TV Fiction Research Articles

Acknowledging/denying LGBT+ difference: Understanding homonormativity and LGBT+ homogeneity in Flemish TV fiction through production research

Premised on the lack of in-depth engagements with television professionals’ views as a unit of analysis in queer television studies, this essay presents the results of expert interviews with seven respondents employed in the Flemish television industry. Television professionals consider it commonsensical and even necessary to textually reflect sexual and gender diversity as a component to socio-cultural verisimilitude. On the other hand, they rely on a homonormative conception of LGBT+ representation that emphasizes assimilation and conformity. Closer analysis reveals that this strategy is informed by unwillingness to engage in stereotyping. Accordingly, the noted homonormativity of Flemish television fiction is a product of benevolence and paradoxical dispositions towards televising difference on the level of production. Consequently, the paper calls for scholars to engage with the industry as a supplement to critical textual explorations of LGBT+ portrayals on television.

Reivindicar el detalle: sutilezas y catálisis barthesianas en la ficción televisiva

Este artículo rastrea la importancia de las catálisis, tal y como las formula Roland Barthes (1968), para asignar valor a los detalles en la descripción en las narrativas. Partimos de su hipótesis según la cual lo aparentemente insignificante del relato es lo que produce el efecto de realidad y proponemos pensar las series televisivas contemporáneas desde lo aparentemente inútil en el relato. Para ello, analizamos desde una perspectiva semiótica cuatro casos de estudio paradigmáticos que se han distanciado de los mecanismos convencionales de enganche y espectáculo y han apostado formalmente por la sutileza y la atención al detalle: la dialogada En terapia (In Treatment, Hagai Levi, Rodrigo García, HBO: 2008-2010), la hiperestilizada Mad Men (Matthew Weiner, AMC: 2007-2015), la irreverente Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan, AMC: 2008-2013) y la siniestra True Detective (HBO: 2014-). Los análisis revelarán cómo en las catálisis de estas ficciones televisivas se pone en juego lo que es difícil de explicar incluso dotando de verosimilitud a lo fortuito, intrascendente e incluso inexplicable.

Modelo e indicadores de masculinidad igualitaria en la ficción televisiva gallega: caso de Fontealba y Serramoura de Televisión de Galicia

Desde los television studies, la ficción ambientada en la realidad coetánea del receptor constituye un espacio privilegiado para consolidar la normativa social, pero también para visibilizar nuevas tendencias. Con el objetivo general de contribuir al campo de los masculinity studies, este artículo analiza dos series dramáticas de éxito de la Televisión de Galicia (TVG) de 2017 como relatos de proximidad que podrían representar nuevas masculinidades alternativas al modelo tradicional. Para ello, se ha evaluado el tipo de masculinidad dominante en estas producciones televisivas a partir del análisis de la caracterización y las interacciones sociales de sus principales personajes masculinos. La metodología aplicada ha incluido una lectura en profundidad y el mapeo de relaciones paradigmáticas entre personajes, junto con el análisis de contenido multivariable que ha permitido observar correlaciones entre la edad y clase social de los personajes y los tipos de masculinidad. Los resultados sostienen una mayor afinidad a la masculinidad hegemónica conforme aumenta el poder ejercido por el personaje en el ámbito público o laboral. Se establece una correlación entre clase social y modelo de masculinidad, no así para la variable de edad. Y aunque se representan diferentes aproximaciones a modelos de masculinidad más igualitarios, los personajes que las sustentan se disocian de la esfera laboral como ámbito fundamental de construcción identitaria. Todo ello nos lleva a concluir que, a pesar de la creciente diversidad en la representación de las masculinidades en la ficción televisiva analizada, el modelo patriarcal definido desde el ámbito de lo público sigue siendo el hegemónico.

Revisión histórica y conceptual de la autoría y sus implicaciones en el medio televisivo: El concepto de autor en series de televisión contemporáneas estadounidenses

This paper aims to conduct a historical and conceptual review of authorship in television production, taking auteur theory applied to the television media as a reference. For this purpose, the qualitative methodology has been used to carry out a bibliographic and documentary analysis of the author concept in the film and television industry. Despite the collaborative nature of television production, the results obtained suggest the importance of the TV series executive producer’s individual authorship during this process, who is also known as the “showrunner”. They are ultimately responsible for the project’s production, applying a creative and personal style to their entire work. The authorship, influenced by the television channel and the audience, promotes the consideration of fiction TV series as a quality cultural product, which affects its promotional strategies.

