Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1999

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Human Performance and Sport Studies

Major Professor

Handel Kashope Wright

Committee Members

Joy D. DeSensi, William G. Morgan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore fandom and social difference through interviews with five young (23-35), white, middle-class, college educated, women who watch of the Fox television show Ally McBeal. Data was generated through three interviews focusing on certain themes with each of the participants. The first and second interviews were individual interviews and the third interview was a conference call involving all the participants. The participants identified on an emotional level with the characters and situations depicted in the show. For some, the emotional identification extended to a personal or professional level. All of the participants recognized that the show was not a true reflection of reality but a form of entertainment. Noticeably absent in the television show is the discussion of issues of social difference. The character Ally is a postfeminist representation of a woman, recognizable because of her reliance on feminist principles without furthering any feminist political arguments. She is at once independent and career-oriented (feminist) and emotionally dependent on the idea that she needs a man to come save her (pre-feminist) making Ally a post-feminist women, a historically and culturally contingent construct. The vast popularity of the show leads to the conclusion that many people watching the show are not taking issue with the privileged premise on which the show is based. In society, issues of social difference are now recognized and discussed, but American society still has not dislodged white middle class conceptions of these issues.

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