by the increased cultural capital of "quality" television as well as the increasingly expensive investments consumers make in cable, DVR devices, and high-tech television sets.
For Newman and Levine (2012) this renaissance has happened in concert with convergence culture primarily because media convergence allows television to become connected with more respected media and audiences. Specifically, they argue that television becomes legitimized through the denegration of "old" television media, which has historically been understood as feminized. Contemporary "quality" television is distanced from the past and reassociated with the masculine through programming themes, viewership, and television technologies. This shift is accompanied by increased costs, which further distances television's past as a populist medium from contemporary television's association with elite audiences.
Newman and Levine (2012) urge scholars to move beyond quality distinctions, and instead refocus on television studies' contextual elements of culture, politics, and economics.
For Newman and Levine (2012) this renaissance has happened in concert with convergence culture primarily because media convergence allows television to become connected with more respected media and audiences. Specifically, they argue that television becomes legitimized through the denegration of "old" television media, which has historically been understood as feminized. Contemporary "quality" television is distanced from the past and reassociated with the masculine through programming themes, viewership, and television technologies. This shift is accompanied by increased costs, which further distances television's past as a populist medium from contemporary television's association with elite audiences.
Newman and Levine (2012) urge scholars to move beyond quality distinctions, and instead refocus on television studies' contextual elements of culture, politics, and economics.
Johnson (2004), "CBS, PAX-TV, and 'Heartland' Values in a Neo-Network Era"
Johnson (2004) examines the marketing and production norms implemented by by CBS and PAX-TV. Johnson (2004) argues that these networks worked to appeal at a local level rather than a national cable level. This reflects the desire of a certain audience to "rebuild" an American understood through notions of the "heartland" including religion, small-town values, and family. By examining marketing strategies and programming choices (like "Touched by an Angel"), Johnson (2004) argues that these two channels tapped into an audience group that felt neglected. This move is particularly savvy in times of cultural threat, when many Americans feel that their culture is being neglected and disenfranchised.
Lotz (2006), "Women’s Brands and Brands of Women"
In this chapter, Lotz (2006) analyzes the proliferation of women's television programs and networks from an industrial perspective. Specifically, she examines Lifetime, Oxygen, and WE, with particular focus on the ways these channels approach the women in their audiences. She argues that the increase in channels for women has provided female audiences with two important benefits.
1. Competition among women's networks has resulted in these networks having to actually compete. This has led to better quality programming and higher budgets for women-targeted television programs and channels.
2. There is not only multiplicity, but diversity. Multiple competing women's networks has resulted in different target networks that look at various demands among various women.
Lotz (2006) acknowledges the concern by feminist media researchers that women were being portrayed in narrow and stereotypical ways. She acknowledges the importance of close-readings of shows targeting women, but argues that broader industry level analysis reveals that there are progressive advancements being made in women-centric entertainment.
1. Competition among women's networks has resulted in these networks having to actually compete. This has led to better quality programming and higher budgets for women-targeted television programs and channels.
2. There is not only multiplicity, but diversity. Multiple competing women's networks has resulted in different target networks that look at various demands among various women.
Lotz (2006) acknowledges the concern by feminist media researchers that women were being portrayed in narrow and stereotypical ways. She acknowledges the importance of close-readings of shows targeting women, but argues that broader industry level analysis reveals that there are progressive advancements being made in women-centric entertainment.
Havens, Lotz, and Tinic (2009), "Critical Media Industry Studies"
Fueled by the limited scope of
political economy models, cultural studies scholars like Havens, Lotz, and
Tinic (2009) have aimed to expand production theorization, refocusing efforts
on smaller cogs in the larger media machine.
Critical Media Industry Studies, the model recently proposed by Havens, Lotz, and Tinic (2009), refines the general aims of political economy models, acknowledging the broader structural power at work in political economy models while facilitating a narrower, complementary focus.
For Havens, Lotz, and Tinic (2009), critiques of media’s power structure must be supplemented by a research-based understanding of power negotiations that happen at a more individualized level.
Critical Media Industry Studies advocates methods like ethnography and interviews with production personnel, noting that an intimate connection with the media’s decision-makers can lead to a more thorough understanding of the structural power issues outlined by political economists.
