TV Transformations and Transgressive Women: From Prisoner: Cell Block H to Wentworth

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«Just like Prisoner and Wentworth, this book is an instant cult classic. Written with love by a collective of expert aca-fans, TV Transformations & Transgressive Women takes us on a fascinating journey through the cultural legacies of Australia's favourite prison TV dramas. Contributors use a rich palette of methods, from genre analysis to production research, to unpack the significance of these shows. An exemplary textual study, this richly multi-perspectival collection is essential reading for anyone interested in television genres.» (Ramon Lobato, Associate Professor, RMIT University) «This collection is a wonderful example of how certain TV shows can have tremendous impact, not only in the time of their making, but for several decades, when suddenly there's the opportunity to travel even further in an on-demand age and meet new audiences, academics and analytical approaches. The chapters offer a wide range of interesting interpretations and discussions, not the least on the way women have been represented on screen then and now. A good read for academics, fans and aca-fans.» (Eva Novrup Redvall, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen) A deep dive into iconic 1980s Australian women-in-prison TV drama Prisoner (aka Cell Block H), its contemporary reimagining as Wentworth, and its broader, global industry significance and influence, this book brings together a range of scholarly and industry perspectives, including an interview with actor Shareena Clanton (Wentworth's Doreen Anderson). Its chapters draw on talks with producers, screenwriters and casting; fan voices from the Wentworth twitterverse; comparisons with Netflix's Orange is the New Black; queer and LGBTQ approaches; and international production histories and contexts. By charting a path from Prisoner to Wentworth, the book offers a new mapping of TV shifts and transformations through the lens of female transgression, ruminating on the history, currency, industry position and cultural value of women-in-prison series. Cover Table of Contents List of Figures Foreword (Kim Akass / Sue Turnbull) Acknowledgements Breakout Women: Introduction to TV Transformations, Gender and Transgression (Radha O’Meara / Tessa Dwyer / Stayci Taylor / Craig Batty) Part I On the Inside: Voices from Industry 1 Representation, Responsibility and Racism: A Courageous Conversation with Shareena Clanton (Shareena Clanton) 2 Repeat Offender: TV Remakes, Reboots and Revival from Prisoner to Wentworth and beyond (Tessa Dwyer / Philippa Burne) 3 Scriptwriting on the Inside: The Streamlined System of Prisoner and the Collaborative Community of Wentworth (Radha O’Meara) 4 ‘I Want to See Rit’ Connors. I Want to See Her Now!’: The TV Series Guest Performer as Intertextual Messenger (Helen Milte) Part II She’s Got Form: Narrative, Genre and Motif 5 Women in the System: Narrative Modes and Rhetoric in Wentworth and Orange is the New Black (Kim Yen Howells-Ng) 6 Flashbacks and Morality in Women’s Prison TV Drama (Niall Brennan) 7 Gothic Themes in Australian TV’s Women’s Prison Dramas (Kate Warner) 8 ‘You Want to See Your Daughter? You Tell Me What Happened’: Motherhood and the Market Economy in Wentworth (Corrine E. Hinton / Cathrine Hoekstra) Part III Tough Love: Punishment, Power and Identity 9 Orange is the New Black, Wentworth and Contemporary Media Feminisms: Systemic Inequality and Individual Responsibility (Jessica Ford) 10 Prison Blues and Token Truths: Inside the Reality and Fantasy of First Nations Representations in Australian Women’s Prison Drama Wentworth (Josie Rose Atkinson) 11 Doing (Queer) Time in Wentworth (Whitney Monaghan) 12 ‘And Then They Confiscate Her Hormones’: Trans Incarceration and/in Wentworth and Orange is the New Black (Sam McCracken) 13 The Motherless Teenage Daughter: Lock Her Up or Send Her Away (Diana Sandars) 14 The Stone-Cold Power Dame: TV Women in Power, State Security and National Discourse (Alex Bevan) Part IV On the Outside: Fandom, Activism and Afterlives 15 Telling It Like It Was: Independent Activist Filmmaking, Australian Prison Systems and Prisoner (Olympia Barron / Catherine Gillam / Alexander Gionfriddo) 16 From Boys to Men via Cell Block H: Prisoner, Queer Identities and Productive Fan Nostalgia (Craig Haslop / Craig Batty) 17 ‘It’s Not My Fault I Help Girls Realize They’re Lesbians’: Compulsory Homosexuality as Communication in Online Wentworth Fandom (Amanda K. Allen) 18 Competing Desires, Competing Interests: Opening the Dialogue between Wentworth, Fans and Industry (Renee Middlemost / Stayci Taylor) 19 Recommending Wentworth to the World: How Netflix ‘Changed the Show’ and Australian TV Drama Production (Alexa Scarlata) Notes on Contributors Index Series index