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

Bennett, Eve

ISBN 10: 1501331086 / ISBN 13: 9781501331084

Published by Bloomsbury USA Academic, 2019

About this Item

224 pages. 9.25x6.25x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1501331086

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Gender in Post-9/11 American Apocalyptic TV: Representations of Masculinity and Femininity at the End of the World
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Academic
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1501331086
• ISBN 13: 9781501331084
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.48 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Eve Bennett is a lecturer in media and cultural studies at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3, France.