Honors Thesis Archive
| Author | Sierra Dann |
|---|---|
| Title | “Big Little Lies:” Using Hegemonic Ideology to Challenge Hegemonic Ideology |
| Department | Communication |
| Advisor | Sheryl Cunningham |
| Year | 2021 |
| Honors | University Honors |
| Full Text | View Thesis (318 KB) |
| Abstract | This thesis examines the representation of women in the first season of the popular HBO television show Big Little Lies. Viewed through the lens of feminist ideological criticism, the show presents hegemonic ideologies about gender and women, and then erodes this hegemony in an indirectly feminist way. Four hegemonic forces or ideas are particularly relevant to the themes of the story: women as essentialized, women as catty, women as mothers, and representations of women as victims of domestic abuse. The show maintains roots in the genres of Suburban Gothic, Female Gothic, and Domestic Noir, but also seems to challenge and upset the conventions of these genres in some ways. Although the show does not completely discard stereotypes to challenge audience understandings of women, it does erode them and invites viewers to renegotiate ideas about women and how they relate to one another. |
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