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University of New Mexico

Ungoverned Masculinities: Gendered Discourses of Neoliberalism in The Sopranos and Breaking Bad

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This thesis examines the discursive intersections of neoliberalism and masculinity on The Sopranos and Breaking Bad through a critical discourse analysis in order to illuminate larger sociocultural issues concerning contemporary masculinity. The Sopranos and Breaking Bad are praised in contemporary discourse as 'artistic achievements,' and the following project interrogates particular moments in both texts that construct gendered discourses of neoliberalism, relying on the theoretical foundations of hegemonic masculinity. Through my analysis, I establish key moments when discourses about masculinity intersected with and connected to discourses about neoliberalism. Additionally, this project analyzes moral dimensions of neoliberalism within sociocultural discourse centering on The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. I determine that the lines between entrepreneur and criminal have blurred as a product of neoliberal politics and economics, and argue that sociocultural discourse about the programs prioritizes profit making above socially responsible ethics and morality.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Communication
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Department of Communication and Journalism
Year
2015

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Barnes, Christopher
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Weiss, David
  • Martinez Guillem, Susana
  • Rodriguez Nazario, Ilia

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

Language dc:language
English

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:cj_etds-1084

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of New Mexico
Base URL
digitalrepository.unm.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Barnes, Christopher. Ungoverned Masculinities: Gendered Discourses of Neoliberalism in The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Thesis thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1928/30316