The Reproduction of Patriarchal Ideological Hegemony in Soap Opera: A Case Study

<p>This research analyzes the reproduction of patriarchal ideological hegemony in the soap opera <em>Another World</em> using Stuart Hall's theory of the mass media and his conceptualization of ideology. A structural analysis of five one hour video-taped episodes of <em>Another World</em> reveals how the soap opera text constructs meaning fulfilling the three functions of the mass media, and thus, reproducing patriarchy's hegemony. This research confirms Hall's theory of the mass media and the propositions which flow from his conceptualization of ideology. Moreover, this research is the first attempt to systematically apply Hall's theory to the study of soap opera. It goes beyond the generalizations of his theory to look at the particularities of soap opera which contribute to the reproduction of patriarchal ideological hegemony. However, it is seen that what is problematic to this research, and all research on soap opera, is a lack of a theory of the reader.</p>

Department dc:contributor.department

Sociology

Year dc:date.issued

1988

Author dc:creator

• Howard, Rose Allison

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Knight, Graham

• patriarchal ideology
• soap opera
• Stuart Hall
• theory of mass media
• Gender and Sexuality
• Inequality and Stratification
• Sociology

Dc Identifier Other

opendissertations/8804
9885
5195599

OAI record oai:identifier

https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Amacsphere.mcmaster.ca%3A11375%2F13973