Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens

This dissertation sets out to explore some twenty-first century perceptions of second wave feminism with as little mediation from the academy as possible by employing the lens of popular culture to tease out and examine some of the assumptions about the second wave that have become culturally embedd...

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Main Author: Bralesford, Helen Margaret
Format: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20794/
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author Bralesford, Helen Margaret
author_facet Bralesford, Helen Margaret
author_sort Bralesford, Helen Margaret
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This dissertation sets out to explore some twenty-first century perceptions of second wave feminism with as little mediation from the academy as possible by employing the lens of popular culture to tease out and examine some of the assumptions about the second wave that have become culturally embedded at a grass roots level. The first chapter takes Betty Friedan���������������¢��������������������������������s seminal text The Feminine Mystique and explores, through three versions of The Stepford Wives (Ira Levin���������������¢��������������������������������s 1972 novel, the Bryan Forbes���������������¢�������������������������������� film of 1974 and the 2004 Frank Oz remake) the ways in which popular attitudes have changed towards Friedan���������������¢��������������������������������s work over the past forty years, and pertinently, too, the subtle ways in which sometimes attitudes have not changed much at all. Similarly, chapter two examines Kate Millett���������������¢��������������������������������s Sexual Politics focussing on it through the lens of popular versions of William Shakespeare���������������¢��������������������������������s The Taming of the Shrew. These run from the 1953 MGM version of Cole Porter���������������¢��������������������������������s stage musical Kiss Me, Kate to the 1999 teen comedy romance 10 Things I Hate About You. Finally, some of the issues raised in Marilyn French���������������¢��������������������������������s 1977 novel The Women���������������¢��������������������������������s Room are scrutinised through links with what I argue is, like French���������������¢��������������������������������s book itself, a modern soap opera ���������������¢�������������������������������� Desperate Housewives. Throughout, reception theory, in particular the work of Tamar Liebes and Elihu Katz, regarding what they term the ���������������¢��������������������������������referent���������������¢�������������������������������� is employed to tease out possible audience responses to the texts examined. This strategy takes into account the changing audiences throughout the last half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, with the aim of discovering whether we are in a truly post-feminist era or whether we just think we are.
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spelling nottingham-207942018-02-02T08:06:33Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20794/ Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens Bralesford, Helen Margaret This dissertation sets out to explore some twenty-first century perceptions of second wave feminism with as little mediation from the academy as possible by employing the lens of popular culture to tease out and examine some of the assumptions about the second wave that have become culturally embedded at a grass roots level. The first chapter takes Betty Friedan���������������¢��������������������������������s seminal text The Feminine Mystique and explores, through three versions of The Stepford Wives (Ira Levin���������������¢��������������������������������s 1972 novel, the Bryan Forbes���������������¢�������������������������������� film of 1974 and the 2004 Frank Oz remake) the ways in which popular attitudes have changed towards Friedan���������������¢��������������������������������s work over the past forty years, and pertinently, too, the subtle ways in which sometimes attitudes have not changed much at all. Similarly, chapter two examines Kate Millett���������������¢��������������������������������s Sexual Politics focussing on it through the lens of popular versions of William Shakespeare���������������¢��������������������������������s The Taming of the Shrew. These run from the 1953 MGM version of Cole Porter���������������¢��������������������������������s stage musical Kiss Me, Kate to the 1999 teen comedy romance 10 Things I Hate About You. Finally, some of the issues raised in Marilyn French���������������¢��������������������������������s 1977 novel The Women���������������¢��������������������������������s Room are scrutinised through links with what I argue is, like French���������������¢��������������������������������s book itself, a modern soap opera ���������������¢�������������������������������� Desperate Housewives. Throughout, reception theory, in particular the work of Tamar Liebes and Elihu Katz, regarding what they term the ���������������¢��������������������������������referent���������������¢�������������������������������� is employed to tease out possible audience responses to the texts examined. This strategy takes into account the changing audiences throughout the last half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, with the aim of discovering whether we are in a truly post-feminist era or whether we just think we are. 2006 Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20794/1/06MAaaxhb.pdf Bralesford, Helen Margaret (2006) Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished) Second Wave Feminism Post-feminism
spellingShingle Second Wave Feminism
Post-feminism
Bralesford, Helen Margaret
Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens
title Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens
title_full Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens
title_fullStr Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens
title_full_unstemmed Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens
title_short Waving or Drowning? Perceptions of Second Wave Feminism Through a Twenty-First Century Lens
title_sort waving or drowning? perceptions of second wave feminism through a twenty-first century lens
topic Second Wave Feminism
Post-feminism
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20794/