Searching the Soul of Ally McBeal

Critical Essays
Herausgeber: Watson, Elwood

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Ally McBeal, the popular Fox television series (1997-2002), was both groundbreaking and controversial. With its challenging presentation of gender roles and gender politics, the show provided fuel for an ever-expanding international debate over feminism and the roles of women in modern society. In 1998, Time Magazine ran a cover story featuring a photo of the Ally McBeal character alongside three of the feminist movement's most memorable figures. The article was suggestively entitled, "Is Feminism Dead?" This collection of essays addresses that important question as it relates to the presentation of women's behaviors, desires and images in Ally McBeal. It considers the challenges that women's sexuality presents to feminism and looks at feminist thought regarding female professionalism and contemporary marriage. Also discussed is the struggle for an understanding of masculinity in light of feminism's growing challenge to patriarchy. Other topics include the series' groundbreaking narrative structure, its critique of society and the law in the early 21st century, and its treatment of minority characters. Contrary to the implications of Time Magazine's coverage, this book argues that Ally McBeal is a positive feminist text from the perspective of post-feminist theory.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: McFarland
• Seitenzahl: 256
• Erscheinungstermin: 12. Juli 2006
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 15mm
• Gewicht: 421g
• ISBN-13: 9780786425273
• ISBN-10: 078642527X
• Artikelnr.: 21659738

Autorenporträt

Elwood Watson is a professor of History and African American Studies at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Inhaltsangabe

Table of Contents
Preface     
Introduction     
1. Ally McBeal as a Site of Postmodern Bodily Boundaries and Struggles Over
Cultural Interpretation: The Hysteric as a Site of Feminist Resistance     
2. A Truth Universally (Un)Acknowledged: Ally McBeal, Bridget Jones's Diary
and the Conflict between Romantic Love and Feminism     
3. Cultural Occupancy, Television Reception, and MultipleIdentifications in
Ally McBeal     
4. The Comic and Burlesque: A Frame Analysis of Post-Feminist Values and
Female Professionalism in Ally McBeal     
5. Ally McBeal and the Death of Feminism     
6. Female Representation and the "Postfeminist" Challenge     
7. In Ms. McBeal's Defense: Assessing Ally McBeal as a Feminist Text     
8. Worshipping at the Altar of Barry White: Ally McBeal and Racial and
Sexual Politics in Crisis     
9. The Angler, Fish, and Fishisms: Universal Themes and Contemporary Issues
in a Popular Television Series     
10. It's More Than Just Another Silly Love Song: Ally McBeal Brings the
Hollywood Musical to Television     
11. Segments in an Endless Flow: Narrative Gaps and Partial Closure in
Ally McBeal     
About the Contributors     
Index