Daphne R Idiz, Julia Noordegraaf, Rens Vliegenthart
{"title":"Culture as window dressing? A threefold methodological framework for researching the locality of Netflix series","authors":"Daphne R Idiz, Julia Noordegraaf, Rens Vliegenthart","doi":"10.1177/17496020241235579","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020241235579","url":null,"abstract":"Considering the implications of Netflix’s role as a content producer for cultural diversity in Europe, this methodological article investigates how to define and measure the locality of Netflix Originals. We employ a threefold methodological study based on industry data analysis, audience reception research, and content analysis. This replicable and scalable methodological design provides a solid analytical framework for future studies examining Netflix Originals from the normative perspective of cultural diversity. Demonstrating the steps of our exploratory study, we also find that Netflix’s locally-produced but globally-oriented content uses culture as window dressing, warranting further research.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"269 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140043623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christopher L Moore, Chris Comerford, Ren Vettoretto
{"title":"Binge-watching and mental illness versus comfort TV and mental health in WandaVision","authors":"Christopher L Moore, Chris Comerford, Ren Vettoretto","doi":"10.1177/17496020241229038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020241229038","url":null,"abstract":"WandaVision launched the Disney+ subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform by blending the sitcom and the superhero genres in a nostalgia-inducing fusion of Marvel comics, cinema and television. The series represents the canonisation of Marvel media into a single cohesive narrative ‘multiverse’, yet the story focuses on the personal experience of the character, Wanda, and her struggle with loss, grief, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this article, we explore how WandaVision presents a unique examination of the tension between the role of screen media as comfort TV and the pervasive fears over the obsessive escapism of binge-watching. The article also assesses the potential risks of excessive media consumption through the framing of American sitcoms and superhero families from the 1950s and onward.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"212 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139938944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A modern version of restoration comedy? Double entendre, objectification, fearful men and rakes <i>manqué</i> in the television work of Benny Hill","authors":"Joseph Gibbs","doi":"10.1177/17496020231214478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020231214478","url":null,"abstract":"Benny Hill’s once globally popular (but controversial) television humour was often built around elements associated with Restoration comedy. These included double entendre; the objectification of women (which Hill in the 1980s intensified, to the detriment of his comedy and career); and themes involving men fearing women. Additionally, some of Hill’s characters had traits suggestive of those of Restoration comedy, although his men generally lacked the classic rakes’ social status and sexual success, and their frequent failures introduced into Hill’s comedy an ironic caricature of contemporary views of male sexuality and ego.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"27 16","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136282408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From traditional regionalism to national distinction: German television co-productions through time","authors":"Elke Weissmann","doi":"10.1177/17496020231211545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020231211545","url":null,"abstract":"This article offers a historical perspective on co-productions of high-end television drama in Germany. It argues that such co-productions have seen three distinct phases that although overlapping, are described by industry insiders and critics as distinct periods where one form of co-production is dominant at a particular time but then becomes residual as other forms take over. These three forms are, first, public broadcaster-led co-productions, second, ‘Europudding’ co-productions, and finally, distinctive co-productions in TVIV. This article shows that these phases are connected to stylistic as well as industrial changes, which do not always overlap with the description of industry insiders.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":" 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135192995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘I miss when my problems were about nothing’: Millennial angst, neoliberal feminism, and paratexts in <i>Search Party</i> (2016–2022)","authors":"Sarah Lahm","doi":"10.1177/17496020231209862","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020231209862","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the articulation of complex demands of neoliberal feminism, such as individualism, entrepreneurialism and self-management on the millennial woman in recent streaming series. The portrayal of a fractured female self and its entanglement with millennial angst will shed light on serial depictions of neoliberal individualism and female subjectivity. Search Party, a satirical, genre-bending, half-hour comedy-drama serves as an example through which the contradictory demands of neoliberal feminism are negotiated and questioned. In addition to assessment of the narrative and character framing, paratextual materials and specifically the series’ promotional posters work to further situate the twenty-first century millennial female, underscoring her split self.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"72 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135271680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Awkwardness sells, but who’s buying? How students navigate awkward TV comedy series","authors":"Iván Kirschbaum, Pauwke Berkers","doi":"10.1177/17496020231211485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020231211485","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on in-depth interviews, this study examines how students engage with awkwardness in television comedies. The article contributes to studies of awkwardness, its configuration in popular culture, and audiences’ response to awkward-comic texts. Our findings show typical sequences and resources for producing awkward scenes. Participants tend to evaluate awkward scenes in terms of ‘realism’, i.e., whether they could relate the scene to their personal lives and/or imagine themselves in that situation. Furthermore, awkward sequences and feelings of awkwardness from the characters increases the evaluation of scenes as realistic. Finally, in line with Kotsko’s (2010) characterisation of awkwardness as a social feeling, awkwardness spreads from the television screen when participants perceive if the character is feeling awkward or imagine themselves feeling awkward in that situation.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136158741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Television will archive itself: Channel 4’s role in revalorising ‘old’ TV","authors":"Richard Hewett","doi":"10.1177/17496020231208049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020231208049","url":null,"abstract":"A notable feature of Channel 4’s scheduling in the 1980s was the extent to which it drew upon repeats of archive television, long-unseen US and UK sitcoms and cult dramas either providing a nostalgic reminder of yesteryear or being discovered afresh by new generations. In addition, the themed archive evenings that began at Christmas 1982, culminating in 1992's extensive TV Heaven season, now seem prescient in an era when digital channels such as GOLD, Yesterday, Dave and Talking Pictures TV draw extensively upon the archive to compile their schedules. Channel 4’s use of archive programming receives little attention in academic histories, aside of Maggie Brown’s dismissal of its repeats as ‘tellyfilla’. This article redresses the balance, drawing upon publicity material from Channel 4’s press packs, research into patterns of repeats and original interviews with those involved in the curatorial process to investigate the extent to which Channel 4’s decision to revisit the archives was born of economic pragmatism, or was in fact a conscious act of contextualisation, re-evaluation and revalorisation.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134908381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Are we having fun yet?’: The Starz television network and <i>Party Down</i> as indie TV","authors":"James Lyons","doi":"10.1177/17496020231201083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020231201083","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the sitcom Party Down (2009-10) one of the first shows commissioned by the US premium cable service Starz as it sought to compete with HBO and Showtime, but cancelled after two seasons due to low ratings. Reports in 2021 of plans for its return characterised it as a ‘cult TV’ show revived due to fan demand. Yet by analysing its original production contexts and its aesthetic attributes the article argues that it is best understood as a proto-typical instance of ‘indie TV,’ aligned with Starz' strategic positioning in relation to its indie-oriented subscriber base at that time.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"68 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136280162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Voices from the emptiness. Developing the <i>agentic rural</i> on Spanish television","authors":"Enric Castelló","doi":"10.1177/17496020231202511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020231202511","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses rural representations in the documentary series Ruralitas (2020) on the Spanish TVE. The programme shows that the people living in the countryside have agency and do not conform to common rural stereotypes. Nevertheless, the stories flirt with ideas of the ‘rural idyll’ by focusing on the beauty of the landscape and traditional rural versus urban binaries. However, the series also develops what the author names an agentic rural. The agentic rural not only empowers countryside dwellers and portrays self-determined destinies in the countryside, but also highlights problems associated with depopulation.","PeriodicalId":51917,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Television","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134903723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}