This article explores the specific capacity of TV courtroom drama to dramatize civic issues and to seduce viewers to an active engagement with such issues. I argue that television series of this genre eyploit the apparent theatricality of their subject matter-trials-to invite their audiences to the deliberation of social or political issues, issues that they negotiate in their courtroom plots. contemporary courtroom dramas amend this issue orientation with a self-reflexive dimension in wich they encourage viewers to also reflect on how the dramatic construction of 'issues' shapes their civic debate. I unfold this argument through a reading of episodes from two very different legal dramas, Boston Legal (2004-2008) and The Good Wife (2009-).

This article explores the specific capacity of TV courtroom drama to dramatize civic issues and to seduce viewers to an active engagement with such issues. I argue that television series of this genre eyploit the apparent theatricality of their subject matter-trials-to invite their audiences to the deliberation of social or political issues, issues that they negotiate in their courtroom plots. contemporary courtroom dramas amend this issue orientation with a self-reflexive dimension in wich they encourage viewers to also reflect on how the dramatic construction of 'issues' shapes their civic debate. I unfold this argument through a reading of episodes from two very different legal dramas, Boston Legal (2004-2008) and The Good Wife (2009-).

"The legal drama – a staple of American popular culture – has evolved as one of the "masculine" genres in the gendered landscape of television culture. A type of workplace drama focusing on professional settings historically dominated by men, it traditionally dramatizes "a world where men played the only important parts and where male bonding and inter-male conflict were dominant elements in the narrative," to adapt Kenneth MacKinnon’s general observations about "masculine" tv (69). Yet the gendering of the (traditional) legal drama goes well beyond the ubiquity of male characters: It is deeply ingrained in the figuration of the lawyer that classic instances of the genre established..." / "Der vorliegende Beitrag ist die pre-print Version. Bitte nutzen Sie für Zitate die Seitenzahl der Original-Version." (siehe Quellenangabe)

My research is centered around the questions: How can such a modernized country, considered by many to be the cleanest, friendliest, most welcoming place to visit (certainly surpassing the United States on such standards), not be more welcoming of women in employment? Further, what are the main problems hindering women in employment today, and from where do these problems originate? That is, how did the present situation for women’s employment in Japan come to light? I endeavor to answer these questions, beginning by uncovering the major issues in women’s employment and then tracing their origins back in history to discover when and why they developed into what they are today.

"The legal drama – a staple of American popular culture – has evolved as one of the "masculine" genres in the gendered landscape of television culture. A type of workplace drama focusing on professional settings historically dominated by men, it traditionally dramatizes "a world where men played the only important parts and where male bonding and inter-male conflict were dominant elements in the narrative," to adapt Kenneth MacKinnon’s general observations about "masculine" tv (69). Yet the gendering of the (traditional) legal drama goes well beyond the ubiquity of male characters: It is deeply ingrained in the figuration of the lawyer that classic instances of the genre established..." / "Der vorliegende Beitrag ist die pre-print Version. Bitte nutzen Sie für Zitate die Seitenzahl der Original-Version." (siehe Quellenangabe)

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2017-03-08T12:32:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissALCG.pdf: 4319054 bytes, checksum: 38c3a165e318a48ef3e66798fe29d3c4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-03-22T13:32:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissALCG.pdf: 4319054 bytes, checksum: 38c3a165e318a48ef3e66798fe29d3c4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-03-22T13:33:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissALCG.pdf: 4319054 bytes, checksum: 38c3a165e318a48ef3e66798fe29d3c4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-22T13:40:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissALCG.pdf: 4319054 bytes, checksum: 38c3a165e318a48ef3e66798fe29d3c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / This research presents an analysis about the woman’s constitution in television series, specifically the series The Good Wife in dialogue with fanfiction, which are textual productions of the fans. The approach taken is the bakhtinian one in the sense that the worlds constructs are social and television is a very influential mechanism in society. Thus, issues such as dialogy, speech genres and constitution of the subject are treated, allowing the construction of a theoretical background. Think about women’s presence in society is interesting, since we are in a period in which women are increasingly inserted breaking old paradigms. But it’s also necessary to note that even with the changes, it still has a mindset that sometimes limits such insertion, so be aware enables break with these limitations. / Essa pesquisa traz uma análise acerca da constituição da mulher nos seriados televisivos, mais especificamente o seriado The Good Wife em diálogo com as fanfics, que são as produções textuais dos fãs. A abordagem que se toma é a bakhtiniana no sentido de que as construções de mundo são sociais e que a televisão é um mecanismo de grande influência na sociedade. Assim, temas como dialogia, gêneros do discurso e constituição de sujeito são tratados, permitindo a construção de um referencial teórico. Pensar as questões da presença feminina na sociedade é interessante, visto que estamos em um período em que as mulheres estão cada vez mais inseridas rompendo com antigos paradigmas. Mas também é necessário observar que mesmo com as mudanças, ainda se tem uma mentalidade que por vezes limita essa inserção, de modo que tomar consciência possibilita romper com essas limitações.

In this thesis, I explore how specific films and television shows use the preexisting structure and mechanics of narrative film in order to create queer characters and stories that defy their otherness and stereotypes, thus creating a profound cinematic experience. Not only does the manipulation of these structures and mechanics heighten the realism and depth of the narrative at hand, it also enhances audience identification by allowing queer viewers to find themselves and straight viewers to understand the “other.” In this manner, the New New Queer Cinema and television have had lasting effects on the modern gay rights movement, changing perceptions and attitudes of society on an extremely personal level and making way for incredible strides in public policy changes.