Disrupting” the Broadcast: Female Showrunners As 21St Century “Fangirl” Feminist Rhetors Veronica Diaz Nova Southeastern University, [email protected]
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Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks Department of Writing and Communication Theses CAHSS Theses and Dissertations 2019 Disrupting” the Broadcast: Female Showrunners as 21st Century “Fangirl” Feminist Rhetors Veronica Diaz Nova Southeastern University, [email protected] This document is a product of extensive research conducted at the Nova Southeastern University College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. For more information on research and degree programs at the NSU College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, please click here. Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/writing_etd Part of the Creative Writing Commons, and the Rhetoric and Composition Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Veronica Diaz. 2019. Disrupting” the Broadcast: Female Showrunners as 21st Century “Fangirl” Feminist Rhetors. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Writing and Communication. (38) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/writing_etd/38. This Thesis is brought to you by the CAHSS Theses and Dissertations at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Department of Writing and Communication Theses by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Disrupting” the Broadcast: Female Showrunners as 21st Century “Fangirl” Feminist Rhetors A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media Veronica Diaz College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Department of Writing and Communication Nova Southeastern University July 2019 © 2019 by Veronica Diaz All Rights Reserved ii Table of Contents Introduction: Staking a Claim in Composition ................................................................... 1 Coming Together as a Counterpublic ............................................................................. 7 "Women's Work" in Popular Media—Sometimes by Them, Oftentimes for Them ..... 12 Rhetorical Velocity and Circulation of Female-Driven Narratives .............................. 20 Methods............................................................................................................................. 28 Texts and Coding .......................................................................................................... 28 Methodologies............................................................................................................... 31 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 34 Case Studies ...................................................................................................................... 35 Marti Noxon: Embracing the “Pain and Chains” .......................................................... 35 Sharp Objects. ........................................................................................................... 40 Dietland..................................................................................................................... 44 Jenji Kohan: Deconstructing the “Trojan Horse” of Privilege ..................................... 49 Weeds. ....................................................................................................................... 52 Orange Is the New Black. ......................................................................................... 57 Shonda Rhimes: “Dark, Twisty” and Unapologetic ..................................................... 63 Grey’s Anatomy. ....................................................................................................... 65 Scandal. ..................................................................................................................... 70 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 76 References ......................................................................................................................... 81 Appendix A: Noxon-Specific Additional Resources ........................................................ 95 iv Reviews: Sharp Objects ................................................................................................ 95 Reviews: Dietland ......................................................................................................... 96 Episodes Spotlighted: Sharp Objects ............................................................................ 97 Episodes Spotlighted: Dietland..................................................................................... 97 Tweets: @martinoxon ................................................................................................... 97 Appendix B: Kohan-Specific Additional Resources ...................................................... 108 Reviews: Weeds .......................................................................................................... 108 Reviews: Orange Is the New Black ............................................................................ 110 Episodes Spotlighted: Weeds ...................................................................................... 114 Episodes Spotlighted: Orange Is the New Black ........................................................ 114 Appendix C: Rhimes-Specific Additional Resources ..................................................... 115 Reviews: Grey’s Anatomy........................................................................................... 115 Reviews: Scandal ........................................................................................................ 116 Episodes Spotlighted: Grey’s Anatomy ...................................................................... 119 Episodes Spotlighted: Scandal .................................................................................... 119 Tweets: @shondarhimes ............................................................................................. 119 Tweets: @byshondaland ............................................................................................. 122 v List of Figures Figure 1 Netflix programming male/female breakdown ................................25 Figure 2 Hulu programming male/female breakdown ....................................25 Figure 3 Amazon Prime Video programming male/female breakdown .........25 Figure 4 Screenshot of Twitter’s advanced search function ...........................30 vi Abstract Despite being considered a female-driven discipline, previous scholarship and personal testimonies indicate that composition remains solidly a “boys’ club.” Popular media is male-dominated as well, resulting in on-screen representations of women that, written from the male perspective, tend toward one-dimensionality. Recently, more women are permeating Hollywood writers’ rooms and producing multi-layered stories that offset the aforementioned portrayals. This thesis examines how showrunners Marti Noxon, Jenji Kohan, and Shonda Rhimes have redefined female representation on-screen—and subsequently, perceptions of women in real life—by crafting nuanced, female-driven narratives. Elements analyzed include: themes present in Noxon’s Sharp Objects (2018) and Dietland (2018), Kohan’s Weeds (2004-2012) and Orange Is the New Black (2013- 2019), and Rhimes’s Grey’s Anatomy (2005- ) and Scandal (2012-2018); critical reviews of said shows; interviews given by each showrunner; applicable social media posts; and variations in circulation and creative leniency of each televisual work. Existing literature on composition studies, public-facing work, rhetorical feminism, and gender in popular media is also explored. An apparent correlation exists between feminist archivists’ “uncovering” of women’s historical and rhetorical contributions, feminist rhetoricians’ “disruption” of academic and professional spheres, and female showrunners’ insistence on the legitimization of women’s lived experiences. Thus, Noxon’s, Kohan’s, and Rhimes’s contributions further “publicize” counterpublic, female concerns by disseminating these stories to large audiences via the accessible medium of television. vii 1 Introduction: Staking a Claim in Composition [A] woman who has lived many things and who sees lines and colors as an expression of living—might say something that a man can't… I feel there is something unexplored about woman that only a woman can explore—Men have done all they can do about it. —Georgia O’Keefe (1925) Composition has long been considered a “feminized” field, both academically and professionally (Holbrook, 1991, p. 201; Sheridan-Rabideau, 2008, pp. 318-319; Stenberg, 2015, p. 35). This label has several connotations; it may refer to the number of women that have taught the discipline at various academic levels (Holbrook, 1991, p. 206; Sheridan-Rabideau, 2008, pp. 318-319). More women teach composition than men, therefore, the field is “feminized” by a majority rule. Composition’s “feminization” could also be attributed to female scholars’ significant contributions to the field’s inception. In perusing early texts on the teaching of composition, one would come across an abundance of scholarship produced by its “foremothers”—Lisa Ede, Janet Emig, Elizabeth Flynn, Linda Flower, Nancy Sommers, and Andrea Lunsford, among others (Flynn, 1988, p. 424; Sheridan-Rabideau, 2008, p. 312). These women helped