This volume offers a stimulating perspective on the status of representations of a new kind of female character who emerged on the scene on US television in the mid-2000s, that of the anti-heroine. This new figure rivaled her earlier counterpart, the anti-hero, in terms of her complexity, and was multi-layered and morally flawed. Looking at the cable channels Showtime and HBO, as well as Netflix and ABC Television, this volume examines a range of recent television women and shows, including Homeland, Weeds, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, Veep, Girls, and Orange is the New Black as well as a host of other nighttime programs to demonstrate just how dominant the anti-heroine has become on US television. It examines how the figure has arisen within the larger context of the turn towards "Quality Television", that has itself been viewed as part of the post-network era or the "Third Golden Age" of television where new forms of broadcast delivery have created a marketing incentive to deliver more compelling characters to niche audiences. By including an exploration of the historical circumstances, as well as the industrial context in which the anti-heroine became the dominant leading female character on nighttime television, the book offers a fascinating study that sits at the intersection of gender studies and television. As such, it will appeal to scholars of popular culture, sociology, cultural and media studies.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'Too often, discussion of women TV characters has pivoted on a simplistic and delimiting sense of whether they are somehow 'likeable' or not. In a book which will be welcomed enthusiastically, particularly by scholars and students of Feminist TV Studies and Quality TV, Margaret Tally redirects the conversation and takes it forward. Discussing the striking rise of a series of recent TV anti-heroines including Carrie Mathison (Homeland) and Selina Meyer (Veep) in incisive and original ways, she examines the contradictions and dynamics of the women constituting this movement with the kind of consideration they so evidently warrant, forcefully underlining that complexity and nuance are not the prerogatives of male protagonists.'Deborah JermynReader in Film and Television, University of Roehampton'In The Rise of the Anti-Heroine in TV's Third Golden Age, Margaret Tally focuses on the multi-faceted character of the anti-heroine in contemporary American television. She first distinguishes the anti-hero from the anti-heroine before she intelligently and clearly defines her through her fictional life in diverse shows such as Weeds, Veep and Orange is the New Black. Not only does Tally succeed in fully articulating the unique characteristics of the anti-heroines, but also she convincingly locates the behind-the-scenes parameters - mainly industrial discrimination - that have delayed the anti-heroine's presence in television fiction for so long. Tally's The Rise of the Anti-Heroine in TV's Third Golden Age is not only the first study on an academically ignored subject but also an invaluable read for every media student, scholar and researcher, looking to understand these 'strong' women in their entirety.'Betty KaklamanidouAssistant Professor in Film and Television, Aristotle University'Tally's book is a timely and significant exploration of women's roles-both in front of and behind the camera-in the era of Quality Television. In particular, Tally investigates the figure of the anti-heroine, including the sociopolitical contexts that give rise to this character, as well as the qualities that define her. Tally challenges the conflation of anti-heroes and anti-heroines by demonstrating, quite convincingly, that constructions of gender inhibit women's access to the conventional characteristics of the anti-hero. This book is an important contribution to the fields of Television Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies.'Erin YoungAssistant Professor of Cultural Studies, State University of New York, Empire State College
Auflage
Sprache
Verlagsort
Newcastle upon Tyne
Großbritannien
Editions-Typ
Produkt-Hinweis
Maße
Höhe: 212 mm
Breite: 148 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4438-9936-9 (9781443899369)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Margaret Tally is Full Professor of Social and Public Policy at the School for Graduate Studies of the State University of New York, Empire State College. She is the author of Television Culture and Women's Lives: Thirtysomething and the Contradictions of Gender (1995). She has also edited three book collections with Betty Kaklamanidou, HBO's Girls: Questions of Gender, Politics, and Millennial Angst (2014), The Millennials on Film and Television: Essays on the Politics of Popular Culture (2014), and Politics and Politicians in Contemporary US Television (2016), and has authored several articles and book chapters in the area of gender and popular culture.