Critical Media Industry Studies, the model recently proposed by Havens, Lotz, and Tinic (2009), refines the general aims of political economy models, acknowledging the broader structural power at work in political economy models while facilitating a narrower, complementary focus.
For Havens, Lotz, and Tinic (2009), critiques of media’s power structure must be supplemented by a research-based understanding of power negotiations that happen at a more individualized level.
Critical Media Industry Studies advocates methods like ethnography and interviews with production personnel, noting that an intimate connection with the media’s decision-makers can lead to a more thorough understanding of the structural power issues outlined by political economists.
Levine (2001), "Toward a Paradigm for Media Production Research"
Levine (2001) observed the industrial practices at General Hospital to determine the ways the show was produced. She suggests breaking media production research into five constraints: constraints, environment, routines and practices, characters and stories, and the role of the audience.
1. Levine (2001) examined the financial constraints placed on design personnel at General Hospital. As shows gain more or less prestige, their budgets grow or shrink accordingly, forcing production personnel to be more creative in their design choices.
2. Levine (2001) noticed that the production environment functioned in terms of gendered norms. The gendered division of labor behind the General Hospital scenes also shaped the production of the show.
3. By "routines and practices," Levine (2001) refers things like continuity design and editing and production schedules.
4. Characters and stories are produced within the guidelines of social norms. Lots of people contribute to the final characters and storylines, so it is important that all staff understand the goal of the developing production elements.
5. Audience communications are usually read by low-level interns, Levine (2001) observes. Therefore, audiences are considered only in aggregate, through lists compiled and delivered to executives.
Aslinger (2009), "Creating a network for queer audiences at Logo TV"
Aslinger (2009) uses Logo TV, a channel developed by Viacom and MTV, as a case study to examine the implications of LGBT representations for television industry. He examines Logo TV at three levels: the trade press, marketing strategies, and individual programming. Logo TV seems to represent a progressive advancement in television, since it speaks to a diversified audience base. However, Aslinger (2009) argues, when the channel is examined in a larger context, problematic implications are revealed.
1. At the trade press level, Logo TV attempted to reach out to a wide range of LGBT audiences. However, its desire for widespread distribution meant that more radical perspectives were silenced. The channel's marketing as an LGBT representative space therefore contributed to a narrowing of which perspectives "count" in the LGBT community. Specifically, Aslinger (2009) argues, Logo TV's target marketing techniques homogenized the LGBT community into affluent, urban trendsetters.
2. Aslinger (2009) also examine's Logo TV's marketing strategies, specifically focusing on the channel's attempts to gather a lesbian audience. This move ended up being problematic, because the marketing did not question issues of race or class, and the marketing strategy again homogenized its representation of LGBT communities.
3. Logo TV's programming also homogenized its representation of LGBT communities through their programming choices. Aslinger (2009) analyzes two of the channel's series to argue that the programming content privileged only a very narrow version of queerness, specifically limiting performance of gay Black identities and privileging class performances that allowed for cosmopolitan consumption of queerness.
1. At the trade press level, Logo TV attempted to reach out to a wide range of LGBT audiences. However, its desire for widespread distribution meant that more radical perspectives were silenced. The channel's marketing as an LGBT representative space therefore contributed to a narrowing of which perspectives "count" in the LGBT community. Specifically, Aslinger (2009) argues, Logo TV's target marketing techniques homogenized the LGBT community into affluent, urban trendsetters.
2. Aslinger (2009) also examine's Logo TV's marketing strategies, specifically focusing on the channel's attempts to gather a lesbian audience. This move ended up being problematic, because the marketing did not question issues of race or class, and the marketing strategy again homogenized its representation of LGBT communities.
3. Logo TV's programming also homogenized its representation of LGBT communities through their programming choices. Aslinger (2009) analyzes two of the channel's series to argue that the programming content privileged only a very narrow version of queerness, specifically limiting performance of gay Black identities and privileging class performances that allowed for cosmopolitan consumption of queerness.
Mazzarella (2008), "Men, Media, and Machines"
Mazzarella (2008) uses American Chopper to explore the role of hegemonic masculinity in reality shows about working class men.
