Expressions in Genrelessness: Genre in the Netflix Era of Television
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EXPRESSIONS IN GENRELESSNESS: GENRE IN THE NETFLIX ERA OF TELEVISION Alexis Isaac A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2020 Committee: Becca Cragin, Advisor Jeff Brown Esther Clinton © 2020 Alexis Isaac All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Becca Cragin, Advisor The question of how genre is used in relation to television has been widely debated within the study of popular culture with voices like Jason Mitchell arguing that “every aspect of television exhibits a reliance on genre.” While his argument was largely correct for the time and his methodical approach to the study of genre indicates a broad definition, it was published before the widespread use of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Therefore, his argument fails to address the ways streaming services have changed the use of genre in television. My paper addresses the issue of how genre is changing with special attention to their emerging use as algorithms and their ebbing use as an analytical framework. Specifically, in my project, I will be looking at the Netflix original show The End of the F×××ing World to illustrate how shows created for streaming services play with genre in ways that create television that appears without genre altogether. I will do a semiotic genre analysis, using the first season of The End of the F×××ing World, to show how adhering to one (or even two genres) is no longer the norm, but rather streaming service original shows participate in what I call genre microdosing. This is a process by which shows integrate five to seven genres to create product that appears without genre when observed wholly. In conclusion this project, by closely examining genre within The End of the F×××ing World, sheds new light on the neglected issue of the changing use of genre in streaming services. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 What and Why ........................................................................................................... 2 Approach .................................................................................................................... 4 Previous Research ...................................................................................................... 6 Limitations ................................................................................................................. 7 Chapter Outline .......................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1: GENREMICRODOSING AND TELEVISION FOR THE INTERNET AGE ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 10 Existing Genre Theory ............................................................................................... 11 Why Streaming Services Are Different ..................................................................... 15 Genre Microdosing .................................................................................................... 19 Case Study: The End of the FXXXing World ............................................................... 23 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 2: GENRE MICRODOSING AND REPRESENTATION ................................ 31 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 31 Alyssa: Women and Representation .......................................................................... 36 James: Masculinity and Representation ..................................................................... 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 49 v CHAPTER 3: GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS OF GENRELESSNESS IN NETFLIX’S THE END OF THE FXXXING WORLD .................................................................................. 51 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 51 Performance of Language .......................................................................................... 57 Performance of Humor .............................................................................................. 61 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 66 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 68 WORKS CITED .................................................................................................................... 76 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction I was in middle school when ABC family started airing commercials for a new DVD rental service called Netflix that would send subscribers a physical DVD via the United States Postal Service. The screen flashed a startling true red while white shadowed block letters spelled out NETFLIX and the narrator said “Nanana NETFLIX! Just 5 bucks a month!” At the time, it seemed to be a competitor to blockbuster and family video – and not even a good one considering you had to wait for the mail to come before receiving your DVD (plus if you forgo the trip to blockbuster, how can you talk your mom into buying you and your friends movie snacks?!). While they did advertise a small streaming library, it was notoriously only a handful of B films that were not worth the switch from your local DVD rental store. However, my father, playing the good capitalist, wanted in – because for five dollars a month it did beat out its competitors. I had Netflix before most of my friends’ families had even thought about trading in their blockbuster cards for yet another username and password to keep track of. I did not understand then how valuable that username and password would become to me – to everyone who has one. I did not understand then that Netflix was – and still is – a game changer. We know now that Netflix changed the entire face of television from the way that it is sold and profits to the way it is consumed; from the way that it is produced and written to the way it influences the people and culture around it. It wasn’t until 2013 that Netflix released its first popular Netflix Original show, Orange is the New Black. While binge watching practices had been established and Netflix culture was well on the rise, the show took the idea of streaming service television to the next level by creating a program specifically made for this platform. Released online, it was made to be binged, shared, and talked about within the context 2 of the internet. As Netflix Original films and television have progressed, the company has begun to understand the freedom that comes with having an online platform and the benefits to making content that caters to that. They get to be experimental. Netflix is unrestricted by the traditional restraints of syndicated television like broadcast schedules, series run time, episode run time, networks, sponsors, issues of carryover audience, and even space (where a show is released) can all be manipulated in ways that syndicated television never imagined. What and Why There are many different approaches to cultural studies – the approach that examines storytelling is not only important but frequently overlooked. It is important to study the stories a culture produces and how they’re telling them for several reasons. Most of which are touted for the rest of cultural studies as well: they’re both a product of and producing societal norms (and therefore provide not only a mirror but a guiding hand) mass amounts of people engage with the stories being told (and is therefore worthy of study), etc. Though perhaps this particular take on cultural studies stands out in that when it is stated “there is nothing new under the sun,” they simply cannot possibly be talking about storytelling. The basic human sentiments conveyed remain relatively the same but new stories, told in new ways, give new insights into how those sentiments can be examined, conveyed, and felt by their audiences. There is indeed value in discussing new forms of storytelling and examining the stories themselves as they change with the changing culture. The lack of constraints placed on streaming service original shows has created new and innovative ways for the audience to experience and engage with the televisual story. While the idea of narrative complexity within television is not new, the extent to which streaming services are able to disregard previously known constraints and conventions has allowed narrative 3 complexity to be taken to an extreme (or at least what we perceive as extreme at the time of this writing). This new level of narrative complexity has yet to be fully explored academically, with most writings on television story telling focusing on syndicated television. The goal in this thesis is to excavate what the differences and similarities are in narrative complexity are between