Studying Sexualities by Niall Richardson Clarissa Smith Angela Werndly

Author:Niall Richardson, Clarissa Smith, Angela Werndly [Niall Richardson, Clarissa Smith, Angela Werndly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, LGBTQ+ Studies, Lesbian Studies, Psychology, Human Sexuality, Political Science, Public Policy, Cultural Policy, Anthropology, Cultural & Social, Popular Culture, Media Studies, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9781137305916
Google: qj0dBQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Macmillan International Higher Education
Published: 2013-05-31T05:21:38+00:00

Further Reading

Akass, K. and McCabe, J. (eds) (2004) Reading Sex and the City (London: I.B.Tauris).

Jermyn, D. (2009) Sex and the City (Detroit: Wayne State University Press).

Thornham, S. and Purvis, T. (2005) Television Drama: Theories and Identities (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan).

Chapter 7

Representations of Heterosexuality 2

Case Study: Entourage

This part has offered textual case studies exploring the relationships between sexualities and representation, reflecting the growth of academic interest in popular television’s depictions of contemporary sexualities. In exploring the ways in which representations can often support normative ideals, media researchers have, quite properly, tended to focus on the treatment of marginalized or non-normative sexualities; in so doing they highlight the ways in which gender privilege – accorded to heterosexual men – is often hidden from view. By examining the ways in which marginalized ‘others’ are represented, the social constructions of masculinities and what it means to be a man are brought into view and challenged by analyses of queer and gay cultures. Even so, there is a paradox to investigations of the margins, whereby representations of heterosexual masculinity are overlooked as merely speaking to selfevident, privileged ‘norms’ which do not in themselves require interrogation.

In this chapter we look at the relations among heterosexual men through a focus on HBO’s Entourage. First broadcast in 2004, Entourage was immediately successful, and continued for eight seasons until 2011. Entourage can be described as a ‘bromance’, as its narrative focuses on the theme of male friendship between a close-knit group of young men – Vince, E (Eric), Johnnie Drama and Turtle – living together in Los Angeles after relocating from their New York neighbourhood. Lifelong friends, their lives have become increasingly entwined following Vince’s successful film career and his commission of his friends as manager (E), cook (Drama) and driver (Turtle) – his entourage. Alongside ‘the boys’ are a number of regular characters, most prominently Ari Gold (Vince’s manager), Lloyd (Ari’s gay assistant), Mrs Ari (Ari’s wife), Barbara Miller (Ari’s business partner) and an assortment of hangers-on and (real-life) film stars. Loosely based on the real-life experiences of Mark Wahlberg (one-time rapper, Calvin Klein model, and film star) and set in contemporary Hollywood, Entourage offers a glimpse into the celebrity lifestyle, where money, women and expensive toys are plentiful. Entourage constructs a close group of men whose relationships echo those we discussed between women in Sex and the City. As with Carrie and the girls, the entourage’s friendships are based upon mutual support, where close ties to one another are more important than those with the opposite sex. But while that elevation of friendship is recognized as a positive element in Entourage, some writers have suggested that the celebration of the men’s intimate ties are at the expense of women, creating a reactionary picture of women as expendable and one-dimensional characters only visible through their ‘sexiness’. The show apparently does not offer the same kinds of resistance to heteronormative ideals that has seen SATC praised: in its representation of four young men ‘living the life’, Entourage isn’t seen as

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