Gender Biased Hiding of Extraordinary Abilities in Girl-Powered Disney Channel Sitcoms from the 2000S
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SECRET SUPERSTARS AND OTHERWORLDLY WIZARDS: Gender Biased Hiding of Extraordinary Abilities in Girl-Powered Disney Channel Sitcoms from the 2000s By © 2017 Christina H. Hodel M.A., New York University, 2008 B.A., California State University, Long Beach, 2006 Submitted to the graduate degree program in Film and Media Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chair: Germaine Halegoua, Ph.D. Joshua Miner, Ph.D. Catherine Preston, Ph.D. Ronald Wilson, Ph.D. Alesha Doan, Ph.D. Date Defended: 18 November 2016 The dissertation committee for Christina H. Hodel certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: SECRET SUPERSTARS AND OTHERWORLDLY WIZARDS: Gender Biased Hiding of Extraordinary Abilities in Girl-Powered Disney Channel Sitcoms from the 2000s Chair: Germaine Halegoua, Ph.D. Date Approved: 25 January 2017 ii ABSTRACT Conformity messaging and subversive practices potentially harmful to healthy models of feminine identity are critical interpretations of the differential depiction of the hiding and usage of tween girl characters’ extraordinary abilities (e.g., super/magical abilities and celebrity powers) in Disney Channel television sitcoms from 2001-2011. Male counterparts in similar programs aired by the same network openly displayed their extraordinariness and were portrayed as having considerable and usually uncontested agency. These alternative depictions of differential hiding and secrecy in sitcoms are far from speculative; these ideas were synthesized from analyses of sitcom episodes, commentary in magazine articles, and web-based discussions of these series. Content analysis, industrial analysis (including interviews with industry personnel), and critical discourse analysis utilizing the multi-faceted lens of feminist theory throughout is used in this study to demonstrate a unique decade in children’s programming about super powered girls. This research is invested in answering questions about how and why this decade of gendered programming was constructed and its impact on television’s portrayal of female youth. To address these issues, close study of dialogue and action via textual analysis, and application of insights from socioeconomic and historical perspectives elucidate the antics surrounding the hiding and misappropriation of extraordinary power by young girl role models. In addition, such methodologies reveal much about the attitudes of the creators of these programs (mostly white, middle-aged, Western, heterosexual males). What is discerned from scripted material on the motivations behind elaborate attempts to hide the extraordinary are the meanings disseminated from the female subject-position representations in these blockbuster sitcoms that reveal despite Disney’s progress towards creating empowered girls, the network is at best locked into tradition. iii For girls and girls at heart. Valuable. Deserving. Powerful. Let us own who we are. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the result of years of diligent research. I am indebted to a particular group of colleagues, friends, and family members who either encouraged me to pursue my longstanding interests in a scholarly environment or to persevere in completing what at times seemed a monumental undertaking. First and foremost, I would like to express deep gratitude to my advisor Dr. Germaine Halegoua for her continuous support of my doctoral studies and research. Her immense knowledge and helpful comments on numerous drafts of this manuscript challenged me to think more critically about the world’s most powerful medium as it relates to “girl power.” I am indebted to Dr. Halegoua for her overall guidance, insightfulness, and patience in bringing my dissertation together. I would also like to pay particular thanks and appreciation to the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Catherine Preston, Dr. Ronald Wilson, Dr. Joshua Miner, and Dr. Alesha Doan. Their vital encouragement, constant motivation, and empathy—along with their extended support and critical commentary on both early and later revisions of chapters—assisted me at every point of the process and helped finely shape my research. Further thanks are extended to the faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Film and Media Studies at the University of Kansas. The entire department—led by Dr. Michael Baskett—was involved in the process of deep learning about gender representations on children’s television, by way of formal coursework and countless conversations shared over the years. Special thanks to my fellow grad students; their comradery and genuine interest in my work lifted my spirits and made the doctoral experience both intellectually stimulating and enjoyable. I would also like to thank my best friend and perpetual page-turner, Richard Paul v Paczynski, for five incredible years of unwavering support, understanding, and commitment to both my research and myself. Although less directly related to the completion of this project (but no less instrumental) I would like to thank my dance teachers and classmates at the Lawrence Arts Center School of Dance, particularly instructors Cynthia Cruz, Shannon Pickett, and Jerel Hilding. I believe that I owe much of my success as a scholar, artist, and person to the uplifting and reassuring environment these individuals created every day in their classes. It perhaps goes without saying that their insistence on keeping dance in my life while working through school helped keep me fit, motivated, and balanced in the often demanding atmosphere of academe. Of course, I must acknowledge my family—my parents, Donald and Marianne Hodel, and my brother Robert Hodel. Robert, thanks for being the “big guy” who taught me—way back before I could even walk—how to crawl to the TV and tune into Disney Channel. Mom and Dad, thanks for eventually abandoning the rule of “No TV after 5:00.” Growing up with free rein over that analog Sharp has finally paid off. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. vii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 8 Girlhood ................................................................................................................................... 9 Gender and Television ........................................................................................................... 10 Super Powered Females......................................................................................................... 13 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................... 18 Textual Analysis and Content Analysis................................................................................. 18 Discourse Analysis I and II ................................................................................................... 19 Cultural Studies and Historical Approach ............................................................................. 21 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ............................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER OUTLINES ............................................................................................................ 23 CHAPTER 1: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF GENDER IN DISNEY TELEVISION .... 26 DISNEY THROUGH THE DECADES ................................................................................... 28 1920s and 1930s .................................................................................................................... 29 1940s and 1950s .................................................................................................................... 33 1960s and 1970s .................................................................................................................... 35 1980s and 1990s .................................................................................................................... 38 2000s ...................................................................................................................................... 44 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 2: DISNEY CHANNEL PACKAGES GIRLHOOD ................................................ 51 vii BUILDING A TWEEN GIRL AUDIENCE ............................................................................. 55 CONCEPTUALIZING THE TWEEN GIRL CONSUMER .................................................... 57 UTILIZING CROSS PROMOTION TO BUILD THE TWEEN AUDIENCE ........................ 65 BRANDING, MERCHANDISING, AND FRANCHISING: CONSUMER SUBJECTIVITY FOR TWEENS .......................................................................................................................... 68 CONSTRUCTING THE STAR, CONSTRUCTING THE CONSUMER ..............................