«HERE WAS A MAN»1: NEGOTIATING GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN HBO’S DEADWOOD
Journal Title: Наукові праці. Серія "Філологія. Літературознавство" - Year 2016, Vol 271, Issue 259
Abstract
My paper will investigate representations of gender and sexuality in HBO’s series Deadwood (2004–2006) while placing a special focus on the interrelations between negotiated power structures presented in Westerns. Genre-wise, I read Deadwood as a Post-Western and I want to investigate the subversive potential which is achieved through re-negotiations of the traditional Western format. The process of nation-building which is presented in traditional Westerns by a dominant discourse from a white, male, heteronormative perspective is questioned in Deadwood, and the innovative potential of the series can be seen in the re-negotiation of these discourses. My analysis will focus on the representation of gender roles and different forms of sexualities and show how the representations of these issues in Deadwood vary from those in traditional Westerns. Additionally, I will investigate how Foucauldian notions of biopolitics and power-relations can be used to interpret these changes. My reading of examples from Deadwood will show how the re-negotiation of representations of sex/gender and power structures enable the series to enlarge the images and myths about the American West by adding new perspectives. The representations of history in the series add new perspectives to a narrative of American national identity, which for a long time was closely connected to the Westward movement and the settling of the West. Deadwood is able to question the still prevalent national myth for example by its presentation of violence and at least in part by the inclusion of representations of groups which are habitually silenced in traditional Westerns.
Authors and Affiliations
B. Schlimbach
Keywords
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