- Title
- The good, the bad, the ambivalent : investigating patriarchal and complex representations of motherhood in crime television series
- Creator
- O’Neill, Courtney
- Date
- 2022
- Type
- Text; Thesis; PhD
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/192491
- Identifier
- vital:18009
- Abstract
- The cultural and social understanding of motherhood has been historically determined by patriarchal discourse. This thesis analyses the significance of this discourse and how it manifests in representations of women, mothers in particular, in television series. Specifically, it examines the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ motherhood that is prevalent in patriarchal discourse and in crime television series. Identifying the extent to which crime series subscribe to patriarchal notions of motherhood highlights the prevalence of conservative ideas of motherhood in television narratives. This is crucial to the aim of this thesis, which is to challenge conservative notions of motherhood, demonstrating instead that motherhood is a complex experience. This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of three crime television series—Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–), The Bridge (2011–2018) and Top of the Lake (2013, 2017)—to identify their portrayal of motherhood and highlight the ways in which maternal figures are portrayed as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Significantly, the thesis identifies disability as a theme that is repeatedly utilised to explain deviant maternal behaviour, which serves to reinforce patriarchal notions of motherhood. The overall aim of this study is to critically analyse and destabilise patriarchal representations of good and bad motherhood by examining the depiction of complex maternal experiences in crime narratives. By exploring the concept of maternal ambivalence and how it is portrayed in these series, this research ultimately contributes to refuting and undermining patriarchal characterisations of motherhood, particularly the dichotomy between good and bad mothers. In sum, this thesis argues that despite the ongoing emphasis on patriarchal ideas of motherhood in television, the maternal experience is fluid, complex and changing, as made evident in these crime television series.; Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- Federation University Australia
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- Copyright Courney O'Neill
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- Gender; Disability; Television; Screen Media
- Full Text
- Thesis Supervisor
- Speed, Lesley
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