Pursuing Imperfection, Forgiveness, and Repentance in Popular Twenty-first Century Malay Television Fiction

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, popular Malay television fiction has been thriving and gaining popularity. Through staggering online reruns, this sheer popularity broadens the expanse of multifaceted issues. This paper contextualizes popular TV fiction within a space of imperfection, focusing on audience responses to Julia, Adam & Hawa, and About Dhia. Using the lens of democratic habits of mind according to Mezirow: “respect for others, self-respect, willingness to accept responsibility for the common good, willingness to welcome diversity and to approach others with openness,” this paper reveals two of the many emerging themes, namely, forgiveness and repentance, which can intensify possibilities for acknowledging human faults, vulnerability, and imperfection between the private/public and self/society. By considering reactions of some of the many popular TV fiction audience, this paper presents unfolding, interactive twenty-first-century insights into what it means to pursue an imperfect duty, whose responsibility could be understood in the sense of forgiveness and repentance.

SUBTLEX-CAT: Subtitle word frequencies and contextual diversity for Catalan.

SUBTLEX-CAT is a word frequency and contextual diversity database for Catalan, obtained from a 278-million-word corpus based on subtitles supplied from broadcast Catalan television. Like all previous SUBTLEX corpora, it comprises subtitles from films and TV series. In addition, it includes a wider range of TV shows (e.g., news, documentaries, debates, and talk shows) than has been included in most previous databases. Frequency metrics were obtained for the whole corpus, on the one hand, and only for films and fiction TV series, on the other. Two lexical decision experiments revealed that the subtitle-based metrics outperformed the previously available frequency estimates, computed from either written texts or texts from the Internet. Furthermore, the metrics obtained from the whole corpus were better predictors than the ones obtained from films and fiction TV series alone. In both experiments, the best predictor of response times and accuracy was contextual diversity.

More therapy with Dr Melfi (the character who guides viewer engagement with Tony Soprano): Relationship arcs in serial antihero narratives

Antihero narratives constitute a common thread in the current boom of TV fiction. The Sopranos (HBO, 1999–2007) could be considered an early example of this tendency. The antihero is a complex character who demands equally complex responses from viewers. The title of this article is an allusion to Rob White’s article, ‘No more therapy’, in which White explores Dr Jennifer Melfi’s role as a narrative mechanism used to undermine viewer sympathy for Tony Soprano at the end of the series. Here I seek to explore this role further since Dr Melfi’s responses to Tony’s actions serve as a narrative strategy used by The Sopranos writers to guide viewer responses in their relationship with Tony Soprano, a pioneer example of the antihero figure. In doing so, it is my purpose to demonstrate the relevance in antihero TV series of the evolution not only of the antihero themselves but also of their relationship with other major characters over the course of the series. I call this evolution, through which the creators develop the transformational arcs of the two characters concerned: the ‘relationship arc’.

A Different Take on the Big Bang Theory: Examining the Influence of Asperger Traits on the Perception and Attributional Confidence of a Fictional TV Character Portraying Characteristics of Asperger Syndrome

ABSTRACTResearch shows that media figures can influence the construction of one’s personal and social identity. However, there are few studies that examine representations of stigmatized groups with developmental disorders, such as those with autism spectrum disorders. This research examines the effect of a viewer’s scores on the autism quotient (AQ) and their relationship with homophily and attributional confidence towards Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, who is suspected of having Asperger’s syndrome (AS). Guided by uncertainty reduction theory the results indicated a positive relationship between the dimensions of the AQ and homophily with Sheldon, and a positive relationship between higher scores on the AQ and attributional confidence towards Sheldon. The implications of identification with fictional television characters for individuals with AS, and the application of the AQ in future research are discussed relative to the current findings.

Reescrituras del género policíaco en la ficción serial: la muerte, la brújula y el monstruo en "Breaking Bad"

La serie Breaking Bad, idea original de Vince Gilligan, representa el auge y legitimación cultural (y académica) de la ficción televisiva en los últimos años. La nueva oferta de series, amparada en un nuevo modelo de negocio televisivo y digital, ha conllevado una renovación de los hábitos culturales, transcendiendo su consideración de géneros audiovisuales menores y estimulando una importante democratización estética. Al incorporar talento creativo en los guiones e interpretación, así como una sobresaliente producción, las series se han situado en la zona noble de la cultura audiovisual y la narración artística contemporánea, incorporando mecanismos propios de otros soportes mediales, como la literatura.
 La historia de Walter White, padre de familia y despiadado narco, se construye sobre una trama de intriga y persecuciones, que se resuelve por una nota manuscrita en un ejemplar de Leaves of grass. De Whitman a Borges repasaremos los préstamos culturales e intermediales en la creación de este juego de espejos, identidades vacilantes y tramas laberínticas.