1. American Chopper demonstrates three forms of masculinity proposed by Connell.
Her primary framework is drawn from Connell's (1995) categories of masculine performance including hegemonic masculinity, subordinate/resistant masculinity, and complicit masculinity. Mazzarella (2008) notes that these categories are not static. Instead, hegemonic masculinity shifts based on situational context, a move that allows the dominant male to retain control. In American Chopper, for example, Paul Sr. is the dominant male. Though he often takes charge of situations, he is also depicted as gentle or emotional at times, which allows him to retain control across shifting situations and contexts.
The show also balances Paul Sr. hegemonic masculinity with other forms of masculinity through Paul Sr.'s sons. Paulie's subordinate resistant masculinity is often challenged and delegitimized, while Mikey's complicit masculinity is rewarded as loyalty to the family patriarch.
2. American Chopper also represents the genre of the docusoap.
Mazzarella (2008) argues that the series relies heavily on conventions of both soap operas and documentaries. This leads to heightened emotional displays from the characters as well as the appearance of the show as based in the real.
3. Mazzarella (2008) sees American Chopper's use of masculine emotional displays as indicative of a cultural movement towards more feminized hegemonic masculinity.
1. American Chopper demonstrates three forms of masculinity proposed by Connell.
Her primary framework is drawn from Connell's (1995) categories of masculine performance including hegemonic masculinity, subordinate/resistant masculinity, and complicit masculinity. Mazzarella (2008) notes that these categories are not static. Instead, hegemonic masculinity shifts based on situational context, a move that allows the dominant male to retain control. In American Chopper, for example, Paul Sr. is the dominant male. Though he often takes charge of situations, he is also depicted as gentle or emotional at times, which allows him to retain control across shifting situations and contexts.
The show also balances Paul Sr. hegemonic masculinity with other forms of masculinity through Paul Sr.'s sons. Paulie's subordinate resistant masculinity is often challenged and delegitimized, while Mikey's complicit masculinity is rewarded as loyalty to the family patriarch.
2. American Chopper also represents the genre of the docusoap.
Mazzarella (2008) argues that the series relies heavily on conventions of both soap operas and documentaries. This leads to heightened emotional displays from the characters as well as the appearance of the show as based in the real.
3. Mazzarella (2008) sees American Chopper's use of masculine emotional displays as indicative of a cultural movement towards more feminized hegemonic masculinity.
Becker (2009), "Guy love: A queer straight masculinity for a post-closet era?"
Becker (2009) offers the concept of a queer straight masculinity. He bases this idea on the what he argues are increasingly common performances of queer masculinity among straight characters. For Becker (2009), these performances offer a way of renegotiating hegemonic masculinity in culture.
As examples, Becker (2009) offers instances of popular cultural "bromances." These homosocial performances of "guy love" generally end in a reiteration of the characters heterosexuality. Though this could be read as a homophobic response, Becker (2009) argues that in the current cultural climate, these performances are instead meant to indicate straight men who are comfortable in their sexuality.
It is somewhat problematic that queer straight masculinity is often set in a comedic context. For Becker (2009) the tongue-in-cheek context used in queer straight masculine portrayals on shows like Scrubs and 30 Rock can work against the complexity of queer straight masculine identities. However, Becker (2009) sees these portrayals as ultimately positive, as they help to blur the false dichotomy between heterosexual and homosexual.
As examples, Becker (2009) offers instances of popular cultural "bromances." These homosocial performances of "guy love" generally end in a reiteration of the characters heterosexuality. Though this could be read as a homophobic response, Becker (2009) argues that in the current cultural climate, these performances are instead meant to indicate straight men who are comfortable in their sexuality.
It is somewhat problematic that queer straight masculinity is often set in a comedic context. For Becker (2009) the tongue-in-cheek context used in queer straight masculine portrayals on shows like Scrubs and 30 Rock can work against the complexity of queer straight masculine identities. However, Becker (2009) sees these portrayals as ultimately positive, as they help to blur the false dichotomy between heterosexual and homosexual.
Cuklanz and Moorti (2006), "Prime-time representations of women and victimization"
Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) argue that Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) represents a new type of television feminism similar to McRobbie's idea of post-feminism. For Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) SVU represents some positive developments in television portrayals of gendered violence. However, the show remains mired in the misogyny of both its masculinist detective genre and stereotypes of feminity.
1. The show offers advancements in televised discussions of gendered violence.
SVU is a positive development in that it portrays a variety of victims of rape and sexual assault. Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) argue that the show's diversitys of race, gender, class, and sexuality are a new development for feminist television portrayals. The show is also positive in that it depicts hope for a life after rape and sexual assault. Finally, SVU dispels some myths and misconceptions about rape and sexual assault.
