Description
Book SynopsisThis book is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the key debates concerning the representation of masculinities in a wide range of popular television genres. The volume looks at the depiction of public masculinity in the soap opera, homosexuality in the situation comedy, the portrayal of fatherhood in prime-time animation, emerging manhood in the supernatural teen text, alternative gender roles in science fiction, male authority in the police series, masculine anxieties in the hospital drama, violence and aggression in sports coverage, ordinariness and emotional connectedness in the reality game show, and domesticity in lifestyle television. Masculinity and Popular Television examines the ways in which masculinities are being constructed, circulated and interrogated in contemporary British and American programming, and considers the ways in which such images can be understood in relation to the ''common sense'' model of the hegemonic male that is said to dominate the cultural landscape.
Table of Contents1. Introduction: theorising masculinities on the small screen; 2. Soap Opera: the male role in the women's genre; 3. Situation Comedy: homosexuality and male camaraderie; 4. Animation: masculinity in the nuclear family; 5. Teen Programming: isolation, alienation and emerging manhood; 6. Science Fiction and Fantasy Television: challenging dominant gender roles; 7. Trauma Television: reassurance, anxiety and the doctor hero; 8. Police and Crime Drama: investigating male authority; 9. Sports: media events and masculine discourse; 10. Reality Television: ordinariness, exhibitionism and emotional intelligence; 11. Lifestyle: domestic labour and leisure activities; 12. Advertising: social life, social standing and sex; 13. Conclusion: the future of masculinity on television; Bibliography.
