This book discusses the role of television drama series on a global scale, analyzing these dramas across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Contributors consider the role of television dramas as economically valuable cultural products and with their depictions of gender roles, sexualities, race, cultural values, political systems, and religious beliefs as they analyze how these programs allow us to indulge our innate desire to share human narratives in a way that binds us together and encourages audiences to persevere as a community on a global scale. Contributors also go on to explore the role of television dramas as a medium that indulges fantasies and escapism and reckons with reality as it allows audiences to experience emotions of happiness, sorrow, fear, and outrage in both realistic and fantastical scenarios.
Diana I. Rios is associate professor in the Department of Communication and El Instituto: Latino/Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Connecticut. Carolyn A. Lin is professor of communication at the University of Connecticut.
Introduction: Television Dramas as Storytellers of Race and Gender for the Global Village Diana I. Rios and Carolyn A. Lin Section I. Fantasy-Science Fiction, Horror, and Mystery Chapter 1: Luke Cage is Harlem's Captain America: Black Masculinity and Vulnerability in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Graeme John Wilson Chapter 2: Doctor Who's 13th Doctor: Redefining the Female Lead in Science Fiction Television Gwendelyn S. Nisbett and Newly Paul Chapter 3: A Woman in Trouble in Twin Peaks: The Return: Gothic Texts, Magical Technology, and Dreams Within Dreams Joseph Boisvere Chapter 4: Arya and Sansa Stark of HBO's The Game of Thrones: Abuse, Agency, Trauma Survival, and Redefined Destinies Diana I. Rios, Mary Helen Millham, Karin A. Haberlin, and Graciela Quinones-Rodriguez Chapter 5: The Protagonists of the Fantasy Drama Lost: From Stereotypes to Flexible Identities Jerome David Section II. Soap Operas and Telenovelas Chapter 6: Pakistan Television Drama Serials and Telenovelas During Fifty Years: Gendering in Different Political Regimes Saleem Abbas Chapter 7: Primetime Brazilian Telenovelas and Gender Violence Representation Lorena Caminhas Chapter 8: French Television and the Audience: Examining Serial Dramas Un Si Grand Soleil and Plus Belle La Vie Patricia Jullia and Frederic Marty Chapter 9: Brazilian Telenovelas and Multi-platform Audiences: Overviews and Industry Insights Rosane Svartman Section III. Historical and Period Drama Chapter 10: Korean Historical Television Dramas: Cultural Meanings, Confucian Values, and Transcultural Identities Suji Park and Carolyn A. Lin Chapter 11: Thoroughly (Un)Modern Downton Abbey: Interrogating Gender/Sexual Dynamics and Whiteness Boundaries Gordon Alley-Young Chapter 12: From The Crown to Madmen: Historical Television as Commentary on 21st Century Ideologies Nettie Brock Chapter 13: The Story of Zheng Yang Gate: Chinese Television Representation of Female Entrepreneurs Mei Zhang Chapter 14: Exploring Gendering in Iranian Television Drama Serials Ali Zohoori Section IV. Comedy-Drama Chapter 15: Being a Black Man on Being Mary Jane: Considering Complexities of Black Masculinity in a Female-centric Drama George L. Daniels Chapter 16: HBO's Insecure and Issa Dee: Black Women's Interpretations on Facebook Morgan W. Smalls Chapter 17: Pregnancy and the Back-to-Work Narrative: How Television Comedy-Dramas Navigate the Social Norms of Motherhood Elizabeth Fish Hatfield Section V. Crime and Medical Drama Chapter 18: Historical Drama Peaky Blinders: Pitching Racial Allegiances and Ethnocentric Populism Inna Arzumanova Chapter 19: Zero Tolerance: Genre and the Politics of Reconciliation in a South African Crime Show Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk Chapter 20: Doctor(ed) Representations: Physician Portrayals on Medical Television Shows David Lynn Painter, Sarah Parsloe, and Hannah Jureller About the Contributors
A critical summation of television's mirror for humankind, this collection of 20 essays covers major American series plus dramatic and comic presentations from 10 countries other than the US. Character and theme analyses review the intent of dramatizing particular quandaries, such as disdain for homosexuals as portrayed through the career of footman Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey and amplification of changing morals as depicted in the Brazilian telenovela Delegacia de Mulheres.... [T]his book will be an excellent addition to the public and university library media shelf. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. * Choice Reviews * Rios and Lin have found the perfect balance of scholarship and entertainment research. This will be a welcomed book for the classroom and for those looking for best practices in the much-needed areas of gender roles and identities, socio-economic "caste" systems, race, sexual and psychological violence, and cultural identities. The vast view of streaming and access to these media portrayals are valuable and furthers research, theoretical frameworks, and the overall knowledge within our discipline. The inclusion of social media usage and how the advancement of those watching "over the air" television series has expanded to a global realm really sits at the cornerstone of this important work. This is a must-read for those interested in intersectionality and the understanding of the many differences in our world today. -- Jerry Crawford, The University of Kansas
