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Female Representation in TV: the Case of the Superhero Genre

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Female Representation in TV: the Case of the Superhero Genre Thesis: Female Representation in TV: the case of the superhero genre Eftychia Misailidou Master’s Programme in Media and Communication Studies: Culture, Collaborative Media, and Creative Industries Supervisor: Margareta Melin 2018/19 Submission date: Word count: 10.593 1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................................................................ 4 2. 1. The Social Problem ..................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2. The constructionist approach to representation and the need to investigate current culture ..................... 5 2.3. Stages of representation by Cedric Clark .................................................................................................... 6 2.4. Feminist Media Theory ............................................................................................................................... 7 2.4.1. The Gaze ................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.4.2. The Female Gaze ...................................................................................................................................... 8 2.5 Previous Research ....................................................................................................................................... 8 2.5.1. Women on Screen and Behind the Scenes in Television .......................................................................... 8 2.5.2. Gendered Roles on Television ................................................................................................................... 9 3. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................................ 10 3. 1. Social Learning Theory ............................................................................................................................. 10 3.2. Parasocial Interaction ................................................................................................................................ 11 4. Research Aim ................................................................................................................................................ 12 4.1. Research Questions .................................................................................................................................... 12 4.2. Researcher’s Stance ..................................................................................................................................... 12 5. Methodology .................................................................................................................................................. 13 5.1. Content Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 13 5.2. Sample ........................................................................................................................................................ 14 5. 3. Units of Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 15 5.4. Code Book .................................................................................................................................................. 15 5.5. Methodology discussion ............................................................................................................................ 17 6. Findings ......................................................................................................................................................... 17 7. Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 7.1 Terms of Presence ........................................................................................................................................ 21 7.2 Gender-based representation ....................................................................................................................... 22 7.3 State of representation ................................................................................................................................. 23 7.4 The difference between platforms ................................................................................................................ 24 7.5 The effect of Globalization: multidimensional representations or cultural imperialism? ....................... 25 8. Implications and Suggestions ....................................................................................................................... 26 9. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 List of Figures Figure 1: Characters ........................................................................................................ 18 Figure 2: Leading & In Action ........................................................................................ 18 Figure 3: Competence ..................................................................................................... 19 Figure 4:Warmth ............................................................................................................. 20 2 1. Introduction While studying sex differences in reinforcement and punishment on prime-time television, Downs and Gowan (1980) discussed about how television can be one of the most influential factors in the development of children’s sex-role stereotypes, quoting many other scholars and authors suggesting that television may “offer an even more stereotypic view of the sexes than other sources (MaccoBy & Jacklin, 1974). The year was 1980 and the conclusion came from various researchers that male performers on prime-time television exceeded the number of female characters. The fact that more than four decades of research and studying television produces the same quantitative results in terms of percentages of male and female characters, reveals much more than the fact that we are still focusing on the importance of television in constructing perceptions and identities. Even though semiology may not be the most fitting approach to study the main questions of representation, we could borrow some of its main elements to highlight why female representation in TV series is such a culturally crucial suBject. Like discourse analysis, semiology offers the opportunity to discover the meaning that media generates. Successfully communicating and understanding the media meaning involves shared societal system of understanding (Hodkinson, 2017). Barthes (1968) distinguishes the concepts of denotation and connotation in conveying meaning. Denotation relates to an immediate level of meaning, instantly recognized across cultures, while connotation relates to how culture may influence the given, associative meaning. What those concepts imply is that when the audience watches Sara Lance in TV series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, they understand immediately that she is a “Badass” leader with human qualities, and in a deeper level, that women can be feminine and desiraBle while also performing activities commonly associated with masculinity; can enjoy a steady and normal relationship while prioritizing their career, be Bisexual while having the respect of their peers and…well, surviving, escaping thus the “burry your gays trope”. This study aims to combine feminist media theory and popular culture to try to evaluate the impact of contemporary media texts. To do so, first we require the appropriate data framework, which is lacking in the particular genre. Filling this way a gap in research on female characters in American superhero TV series and also contributing to the discussion about female representation by presenting unavailaBle data. The aim is to conclude on the numbers and nature of female representation in the genre and determine whether common gendered characteristics of hypermasculinity and hyperfemininity are Being adopted. During this study, 20 American TV series of the superhero genre in the season of 2018-2019 have been analyzed, using content analysis and by Borrowing variaBles from other relevant 3 studies, so that a definite comparison between genres could be made. The series have been analyzed both in a series and a character level, with characters providing mostly Behavioral insights. Because we are consuming entertainment content in a media world of various different platforms, a distinction and comparison between traditional networks and streaming services was necessary. 2. Literature Review 2. 1. The Social Problem “The clock has run out on sexual assault, harassment and inequality in the workplace. It’s time to do something about it”. This is the statement listed in Time’s Up Movement weBsite. In late 2017 and 2018 we have experienced an instrumental shift in news narrative, as well as consecutive revelations about sexual harassment cases in Hollywood. The social activism, spreading
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