VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DO NGUYEN THỊ THANH LUONG REPRESENTATION OF GENDER AND GENDER-RELATED ISSUES IN STREAMING-ERA SUPERHERO TV SERIES "SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW": A MULTIMODAL CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Tái trình hiện giới và các van đề về giới trong phim truyền hình phat trực phương tiện M. MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201.01 Hanoi, 2024 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DO NGUYEN THỊ THANH LUONG REPRESENTATION OF GENDER AND GENDER-RELATED ISSUES IN STREAMING-ERA SUPERHERO TV SERIES "SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW": A MULTIMODAL CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Tái trình hiện giới và các van đề về giới trong phim truyền hình phat trực phương tiện M. MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201. Hoang Thi Hanh Hanoi, 2024 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts, and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree.
Hanoi, 2024 Đỗ Nguyễn Thi Thanh Luong Approved by SUPERVISOR Dr. Hoàng Thị Hạnh Date: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Hoang Thi Hanh for her invaluable advice, guidance, and support. She was always there to guide me into the right direction whenever I needed it.
Her wisdom and kindness have not only immensely encouraged me throughout this journey of academic research, but also inspired me greatly in life. I am also grateful to Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. His Discourse Analysis class was a great help to me in establishing the necessary knowledge to conduct this research, and I could not thank him enough for the advice he gave me early on.
Special thanks to MH and Choan, my former-students-turned-friends who cheered me up over our almost-weekly drinks. A long conversation with them was always a good stress reliever. Finally, I could not have finished this thesis without the unending support from my witty partner, who believed in me even when I had my moments of self- doubt. To all those mentioned and those that might have slipped my mind, I thank you, truly.
Hanoi, 2024 Do Nguyen Thi Thanh Luong ABSTRACT The portrayal of gender on television often creates and projects gender stereotypes onto the audience. These stereotypical gender images are repetitive and slow to change, especially on superhero television. Using the multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) approach, this study examines the superhero television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), seeking to identify the constructed images of men and women and gender-related issues in the series. The findings reveal that women are still subject to common gender stereotypes and prejudices while men contribute to women's unfair treatment for fear of losing their own power, and that societal expectations and workplace gender dynamics undervalue women and limit their opportunities.
However, the series also reflects certain social changes and attempts to improve gender equality. These findings contribute to evaluating changes in gender representation on television in general and in superhero television in particular. TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIONN. Rationale of the SLU(ỈY.
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0 <5 HH HH HH HH 0000 00000006 43 APPENDIX - OBSERVATION SHEE7T.- 555555 2+ SS2SE5sESSEsSsseseessse i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law Title Design. cece eeceesceesseeeeseeeeeeeeneeeeaes 17 Figure 2: She-Hulk by Titania Advertisement .:ceeccesseeeneeeseeceseeeeaeeeseeeeseeesaes 22 Figure 3: Episode 3 Title Design: She-Hulk by Titania. ce eeeesseeeseeeneeeeeees 23 Figure 4: Jen's She-Hulk Physical TransformatIOI.- -- 5 5+ £+++seessesess 23 Figure 5: Titania's Fashion SYÏ©S.- c1 vn TH TH TH ng ng rưưn 25 Figure 6: Arthur — She-Hulk’s (Ì4fG.- --- 6-2 1311911211 911 9v 1H 9 ng ng nh ey 26 Figure 7: She-Hulk Carrying Arthur to the Bedroom.-- -- «+5 << <++csscese 27 Figure 8: Therapy Session at Blonsky's Wellness Retreat.----- «sex 28 Figure 9: Megan Thee Stallion (right) Teaching She-Hulk to "”Twerk”. Rationale of the study Television is often seen as a reflection of our lives and society, incorporating everyday issues that the audience may feel as if they are observing a miniature reality on the small screen.
Whether in a drama series or commercials, classic themes on television are concerned with common topics such as family, love, faith, relationships, evolving into more pressing issues of politics, (in)justice, and (in)equality. Gender, along with race, is usually woven into these themes. Nevertheless, topic exploration and coverage varies, since different television programs and channels undoubtedly have different focuses when catering to various groups of target audience. How television represents these social realities and whether television representation changes with society constitute a fertile field for exploration.
According to Stuart Hall (1997), television portrayal constructs its own reality rather than only trying to reflect it. As a form of media, television representation is "the end result of a production process” (Krijnen & Van Bauwel, 2015, p. 34) in which contents and images are choices made by certain people, determined by certain factors, and broadcast for certain purposes. Television production as representations of the society is where ideas and ideologies are constantly articulated, elaborated, and transformed (Hall, 1995).
