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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by The University of Utah: J. Willard Marriott Digital Library CROSSING THE LINE: CONTEMPORARY MEDIATED PERFORMANCES OF HYBRIDITY by Stephanie Lynn Gomez A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Communication The University of Utah August 2015 Copyright © Stephanie Lynn Gomez 2015 All Rights Reserved The University of Utah Graduate School STATEMENT OF DISSERTATION APPROVAL The dissertation of Stephanie Lynn Gomez has been approved by the following supervisory committee members: Helene A. Shugart , Chair 5/06/2015 Date Approved Marouf Hasian, Jr. , Member 5/06/2015 Date Approved Kent A. Ono , Member 5/06/2015 Date Approved Mary S. Strine , Member 5/06/2015 Date Approved Robert S. Tatum , Member 5/06/2015 Date Approved and by Kent A. Ono , Chair/Dean of the Department/College/School of Communication and by David B. Kieda, Dean of The Graduate School. ABSTRACT Within the U.S., particular anxieties surrounding racially and ethnically marked “others” reflect particular historical moments, and today ours are prompted by contemporized fears of immigration and terrorism. In this dissertation, I take up these issues, focusing on contemporary instantiations and negotiations of hybridity within U.S. culture. While hybridity has been examined at length, the ways in which hybridity is mobilized in distinctive ways through or by various bodies have been relatively overlooked. Thus, I examine the ways in which hybridity is rhetorically embodied and mobilized within contemporary mainstream media. I take up these issues with a focus on two questions: (a) How is hybridity mobilized in distinctive ways in, through, or by various bodies, particularly as reflective of historical context? (b) How does “the body”—in particular, specific deployments of the body—feature in contemporary articulations of hybridity? I answer these questions through a critical analysis of texts, drawing from both critical rhetoric and critical performance studies. I focus on two competition-style reality dance shows, So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) and Dancing with the Stars (DWTS); the competition-style reality show America’s Next Top Model (ANTM); and three Food Network cooking shows, Simply Delicioso with Ingrid Hoffmann, Aarti Party, and Everyday Italian. Analysis of these texts suggest that hybridity is mobilized in varied and distinctive ways by, through, and on variously marked bodies. Ultimately, this study refines extant theorizing on hybridity: While borders are inevitably critical to any conceptualizations of hybridity, this project reveals nuance and complexities of how borders are accomplished and navigated across these various embodied mobilizations and illuminate particularized contemporary anxieties regarding race/ethnicity. Hybridity in a current context appears to be articulated as—conflated with—individual uniqueness and authenticity, the expression of which is encouraged and celebrated, but only within very specific contexts or confines. Ultimately, then, via its location in and deployment by particular bodies, hybridity is articulated as a feature and expression of the unique, authentic self, as opposed to a politics of identity, in ways that justify discipline of race/ethnicity if and when hybridity “crosses the line.” iv To my Nana and her generation—they all paved the way for me. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... viii Chapters I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 Rationale ................................................................................................................. 3 Literature Review.................................................................................................... 5 Homeland Hybridity ............................................................................................. 29 Method .................................................................................................................. 32 Endnotes ................................................................................................................ 49 II CHOREOGRAPHING RACE: DANCE AND THE PERFORMANCE OF HYBRIDITY..................................................................................................................... 50 Dance and the Performance of Identities .............................................................. 54 Hybridity on the Television Screen ...................................................................... 62 Have Dance Will Travel: Managing Hybridity Through Dance .......................... 67 Choreographing Culture: Conclusions on Hybridity in Dance ............................. 92 III MODEL HYBRIDITY ................................................................................................ 95 Postrace, Colorblindness, and the Denial of Difference ....................................... 99 “Wanna Be on Top?”: America’s Next Top Model, Racial Hierarchy, and Hybridity ............................................................................................................. 105 Modeling Cultures: Hybridity as Distillation ..................................................... 108 Steeping Whiteness: Conclusions on Model Hybridity ...................................... 123 Endnotes .............................................................................................................. 126 IV SWEETENING THE POT: CULINARY ADVENTURES IN HYBRIDITY .......... 127 Ethnic (as) Cuisine .............................................................................................. 133 Tenderizing Tensions: Food Network and Hybridity ......................................... 139 Dishing Up Difference: Managing Anxieties Through Hybridity ...................... 143 Eating Otherness: Conclusions on Hybridity in Food ........................................ 164 Endnotes .............................................................................................................. 169 V CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 170 Limitations .......................................................................................................... 189 Directions for Future Research ........................................................................... 190 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 192 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation has been the most rigorous, difficult, and rewarding academic project I have undertaken while at the University of Utah. The perception of most academic work is that it is a solitary process; however, this dissertation would not have been possible without the love, support, and encouragement of more people than I have space to acknowledge. First, I want to thank my dissertation committee, who have all been instrumental in the development and completion of this project. My deepest thanks to Dr. Helene Shugart, who has guided me though not only this dissertation, but also graduate school. I can never thank her enough for her endless patience with, and kindness towards, me and my work throughout this entire process. She has tirelessly read endless drafts and revisions of this dissertation, and has offered advice every step of the way. She has helped me to discover who I am as a scholar, and I will always be grateful for all of the encouragement and support she has given me when I was confused, anxious, or unsure about myself. I want to thank Dr. Marouf Hasian, Jr. for all of his encouragement throughout graduate school. When I was newly arrived at the University of Utah, and was seriously doubting myself and my ability to complete the doctoral program, he told me that he expected great things from me, and I have never forgotten that—not to mention that he has reminded me often. He has always been willing to provide invaluable advice about my writing, my ideas, and my future, and I will always be grateful for it. Many thanks to Dr. Kent Ono, who has pushed me to develop my voice and identity as a television and media studies scholar. He has invested countless hours into helping me understand the current conversations occurring in my chosen areas of study, and I will always appreciate his detailed and sharp feedback, knowledge, and wit. I want to thank Dr. Mary Strine for her invaluable discussions and encouragement. I will never have the words to explain how very grateful I am for her many contributions to so much of my graduate work. Without her, I would not have an enduring love for Stuart Hall, nor would I understand the importance of bodies and performance within my own scholarship. Thanks to Dr. Stephen Tatum, who has been integral to my understanding of the politics of popular culture. I was not planning on studying popular culture when I started my graduate program, but his course helped me to uncover my interests in the popular and everyday. This entire journey would have been impossible without Dr. Heather Hundley, who served as my master’s adviser, mentor, advocate, and friend.

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