Romance fiction inevitably reveals much of the romantic values and traditions of its time, reflecting cultural and societal changes that promoted changes in romance literature. Despite the many...Show moreRomance fiction inevitably reveals much of the romantic values and traditions of its time, reflecting cultural and societal changes that promoted changes in romance literature. Despite the many changes and interpretations romance fiction has seen, the idea persists that romantic comedies promote fantasies rather than reflect real life. However, a genre must draw from related cultural phenomena in order to persist. As our romantic values and our experiences change, so do the ways these stories are told. Romantic comedy engages with our discourse on romance and relationships and though they may be packaged differently today, they are essentially what they have always been: stories about relationships, about intimacy, about the human experience of connecting, intimately, with another. Modern works such as Sex Education, Wanderlust and Grace and Frankie demonstrate how the genre of romantic comedy has redefined itself. These television shows reveal an awareness of the genre’s conventions, the scepticism, the struggle and yet the wish persists to believe in the happily-ever after.Show less
Korean society has made great strides forward in gender representation in the last decade, yet mainstream media often encourages stereotypes and binary gender roles. However, the genre conventions...Show moreKorean society has made great strides forward in gender representation in the last decade, yet mainstream media often encourages stereotypes and binary gender roles. However, the genre conventions of historical fusion and fantasy combine elements of imagination and otherness that can engage in discussion on gender and represent gender in an alternative, more open, way. It addresses a contemporary issue yet is not bounded by the restrictions of today’s society. To analyze the potential positive representation of the genres, this thesis analyzes the Korean historical fantasy fusion drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (hereafter Moon Lovers) (2016). In order to study the alternative representations within mainstream media, this thesis looks at how the series’ representation of gender is in line with gender normativity. The leading research question is: Does Moon Lovers break gender normativity? The study was conducted through film analysis and guided by gender theory. In conclusion, Moon Lovers does not break with gender normativity. However, the potential of the genres to represent gender in an alternative way still require further study.Show less
In light of recent debates on post-truth politics within a discourse of populism, and a socio-political American zeitgeist of uncertainty and ambiguity, questions arise considering the recent...Show moreIn light of recent debates on post-truth politics within a discourse of populism, and a socio-political American zeitgeist of uncertainty and ambiguity, questions arise considering the recent dramatic interpretations of this socio-political atmosphere. In an attempt to highlight the complex nexus between visual culture and politics, this thesis examines this intersection between culture and politics using the American political climate as a case study of a larger global political trend of democracy fatigue, post-truth politics, and populist discourses. This thesis sheds light on the hopeful and critical postmodern dramatic storytelling that illustrates the importance of critical drama within a contemporary post-truth American socio-political sphere. As there has been a longstanding academic focus on the authoritative accounts in cinema and television, particularly in a post 9/11 context, this study embraces a discourse analysis that is concerned with how such accounts are ‘contested’. Drawing on a postmodern theoretical framework and HBO’s The Night Of, this thesis offers a fresh analysis of post-truth politics and the ability of visual culture to present and highlight a disillusionment with political currents.Show less
This BA thesis explores the nature of individual human agency in the second season of the television series The Wire. Drawing on Althusserian or Gramscian thought, involving the question of...Show moreThis BA thesis explores the nature of individual human agency in the second season of the television series The Wire. Drawing on Althusserian or Gramscian thought, involving the question of ideology and its limiting effects on human agency, I have argued that the nature of human agency in The Wire is problematic. The characters, especially in the second season, are bound by an ideological discourse. Chapter two has shown that the characters are involved in an ideological discourse of their own and that determines the extent of their individual agency. In addition, and in dialogue with the ideologies that bind the characters, there is the (creators of the) series’ own ideological response to this, both in terms of the plotting and on a more formal level (discussed in chapters three and four respectively).Show less
Television possesses the power to frame people’s lives and activities on a scale that no other form of media has ever been able to enjoy. This paper explores the various political missions of the...Show moreTelevision possesses the power to frame people’s lives and activities on a scale that no other form of media has ever been able to enjoy. This paper explores the various political missions of the Chinese television broadcast, and examines the modern type of propaganda publicized and disseminated throughout contemporary TV formats. Since its first introduction to China, the domestic digital box has become one of most efficient media for the spread of a new form of propaganda, thus helping the Party in its attempts to construct people’s identities. Given the findings that the media have always acted as mouthpieces of the government, this research points out that some particular television formats have been widely employed as thought work distributors. This thesis focuses primarily on TV serial dramas, which, despite often appearing to be the most innocuous and entertaining of broadcasts, are instead practically brimming with political discourses. More specifically, the main aim of this study is to explore the social and political contexts that have given rise to Dynasty dramas, which have emerged as the most conspicuous genre present on prime time TV thus far. Which sorts of political messages are concealed behind historical dramas? And for which reasons is the Party so committed to promulgating these types of ideas? Do these messages serve to legitimize the Party’s mandates? This research departs from the well-researched trend of exploring governmental media use in broad terms, turning its attention instead to television in particular. This essay widely examines the use of television in modern society, and epitomizes it as the new platform upon which the Party is able to construct or mold “politically educated” and “spiritually civilized” identities. Ultimately, the active engagement of dramas with cultural and political issues is proved, through the analysis of two of the most renowned contemporary Dynasty series “Yongzheng Dynasty” and “The Great Han Emperor Wu”-.Show less