Teaching apologies through the use of audiovisual materials

Since Austin’s (1962) classic work How To Do Things With Words there have been numerous studies about the way in which utterances are used as a mean to perform actions. The branch of linguistics that deals with this phenomenon is pragmatics, which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction to Chomsky’s idea that the importance of language lies in the correct use of grammar (MartinezFlor and Uso-Juan 2010). After the elaboration of several models of communicative competence presented by a number of authors such as Canale and Swain (1980), Bachman (1990), and Celce-Murcia (1995, 2007), the idea that pragmatic awareness is necessary in order for speakers to be successful in communication has spread, being one of the most relevant constructs the one introduced by CelceMurcia (2007). Research has been conducted especially on speech acts, such as Leech’s (2014) book The Pragmatics of Politeness, whose taxonomy will be used in this study, and on the use of audiovisual material for teaching purposes. For that reason, we have carried out an analysis on speech acts, and in particular on apologies, in the fiction TV series The Big Bang Theory. The aim of this study is to analyse whether apologies in the nine episodes examined mirror real-life conversations, and if so, to show that this audiovisual material may be used for classroom activities as an appropriate tool to develop students’ pragmatic knowledge.

‘Quality Series’ and their Production Cultures: Transnational Discourses within the German Television Industry

For several years now, the quality of fictional series from Germany has been reflected upon critically in the feuilleton as well as within the television industry there. This paper takes a closer look at this industry discourse and expounds how TV makers from Germany negotiate ‘quality series’ in a transnational manner. Their understandings and attributions of such programmes are accompanied with references to foreign, mainly US-American examples, opposing German TV fiction. These discourses within the German television industry trace the state of German television output – and its arguable lack of quality – back to historical developments and structures. With the historical argumentations, the practitioners identify the ‘local’ and ‘global’, which is why their discourse can be described not only as transnational, but as glocal, too. Transnational and glocal aspects can also be found in their discussion of production cultures. Several voices suggest that specific, historically developed structures would differ from other markets and would complicate the broader establishment of ‘quality series’ and their alleged production modes. In this, much more than TV critics in the feuilleton, the practitioners deal with the quality of production, as well as content, and expand their discourse on ‘quality series’ to a broader negotiations of hierarchies in production networks.

How listening to music and engagement with other media provide a sense of belonging: An exploratory study of social surrogacy

The social surrogacy hypothesis holds that people resort to temporary substitutes, so-called social surrogates, if direct social interaction is not possible. In this exploratory study, we investigate social motives for listening to music in comparison to watching TV and reading fiction. Thirty statements about possible social reasons for the engagement with media were compiled. After 374 participants had rated their agreement with those statements, they were reduced to seven categories: Company, Shared experiences, Understanding others, Reminiscence, Isolation, Group identity, and Culture. The results propose that music is used as temporary substitute for social interaction alongside TV programs and fiction, but that it acts differently. Music listening might act as a social surrogate by evoking memories of relationship partners or through identification processes. There are overlapping motives between the domains, but the elicitation of nostalgia appears to be unique to music listening. The results motivate further investigation into the effects of music listening on socio-emotional well-being.

Worlds turned back to front: The politics of the mirror universe in Doctor Who and Star Trek

Abstract This article takes two prominent science fiction TV series’ uses of the ‘mirror universe’ trope and argues that their differing treatments of the individual and his or her relationship to authority and the social order reflect cultural, social and political conditions derived from their specifically American and British historical, political and social contexts. The mirror universes device allows the programmes’ creators to explicitly identify undesirable modes of social organisation – an imperialist version of Star Trek’s (original run 1966–69) Federation and a totalitarian republic in Doctor Who (1963–89, 1996, 2005–present) – while inviting audiences to interrogate the social orders presented as normative in the previously established fictional prime universes. Star Trek’s ‘Mirror, Mirror’ (1967) incorporates a moral dilemma that is left unresolved by the end of the episode, leaving the audience to question the hidden operations and assumptions of the apparently benign Federation: in Doctor Who’s ‘Inferno’ (1970), pragmatic solutions to social and political problems are informed by Cold War Britain’s reluctance to adopt totalizing political positions that override the rights and responsibilities of individuals. Both shows ultimately demonstrate, through the dramatization of totalitarian social orders, that while a political philosophy is a welcome thing, individual conceptions of justice and fairness are the only guarantors of a stable society.

Widening landscapes of TV storytelling in the digital media environment of the 21st century

In this paper I intend to revisit from a critical perspective some issues related to the contemporary landscape of fictional TV storytelling: scripted shows whose consumption and reputation have witnessed significant changes in the 21st century. My interest focuses on what I call “narrative plenitude”, the exceptional profusion of serialized fictions that are now available, anytime, anywhere, on the myriad of channels and platforms in the ever-expanding media environment. In this context, priority attention will be given in the article to the case of Netflix. In particular, I will try to unravel the coexisting mixture of gains and losses embodied in key aspects of the modus operandi embraced by the world’s leading streaming platform. Then I will address the problematic readiness of contemporary television studies to concentrate a great deal of scholarship on just a select body of scripted shows, which come under the category of ‘prestige TV’. I join the dialogue among others in the field who take issue with patterns of choice largely based on the questionable cultural divide between quality niche TV and ordinary broadcast programming. Furthermore, I make the claim that this tendency fails to account for the unprecedented amplification of the contemporary landscape of storytelling, as if television studies “can’t see the forest for the trees”.

