Gender in Post-9/11 American Apocalyptic TV: Representations of Masculinity and Femininity at the End of the World

Description

In the years following 9/11, American TV developed a preoccupation with apocalypse. Science fiction and fantasy shows ranging from Firefly to Heroes, from the rebooted Battlestar Galactica to Lost, envisaged scenarios in which world-changing disasters were either threatened or actually took place. During the same period numerous commentators observed that the American media's representation of gender had undergone a marked regression, possibly, it was suggested, as a consequence of the 9/11 attacks and the feelings of weakness and insecurity they engendered in the nation's men. Eve Bennett investigates whether the same impulse to return to traditional images of masculinity and femininity can be found in the contemporary cycle of apocalyptic series, programmes which, like 9/11 itself, present plenty of opportunity for narratives of damsels-in-distress and heroic male rescuers. However, as this book shows, whether such narratives play out in the expected manner is another matter. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 7 Introduction......Page 8 1 Heroic Masculinity and Its Pitfalls......Page 18 2 The Prince Hal Narrative......Page 62 3 Patriarchal Conspiracies and Female Victims......Page 108 4 Twenty-First-Century Female Weapons......Page 146 Conclusion......Page 188 References......Page 198 Filmography......Page 218 Teleography......Page 221 Index......Page 224