An Exploration of Youth Talk Around Representations of Individual Difference in the American Television Show Glee
Citation
Dorsey, Jennifer M. 2016. An Exploration of Youth Talk Around Representations of Individual Difference in the American Television Show Glee. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Graduate School of Education.Abstract
In this study I investigate the ways in which youth talk about difference and fictional television characters in order to better understand youth's relationship with the media and diverse others. I use the theoretical framework of constructivism and the analytic framework of Foucauldian Discourse Analysis in order to answer the following research questions:1) What discourses and positionings do youth use when talking about fictional characters?
2) What discourses and positionings do youth use when talking about difference in the context of a television program that presents diverse characters, specifically in the areas of (a) ability, (b) sexuality, and (c) ethnicity?
3) What do these ways of talking about characters and difference make possible for youth in the world?
I chose to study these questions by investigating the meanings that youth were making of characters on the television show Glee. I conducted a qualitative interview study, recruiting participants in accordance with purposive sampling for maximum variation. Data gathering consisted of qualitative interviews, both with individuals and pairs. Interviews included both photo and video elicitation. Following data collection and interview transcription, I conducted data analysis using positioning theory, discourse theory, and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis.
In my first analytic chapter I identified two main discourses that youth use when talking about characters: Character as Person and Character as Creation. In my second analytic chapter I analyze youth speech and discuss the discourses and positionings that they use when talking about difference, identifying three main discourses: Being Different, Having Difference, and Enacting Difference.
In my final analytic chapter I look more closely at the parasocial relationships that youth describe having with characters, investigating when youth do and do not describe identifying with the characters on Glee. I note that when youth describe relating strongly with a character because of a shared difference, they most often use the discourses of Character as Person and Being Different.
Through the lens of Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, I am able to explore not only the patterns apparent in youth talk about characters and difference, but also what this talk makes possible in the world.
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