Inheriting a dynasty: Family succession dramas and the moral economy of Downton Abbey

IF 1.9 2区社会学 Q1 CULTURAL STUDIES

European Journal of Cultural Studies Pub Date : 2023-08-05 DOI:10.1177/13675494231187475

H. Kuusela

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The role of inherited or family wealth in reproducing and even exacerbating wealth inequalities has been addressed in various studies in recent years. Bringing together representation studies with studies on cultural and moral economies, this article analyses how cultural norms indispensable to the preservation of dynastic wealth are negotiated through contemporary popular culture and television series. It introduces the concept of family succession drama, referring to television fiction that focuses on issues concerning intergenerational transmission of wealth and/or privileges and analyses the series Downton Abbey as a case study for interrogating the ambiguous affirmation of inherited wealth and dynastic privileges in a historical melodrama. By focusing on Downton Abbey, the article considers how hereditary rights and dynastic privileges are negotiated in a heritage drama in ways that also enable the legitimation of contemporary dynasty-making. While acknowledging the anxieties caused by class differences, Downton Abbey nevertheless affirms the necessity for various hereditary privileges and fortunes, thereby excluding any true alternatives for (contemporary) dynastic dynamics.

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继承王朝:家族继承剧与《唐顿庄园》的道德经济

近年来，各种研究都解决了遗传或家庭财富在再现甚至加剧财富不平等方面的作用。本文将代表性研究与文化和道德经济研究结合起来，分析了保存王朝财富不可或缺的文化规范是如何通过当代流行文化和电视连续剧进行谈判的。它引入了家族继承剧的概念，指的是关注财富和/或特权代际传递问题的电视小说，并将《唐顿庄园》作为案例研究，质疑历史情节剧中对继承财富和王朝特权的模糊肯定。通过关注《唐顿庄园》，本文探讨了世袭权利和王朝特权是如何在一部传承剧中协商的，同时也使当代王朝的建立合法化。在承认阶级差异带来的焦虑的同时，《唐顿庄园》仍然肯定了各种世袭特权和财富的必要性，从而排除了(当代)王朝动态的任何真正替代方案。

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来源期刊

European Journal of Cultural Studies Multiple-

CiteScore

5.50

自引率

4.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： European Journal of Cultural Studies is a major international, peer-reviewed journal founded in Europe and edited from Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, the United States and New Zealand. The journal promotes a conception of cultural studies rooted in lived experience. It adopts a broad-ranging view of cultural studies, charting new questions and new research, and mapping the transformation of cultural studies in the years to come. The journal publishes well theorized empirically grounded work from a variety of locations and disciplinary backgrounds. It engages in critical discussions on power relations concerning gender, class, sexual preference, ethnicity and other macro or micro sites of political struggle.