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Independence, Empowerment and Intersectionality: Female Representation in the Post-Network Era Master’s Thesis 3rd of June 2019 Emma Dahl Jeppesen Kathrine Bang Holm Faculty of Humanities Kroghstræde 3 9220 Aalborg Ø Tlf. 99409590 INDEPENDENCE, EMPOWERMENT AND INTERSECTIONALITY 2 Acknowledgement Our greatest appreciation goes to the following people… To our supervisor, Professor Steen Ledet Christiansen of Aalborg University, whose guidance, knowledge and optimism in the process of this thesis have been an unquestionable factor for our drive and passion in finishing it. To our respective parents and siblings: your endless support and confidence in us throughout our lives have led us to this goal. To Julian Blau - your love and patience for Emma have been detrimental for both of us, both in terms of motivating her as well as fun conversations along the process. INDEPENDENCE, EMPOWERMENT AND INTERSECTIONALITY 3 Abstract Throughout time, the representation of females in mass media has undergone a significant change. The woman on screen has shifted from being marginalized, heavily sexualized and made passive in the narrative to a independent, empowered female with success in careers and life. Today, in television’s second Golden Age - as Robert J. Thompson argues - the need for more content from consumers and the technology to produce and distribute it has created a bigger and safer space for female representation in our Post-Network Era. Consequently, the female representation has risen not only in numbers but also in distinctiveness from one another. This very notion is the epitome of this thesis; the question of how a female character in the Post-Network Era is portrayed. Thus, this thesis aims to answer the following question: “Considering how female characters in cinematic arts have undergone change from being subjected to male gaze to postfeminist icons, how are female television characters portrayed in the Post-Network Television Era?”. To answer this research question, the thesis will make use of qualitative, textual methods to analyze three series within the Post-Network Era containing female leads as well as complex narratives: Jane the Virgin (2014-2019), Broad City (2014-2019) and Grace and Frankie (2015- ). The three series, containing distinct female character types, are analyzed through an array of theories; seen in the thesis’ use of classic feminist film criticism, such as Mulvey and Kaplan, as well as recent feminist television criticism and postfeminism by scholars such as Lotz and Gill. The use of both classic and new media theory is helpful in illustrating how recent female characters both correlate and contradict inherent patriarchal and sexualizing structures in contemporary television, and thus show both positive changes as well as structures still connoting to Mulvey’s idea of female characters in 1975. The thesis found that in the case of the three series, only one - Jane the Virgin - showed instances of females being subjected to a scopophilic male gaze, while the female leads of Grace and Frankie and Broad City either were non-sexualized or poked fun at the male gaze. The INDEPENDENCE, EMPOWERMENT AND INTERSECTIONALITY 4 female characters were shown to be portrayed as active and engaging in the narratives of the series; showing female spectatorship as according to Kaplan in all three series. Additionally, it was established that all women contained traits of postfeminist notions; as the women all pursue the aspect of careers, the series removes itself from earlier female portrayals and the stereotype of ‘the housewife’. Furthermore, the female characters all showed sexual independence and freedom as they engaged in their dating lives actively and selectively. Perhaps most importantly, two of the three series illustrated post-postfeminist traits through their incorporation of intersectional issues; Broad City deals with, for instance, issues relating to race and the LGBT+ community, while Grace and Frankie contains characters of age and narratives expressing issues with and from age. As such, the thesis establishes female representations in the three complex series from the Post-Network Television Era as deviating from earlier representations of female characters in cinematic arts with their postfeminist and post-postfeminist notions. We argue that this change in female characters and their representations stem from the vast possibilities the Post-Network Era has brought to television and that the broad array of independent women on screen will only continue to grow. INDEPENDENCE, EMPOWERMENT AND INTERSECTIONALITY 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 7 THEORY ............................................................................................................................... 11 VISUAL PLEASURES AND NARRATIVE CINEMA (1975) ..................................................................................... 11 WATCHING DALLAS (1985) ............................................................................................................................ 14 THE FEMALE SPECTATOR: CONTEXTS AND DIRECTIONS (1989) ..................................................................... 16 FROM THE MALE GAZE TO THE FEMALE SPECTATOR (1994) .......................................................................... 17 WOMEN AND FILM (1990) ............................................................................................................................ 19 THE WOMEN’S PROGRAMS (2006) ............................................................................................................... 21 FEMALE CENTERED DRAMAS (2006) ........................................................................................................... 23 THE ‘NEW’ NEW WOMAN IN COMEDIC DRAMAS (2006) ............................................................................. 23 THE ‘NEW’ NEW WOMAN IN MELODRAMA AND SOAP OPERA (2006-2008) ............................................... 26 POSTFEMINISM – ELEMENTS OF SENSIBILITY (2006-2008) ......................................................................... 28 POST-POSTFEMINISM (2016) ........................................................................................................................ 33 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 35 ANALYSES .......................................................................................................................... 40 JANE THE VIRGIN (2014-2019) – OPENING SCENES AND THE FRAMEWORK ................................................. 40 Female Objectification and Active Female Spectatorship in Jane the Virgin’s pilot ................ 40 Postfeminist Notions in the Pilot of Jane the Virgin ................................................................. 47 Objectification of Male Characters in Jane the Virgin .............................................................. 49 An Intersectional Comedic-Drama ............................................................................................ 50 Jane the Virgin - A Summary of the Pilot ................................................................................. 51 MOVING ON: JANE THE VIRGIN: THE DEPICTION OF A POSTFEMINIST- AND POST-POSTFEMINIST TV-SHOW ...................................................................................................................................................................... 52 A Continued Objectification ...................................................................................................... 52 A Career Minded Active Female Spectatorship ........................................................................ 55 Postfeminist Notions in Jane the Virgin .................................................................................... 59 Objectification, Mockery, and Bisexuality - Further Establishment of the Male Characters in Jane the Virgin ........................................................................................................................... 67 Jane The Virgin - An Overview ................................................................................................. 71 BROAD CITY (2014-2019): THE PILOT AND ITS FRAMEWORK ...................................................................... 73 A Summarize of Broad City’s Pilot ........................................................................................... 83 FURTHER ON: EXAMINING BROAD CITY ....................................................................................................... 85 Male Gaze and the Lack of Same in Broad City ........................................................................ 85 The Pleasures of a Glamorous Life – and the Lack Thereof in Broad City ............................... 87 Dominant Forwarders and Submissive Males: The Structure of Broad City ............................ 89 Postfeminist Ideas and Critiques of Oppression in Broad City ................................................. 98 Broad City - A Summary ......................................................................................................... 110 GRACE AND FRANKIE (2015- ) – THE PILOT AND FRAMEWORK OF A POSTFEMINIST AND POST- POSTFEMINIST REPRESENTATION OF AGED WOMEN ................................................................................. 113 A Sexualized Older Woman and a Somewhat