Situation comedy and the female audience : A study of 'The Mistress'. JACKSON, Rhona. Available from the Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/19865/ A Sheffield Hallam University thesis This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. 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Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Situation Comedy and the Female Audience A Study of The Mistress Rhona Jackson A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Sheffield Hallam University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 1993 Rhona Jackson CONTENTS Page N o . Acknowledgements 2 Abstract 3 Chapter One: Introduction 4 Chapter Two: Perspectives 40 Chapter Three: Conceptualising the Audience 90 Chapter Four: Methodology and Methods 200 Chapter Five: The Audience Data 264 and Its Interpretation Chapter Six: Conclusions 399 Bibliography 483 Appendices: Appendix I: Discussions Cancelled or i Not Transcribed Appendix II: Agenda of Discussion Topics iii Appendix III: Key to Transcripts iv Appendix IV: Examples of Transcripts vii Apppendix V: Adapted and Amended Uses and xlviii Gratifications Categories Appendix VI: Comparison of "Official" and liv Perceived Social Class Classifications Appendix VII: Details of Actual Uses and lvii Gratifications Categories used. 1 Rhona Jackson ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Working on this thesis has not always been a labour of love. The fact that I have been able to complete at all is due in no small measure to the encouragement of the following: Jon and Dolly Davidson for their unconditional love and unfailing support; Suzanne Phillips, Margaret Montgomerie, and Sarah Broughton for always being there and for the chocolate, fruit tea and ginger wine, and champagne; Maggie Wykes for sharing the load and providing a shoulder; Catherine Feeney for her consistent thoughtfulness; Jan Davies and Alan Waddington for their friendly, though bewildered interest; John Swarbrooke, Rose Stevenson, Wylma Stevenson, a number of students on the MSc in Tourism, Food and Hospitality Management Course and, especially, Hazel Undy for making blue days brighter; Dr Herbert, and Hilary Jack for their consideration and care; Alison Taubman, Brian Machin, Judy Thompson, Peter Hartley, Helen Ward, Dr Bill Bramwell, and Howard Lyons for their timely words, which they probably don't even recall; Prof. Asher Cashdan for negotiating the early maze of reports and committees; Dr Dorothy Hobson for her initial support and advice; Pam Mills at the BBC for her generous help and information; all the women in the audience of The Mistress whose time, enthusiasm and hospitality made the whole thing possible; Dr Cathy Cassell for her last minute advice; Fiona Harrison, Elaine Ward, Jonathan Toogood, Ian and Nicole Bagshaw, Pat Ward and Mike Parry, Pam Forsey, Ted Stanley and Julie Williams, Andy Thompson, Dave Smith, Chris Skelton, Margaret Bright, Sandra Cooke, and Kay Thomas, plus many of those already mentioned, for their thoughtful reassurance and encouragement. I am particularly grateful to my supervisors: Dr Richard Dyer's patient perseverance and good humour has been as much appreciated as has his counsel and advice; and Chas Critcher may never know how important has been his guidance and unflagging kindness; he has been such a friend. All the above have proved such a positive source of comfort, support and friendship that 'thank you' seems hardly adequate, but, believe me, it's deeply felt. Finally, and particularly, I must thank Steve Jackson for all the above and much much more, but especially for his gentleness and tolerance. My gratitude and love are immeasurable. Rhona Jackson 1993 2 Rhona Jackson ABSTRACT SITUATION COMEDY AND THE FEMALE AUDIENCE: A STUDY OF THE MISTRESS This study examines the relationship between a television text and the women in the audience, using Carla Lane's situation comedy, The Mistress [BBC], broadcast in 1985, as a case study. The project is entirely directed by the audience point of view. An eclectic multi-disciplinary approach was taken to devise an 'open' conceptual model of the audience which located women as key actors in the viewing process. The concept of the Skilled Viewer was developed, incorporating elements from feminist film and television theory, reader response theory, and Uses and Gratifications theory. A feminist perspective, systematised by an ethnographic account and feminist sociological principles, guided the qualitative methods of data collection from 14 individual and nine groups of women viewers. Their discussions were recorded, transcribed, categorised, and analysed. Audience responses were classified into Uses and Gratifications categories. Viewers responded on emotional and/or intellectual levels, pointing up concerns relating to identification with stars/characters; aspects of realism; confirmation of personal values; and aesthetic criticism. Responses were defined within a framework of expectation, in terms of anticipations-expressed/fulfilled and/or hopes- expressed/fulfilled. Viewers' 'interpretive strategies' and their source 'interpretive repertoires' via which they understood and enjoyed the text were explored. Reasons were posited for response. Major findings are as follows. A multi-disciplinary theoretical design supported by a reflexive, compatible methodological approach is effective. Application of the concept of the Skilled Viewer produces a number of findings not available via pre-existing theoretical models. Viewers are active, self-monitoring participants in the viewing process. The text/audience relationship is in constant negotiation. Viewers' enjoyment depends to a great extent on the priorities with which they approach it. Placing theoretical priority on the female viewer can prove methodologically effective. Legitimating their voice successfully empowers the women in the audience. 3 Rhona Jackson CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Aims and Objectives The aims and objectives of this study were to understand and make explicit the text/audience relationship between a television comedy written by a woman and featuring women protagonists, and the women in the audience. The case study used was the first series of the tv comedy, The Mistress [BBC], within the context of the writer Carla Lane's work in general. This enquiry adds to the body of work on television audiences, and continues to redress the balance with respect to the investigation into female viewers. It has two other principal aims. First of all, it confirms the women in the audience as participants in the interpretive process. Secondly, it gives their interpretation a voice. A feminist perspective directed this research. In this I was guided by Janice A Radway's explanation of her approach to her study of romance readers in the USA, which: situates the social practices of courtship, sexuality, and marriage within the analytic category of patriarchy, defined as a social system where women are constituted only in and by their relationships to more powerful men.1 It was important to take into account, assume their significance, and attempt to explain the subjective feelings of those women who were the subjects of the research. It was 4 Rhona Jackson essential to use a theoretical model and a methodological approach which promoted both the centrality of the women in the audience and the validity of their views. I intended to design a research model which would incorporate women's lived experience and learned interpretive expertise. A number of theories were examined. The most relevant were film and television theory, reader response theory and Uses and Gratifications theory. Each offered useful theoretical and methodological components. None provided an overall model of the audience which was specifically pertinent. Feminist film and television theory had advanced to regard women as central, rather than as marginal or additional, but their concept of the audience was purely theoretical. It did not lend itself to the inclusion of the opinions of active viewers in society. Reader response theory and Uses and Gratifications theory were equally inappropriate as they stood. The former focused on the reader rather than the viewer. The latter was still in the process of developing an explanatory stage which would be theoretically and methodologically adequate. In