El guion de ficción televisiva serial como producto

El presente artículo se interroga acerca de la naturaleza del guion a partir de una concepción compleja del mismo que, aun entendiéndolo como eslabón en la cadena de materiales y tareas cuyo resultado es la serie de televisión como producto final, propone considerar los guiones como productos en sí mismos. Desde este prisma, la escritura de ficción televisiva aparece como un ámbito productivo cuyo resultado puede ser definido como producto susceptible de autonomía a partir de su condición de mercancía, independientemente de su traducción a la pantalla y de su conversión en contenido audiovisual de carácter televisivo.

Daenerys Targaryen Will Save Spain: Game of Thrones, Politics, and the Public Sphere

This article deals with the use of the American television series Game of Thrones (HBO: 2011–) as part of the political discourse of the emerging political party Podemos in Spain. First, we focus on Podemos leader, Pablo Iglesias, who, in 2014, edited a book devoted to analyzing this series from a political science viewpoint. We then move on to study ideologically charged symbolic gestures and the detailed analysis of the parallelisms between Daenerys Targaryen’s revolutionary enterprise and Podemos’s bottom-to-top quest to seize power. We then scrutinize how emergent political forces that threaten the enduring hegemony of traditional parties use popular cultural artifacts to intervene in the social fabric and how they attempt to tune in with the Internet-dedicated, socially networked younger classes. This article, thus, analyzes how the relationship between politics and serialized TV fiction has morphed within the Spanish mediascape, paying special attention to the impact of participatory culture.

Negotiating privilege and social inequality in an alternative Sweden: Real Humans/Äkta Människor (SVT, 2012–2013)

ABSTRACTThis article analyzes representations of privilege and social inequality in the science fiction TV series Äkta människor (Real Humans) (2012–2013), produced by Sweden’s national public TV broadcaster (SVT). Set in the near future or a parallel present, Real Humans explores an alternative version of Sweden in which more and more human workers are replaced by a type of humanoid robot called “Hubots”. Reviewers and scholars have interpreted the series in light of various contemporary social and political issues, many of which pertain to not only technology, but also social inequality amongst humans. This article connects Real Humans specifically to the recent increase in paid domestic labor in Scandinavia, and argues that the series deals with moral conflicts associated with being privileged and outsourcing household and care work. This is especially evident in the series’ representation of Inger Engman, a Swedish mother, wife, and full-time employee, and her ambivalent relationship to her household and care work Hubot Mimi. Through Inger and Mimi, Real Humans explores moral and affective dimensions of privilege, and brings to mind concerns expressed by parents in Scandinavia who employ domestic workers and au pairs. Inger’s conflicted relationship to Mimi also evokes the concept of maternal guilt. As I show, Real Humans is one of several contemporary Scandinavian narratives that use the au pair figure to comment on social and gender inequality in a globalized age, yet the series stands out in its debt to the science fiction genre. In sum, Real Humans is not only a rare and noteworthy example of a Scandinavian science fiction TV series—it also invites the viewer to reflect on the connections between privilege, social (in)equality, and work in contemporary Scandinavia.

The emergence of the showrunner in global contemporary TV fiction: The case of Pau Freixas in Catalonia

Abstract This article approaches the television career of Pau Freixas, screenwriter, director and producer of the series Polseres vermelles (2012–13), Cites (2013–16) and Sé quién eres (2017). The television works of Pau Freixas epitomise three recent changes experienced in the creation of television fiction. First, the international emergence of the showrunner, a key characteristic of the American TV industry, that has expanded globally as a symbol of creative autonomy. Second, Pau Freixas’ career marks an ongoing tendency on contemporary Spanish TV: many directors began their career in cinema but have ended up working in television, making him a rara avis as a showrunner-director. Last, he has developed the most important part of his career in the Catalan public television channel, TV3, where he matured as a storyteller in a way that, in the context of contemporary television, has facilitated remarkable international success for his works.

Female Youth Responding to Popular TV Fiction: Unconscious Malay Psyche and Resistance

Female Youth Responding to Popular TV Fiction: Unconscious Malay Psyche and Resistance

Popular TV Fiction: Cultural Identities, Unconscious Malay Psyche, and Youth

Popular TV Fiction: Cultural Identities, Unconscious Malay Psyche, and Youth