Description
Book SynopsisDawson''s Creek: A Critical Understanding provides a textual analysis of the WB''s hit teen drama that ran from 1998 to 2003. Author Lori Bindig analyzes episodes of Dawson''s Creek as a set of media texts that blur the boundaries between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic content. Exploring the ideology encoded within Dawson''s Creek from a feminist cultural studies perspective, Bindig examines gender, race, class, sexuality, and consumerism as it is presented in the show. The depiction of each of these five ideological concepts is discussed beyond the framework of the series and put into a larger social context, allowing a discussion of the potential ramifications of the television program. This book suggests that although Dawson''s Creek includes counter-hegemonic story lines, ultimately the political-economic realities of the current media system undercuts the oppositional content and frames the program as hegemonic. Nevertheless, Dawson''s Creek is a valuable tool in navigating the o
Trade ReviewDawson's Creek: A Critical Understanding impressively deconstructs one of the most influential and popular "Teen TV" programs in history. Using detailed analysis, Lori Bindig highlights the symbolic complexity of the series and illustrates how youth culture intersects with different ideological dimensions, including gender, race, class, sexual orientation and brand-obsessed consumption. -- Matthew P. McAllister, Pennsylvania State University
Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Youth and Media Culture Chapter 3. Whose Creek is it Anyway? Dawson's Creek and the Politics of Gender Chapter 4. Barely Visible: Traces of Race and Class on Dawson's Creek Chapter 5. Dangerous Women and Safe Homosexuals: Dawson's Creek and Gender Representation Chapter 6. Shop 'til You...Drown: Dawson's Creek and the Promotion of Consumerism Chapter 7. Conclusion
