• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

OBJECTIFICATION OF PERSONHOOD: AN ANALYSIS OF FEMALE HEROES IN AMERICAN TV SERIES by Neelum Almas NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES August 2018 Objectification of Personhood: An Analysis of Female Heroes in American TV Series by Neelum Almas MS English, International Islamic University, Islamabad, 2012 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In English Literature To DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF LANGUAGES NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES, ISLAMABAD © Neelum Almas 2018 ii aa NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MDOERN LANGUAGES FACULTY OF LANGUAGES DISSERTATION AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM The undersigned certify that they have read the following thesis, examined the defense, are satisfied with the overall exam performance, and recommend the thesis to the Faculty of Languages for acceptance: Thesis Title: Objectification of Personhood: An Analysis of Female Heroes in American TV Series Submitted By: Neelum Almas Registration #: 431—PhD/ELit/Fall 12 PhD English Literature Name of Discipline Shaheena Ayub Bhatti, PhD ______________________________ Name of Supervisor Signature of Supervisor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan ______________________________ Name of Dean (FoL) Signature of Dean (FoL) Maj. Gen. Zia Uddin Najam HI (M) (R) ______________________________ Name of Rector Signature of Rector 28.08.2018 iii CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM I, Neelum Almas, Daughter of Muhammad Almas Registration # 431—PhD/ELit/Fall 12 Discipline English Literature Candidate of Doctor of Philosophy at the National University of Modern Languages do hereby declare that the dissertation Objectification of Personhood: An Analysis of Female Heroes in American TV Series submitted by me in partial fulfilment of PhD degree, is my original work, and has not been submitted or published earlier. I also solemnly declare that it shall not, in future, be submitted by me for obtaining any other degree from this or any other university or institution. I also understand that if evidence of plagiarism is found in my thesis/dissertation at any stage, even after the award of a degree, the work may be cancelled and the degree revoked. ________________________ Neelum Almas 28 August 2018 iv ABSTRACT Thesis Title: Objectification of Personhood: An Analysis of Female Heroes in American TV Series This dissertation examines the representation of the female hero in the American television drama series which at a cursory glance seems to be informed by the enlightened discourse of feminism. The study looks into the notion of the female hero through a feminist lens in order to determine what ways of objectification, or treating women as objects, are at work in the depiction of the female hero in American television drama series. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which the female hero is objectified in American television drama series and expose ideological biases in terms of instrumentality, autonomy, agency, violability and subjectivity that exists in the representation of the female heroes in television drama series. For the purpose of the study of objectification of the female hero three drama series were selected: Grey’s Anatomy, Castle and The Good Wife. Martha Nussbaum’s theory of objectification delineating seven notions of objectification, namely: instrumentality, denial of autonomy, violability, inertness, denial of subjectivity, fungibility and ownership formed the theoretical framework of the study. Horace Newcomb and Paul M. Hirsch’s textual critical approach was used to study and interpret the dominant messages embedded in the pleasant disguise of fictional entertainment. A detailed analysis of the three notions of objectification: instrumentality, denial of autonomy and ownership (Chapter IV) shows that despite being given the role of the hero around whom the action of the drama series revolves, the female heroes, Meredith, Beckett and Alicia are undermined in various ways through objectification. Members of their family, male or female co-workers objectify them and deny them autonomy and claim ownership of them. The needs, interests and experiences of these female heroes are subordinated to those of the powerful, who are authority figures predominantly men and in some instances women as well, either in the family or the workplace. The female hero’s treatment as violable and her lack of autonomy (Chapter V) shows that she is not granted powers expected in the figure of a hero. Authority figures and men who control the female heroes’ lives fail to acknowledge that these women are owners of their own lives and have the right to self-determination and v action. There is little awareness and resistance on the part of the women heroes as they sacrifice their individuality and independence and submit to the authority of men considering it beneficial to them. The analysis of the female heroes reveals that despite being given the role of heroes their agency is limited. They are not fully autonomous and are inert as someone else manages the decisions about their life and career. This inertness mars their status as heroes who are not fully active agents. It is a subversive strategy used in patriarchal societies to control tough women which reveals that women are only allowed to show power within certain parameters which do not threaten male dominance. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS THESIS/DECLARATION AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM …………..… ii CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM ….………………………………………iii ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………....iv TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………...……………………………...vi GLOSSARY …………………………………………………………………………x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ….…………………………………………………….xii DEDICATION …………………………………………………………………….xiii CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Context ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of Purpose ............................................................................................... 4 1.3 Key Terms…………………………………………………………………………4 1.3.1 Hero: Origin and Evolution .................................................................................. 4 i. Monomythic Hero ....................................................................................................... 4 ii. Super Hero ................................................................................................................. 6 iii. Action Hero .............................................................................................................. 7 1.3.2 Heroine .................................................................................................................. 8 1.3.3 Female Hero .......................................................................................................... 9 i. Evolution of Female Hero......................................................................................... 12 1.4 American Mass Media and TV Drama Series ....................................................... 16 1.4.1 American Television Drama ............................................................................... 16 1.4.2 Difference between Series and Serial ................................................................. 17 1.4.3 Prime Time Drama and Daytime Drama ............................................................ 18 1.4.4 Sub-Genres of Drama Series ............................................................................... 20 i. Detective Drama ....................................................................................................... 20 ii. Medical Drama ........................................................................................................ 21 iii. Legal Drama ........................................................................................................... 21 1.5 Feminism................................................................................................................ 22 1.6 Feminist Debate on Film and Television ............................................................... 23 1.7 Objectification........................................................................................................ 27 1.7.1 Physical/Sexual Objectification .......................................................................... 27 1.7.2 Objectification of Personhood or Literal Objectification ................................... 28 1.8 Delimitation ........................................................................................................... 30 Table 1.2 ...................................................................................................................... 31 1.9 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 32 1.10 Significance of the Study ..................................................................................... 32 1.11 Chapter Breakdown ............................................................................................. 33 1.12 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................... 36 vii 2.1 Feminist Film and Television Criticism ................................................................ 36 2.1.1 Early Developments in Feminist Media Criticism.............................................

Load more

  298

Copy Link