2. The show is also problematic in its portrayals of femininity.
While the show represents some positive developments in feminist television, it also contains some problems. First, Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) argue, the women who are portrayed in positions of authority on the show rarely discuss their minority positions in a male-dominated field. Second, the show often depicts women whose crime involves harming or neglecting their children. In this way, the show centralizes a particular notion of motherhood that punishes women for not performing their maternal role in a specific way. Women are therefore disciplined for not being nurturing, and they are blamed for family dysfunction.
3. Though SVU contains some progressive messages, Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) argue that the show's messages lean more toward the misogynist than the feminist.
1. The show offers advancements in televised discussions of gendered violence.
SVU is a positive development in that it portrays a variety of victims of rape and sexual assault. Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) argue that the show's diversitys of race, gender, class, and sexuality are a new development for feminist television portrayals. The show is also positive in that it depicts hope for a life after rape and sexual assault. Finally, SVU dispels some myths and misconceptions about rape and sexual assault.
2. The show is also problematic in its portrayals of femininity.
While the show represents some positive developments in feminist television, it also contains some problems. First, Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) argue, the women who are portrayed in positions of authority on the show rarely discuss their minority positions in a male-dominated field. Second, the show often depicts women whose crime involves harming or neglecting their children. In this way, the show centralizes a particular notion of motherhood that punishes women for not performing their maternal role in a specific way. Women are therefore disciplined for not being nurturing, and they are blamed for family dysfunction.
3. Though SVU contains some progressive messages, Cuklanz and Moorti (2006) argue that the show's messages lean more toward the misogynist than the feminist.
Wang (2010), "Asian Americans in reality TV shows"
Wang (2010) examines Top Chef and Project Runway. These shows focus on contestant skill level as chefs, in the case of the former, and designers, in the case of the latter. Wang (2010) argues that these shows both limit Asian contestants' possibilities for success. In the shows, the Asian competitors are often stereotyped by the panels of judges as cold and robotic. This translates into assessments of the contestants technically skilled but lacking in creativity and passion. These representations are based on stereotypes present in the culture, which are filtered through the social experience of the shows' panels of experts. These experts then filter stereotypical assessments of the competitors through the show, perpetuating a cycle of racist stereotypes that limit "appropriate" roles for Asian-Americans.
Smith-Shomade (2008), "Oprah the Iconic and Television Talk"
Smith-Shomade (2008) argues that Oprah's success is aided by her performance of binaries of class, race, and gender. Most importantly, she employs a "rags-to-riches" narrative that allows her to play to both wealthy audiences and those audiences who aspire to greater wealth. Furthermore, Smith-Shomade (2008) argues, Oprah is successful in large part because she plays a "middle-of-the-road" role in terms of both race and gender. Oprah therefore escapes stereotypes of Blackness, femininity, and wealth, allowing her to play to a broader audience.
Dubrofsky (2006), "The Bachelor: Whiteness in the Harem"
Dubrofsky (2006) examined the the construction of romantic relationships on six seasons of The Bachelor. She notes that the series privileges Whiteness and Otherizes women of color through its visual and structural references to harems. This illustrates not only the show's ideological lean, but also demonstrates reality television's techniques of framing "real" footage.
1. Women of color are used to frame and centralize White women
Dubrofksy (2006) argues that women of color appear on the bachelor only as a frame for the behavior of White women. The show's few women of color are shown only rarely, and often their screen time is spent discussing the actions of White women. Women of color are not shown as real prospective mates for the show's male protagonist.
2. The show's visual and structural elements reference a harem, which Others Eastern culture
The Bachelor conjures images of a harem on two levels, Dubrofsky (2006) argues. First, the show's mise en scene includes stereotypically Eastern decor like red and gold rugs and a palace-like appearance. The visual imagery of crowds of women waiting to spend time with the male protagonist also gives the appearance of a harem. Second, the show's structure, in which the male protagonist calls on various women to engage in physical and romantic rendezvous with is reminiscent of a harem.
3. The show uses women of color and references to a harem to frame White women as the only suitable mates. In the show, Dubrofsky (2006) notes, residents of the harem may be suitable for sexual encounters, but not as long-term partners.
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