Shauna Wilton (University of Alberta, Canada) "Emotional Mothers and Negligent Fathers: Representations of Parenthood in British Crime TV"
Crime fiction has traditionally been viewed as a masculine genre, populated by male detectives who represent the good of humanity and serving as both a mirror to society and as a source of social commentary and criticism. The arrival of the female detective challenges many of these norms. As Guardian reporter Nicci Gerard wrote, “Move Over, Morse: Female detectives are on the case now” (October 5, 2014). The fact that many of the new female detectives on television are also mothers has, so far, escaped media and scholarly attention.
The rise of mothers as detectives raises questions about the evolution of the genre and the changing role of women in society as these women attempt to balance the demands of family with the demands of the job. This paper utilizes content and critical discourse analysis to explore the representations of mothers and motherhood in the popular British television series Broadchurch (ITV) and Happy Valley (Netflix). Exploring motherhood through popular culture provides rich opportunities to explore popular conceptions around mothering and gendered power relations. When the representations of mothers are then compared with those of fathers, the perpetuation of gender stereotypes continues to have negative implications for both. By relating these representations of parents to the current social and political context, this research aims to illuminate the ongoing tensions surrounding gender, work and parenting.
Biography: Dr. Shauna Wilton is an Associate Professor of Political Studies at the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta in Canada. Her research interests and publications centre on gender, ethnicity, public policy and popular culture in Canada and Europe. She is currently working on several projects, including: exploring the ability of parents with professional careers to balance career and family demands; family policies in Canada and Europe; and, popular representations of motherhood.
Séminaire à 18h