Such ideologies are rampant and hard to challenge, considering the long-standing popularity of television. Representation matters, because it can influence the audience's awareness and perception. In the case of gender as one of the common television themes, meanings of gender are constructed, de- and re-constructed, contributing to gender discourse. 346) points out that the images of men and women on television "construct, rather than reflect, gender definitions, meanings, and identities".
Frequently, these images of television characters construct and project gender stereotypes onto the audience. Considering their significant impact, the ideologies behind television's constructed realities need to be identified. One way to do so is observing and analyzing the verbal and visual language being used in television productions. While lacking the ideologies-producing power, the audience holds the power to evaluate and challenge them.
Specifically, consuming television language critically and understanding what is being delivered is also a form of power. One may ask: why study superheroes to unearth gender ideologies on television? Their significance in popular culture is the first reason. Even though superheroes do not exist in reality, their pervasive influence is by no means unreal, which is seen in various entertainment products for both children and adults. It is true that part of the global appeal is the "unreal" facet that allows writers and producers to explore new, fictitious territories, but the superhero figures are not simply the products of our imaginative mind.
They represent real-life events and issues, one of which is gender. Second, superheroes could be considered a gendered genre that leans toward the male audience, meaning there are likely gender stereotypes being either promoted or challenged, or both. Therefore, it is worth investigating what is being conveyed through the construction of male and female superheroes on television. Using a multimodal critical discourse analysis approach, this study seeks to examine the representation of gender and gender-related issues in the American superhero television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022).
The series’ main character is Jennifer Walters, a lawyer in her 30s who has to navigate through her personal and professional lives after she accidentally turns into the superhero She-Hulk. It is one of the few superhero television series with a female lead and among the first Marvel Studios productions released exclusively on the streaming platform Disney+. Objectives of the study The study aims: - to examine the construction of genders in the television series "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law", whether gender stereotypes are promoted or challenged - to explore what gender-related issues are addressed through the series characterization These aims are formulated into two research questions as follows: - How are genders constructed in the television series “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’? - What gender-related issues are addressed through “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” characters? 1. Methods and procedures 1.
Research method The study is carried out following the multimodal critical discourse analysis approach, using the frameworks established by Fairclough (1989) and Machin and Mayr (2012). Data collection Relevant data is collected from the episodes of the series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law through observation and documentation. Data includes texts and other semiotic resources. Data analysis Following the models introduced by Fairclough (1989) and Machin and Mayr (2012), the data is analyzed qualitatively.
The analysis is done with the goal of identifying the construction of men and women as well as gender-related issues portrayed in the series. Scope of the study The research aims to investigate the representation of both females and males in the series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and expand to gender issues through those female and male characters. Data for analysis is taken from all nine episodes of the series, with a focus on gender-related texts, mentions, and images. Significance of the study First, the study would identify and explain how genders are constructed in She- Hulk: Attorney at Law, a popular television series.
As previously discussed, television constructs reality and simultaneously shapes audience perception of it as a result. It therefore can be interpreted that the series would influence the audience's mindset of gender, either perpetuating the existing gender ideologies or challenging them. Second, the significance lies in the fact that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is a series produced in the streaming era of television, which means it is recent and presumably conveys more contemporary, up-to-date ideas and approaches. Studying gender construction in this series would help to discover whether contemporary television is producing and reproducing, repairing or transforming gender images and issues in the modern world.
Third, the study would contribute to the literature on multimodal critical discourse analysis, and serve as a reference source for researchers and students majoring in English linguistics and related fields. This would be especially helpful to those who are interested in critical discourse analysis of media products, especially television. Organization of the study The study consists of five chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction presents the rationale, aims, significance, methods and organization of the study. Chapter 2: Literature Review explains the relevant theories, concepts, and reviews previous studies relevant to the issue under examination.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology describes the research methods, subjects, data collection and data analysis of the study. Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion presents the results from the data analysis, followed by discussion. Chapter 5: Conclusion summarizes the main findings, presents the limitation of the study and suggestions for further studies. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter is a summary and critical analysis of relevant literature for the purpose of establishing a theoretical background for the study.
Reviews of previous studies are presented alongside theories and concepts in interconnected threads. Representation Hall (1997) explores the notion of representation and how language is used as a system of representation.