Title The Representation of Female Characters in the CW's Supernatural
Title (croatian) Reprezentacija ženskih likova u CW seriji Supernatural (Lovci na natprirodno)
Author Nikolina Brala
Mentor Zlatko Bukač (mentor)
Committee member Tomislav Kuzmanović (predsjednik povjerenstva)
Committee member Marko Lukić (član povjerenstva)
Committee member Zlatko Bukač (član povjerenstva)
Granter University of Zadar (Department of English) Zadar
Defense date and country 2019-10-23, Croatia
Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline HUMANISTIC SCIENCES Philology
Abstract The handling of female characters in Eric Kripke’s Supernatural has long been a questionable one. In its fifteen-year air time, Supernatural has not wavered far from its twomen core cast but has introduced many side characters that accompanied the Winchester brothers along their way of fighting the supernatural across the US. Considering the essential role women have played in establishing and creating for the gothic and horror genre, from which Supernatural draws inspiration and pays homage to, this work aims to present an analysis of the role women played in this TV series concerning their roles in the plot, possible character development, longevity, visual and first appearance. In its main part, the paper takes six of the most notable female characters featured and categorizes them into three character archetypes most commonly represented in gothic and horror literature and media: Damsels (Mary Winchester and Jessica Moore), Villains (Lilith and Abaddon) and Heroines (Jo Harvelle and Charlie Bradbury). The paper also references heavily works concerned with traditions of horror, female representation within the genre, works written specifically about the show, and the show itself as source material for the arguments presented. What is gained from this analysis is that often enough, the show follows the simplistic blueprint of writing women without providing enough to make them fully formed characters, more often than not using them to drive forward either plot or main (male) character development and getting violently rid of them as soon as their purpose is served. The instances of subverting what is expected of the characters are few and non-satisfying, leaving a show with a predominantly female fanbase devoid of relatable female characters.
Abstract (croatian) Način obrade ženskih likova u seriji Erica Kripkea Supernatural (Lovci na natprirodno) već se poduže smatra upitnim. Tijekom svog petnaestogodišnjeg emitiranja, serija Supernatural nije puno proširivala svoju središnju postavu od dva glavna lika, ali je uvedeno mnoštvo sporednih likova koji su pratili put braće Winchester u njihovom lovu na natprirodno po SAD-u.
Uzimajući u obzir veliku ulogu žena u utvrđivanju i stvaranju za horor žanr, iz kojeg Supernatural vuče inspiraciju i kojem odaje počast, cilj ovog rada je predstaviti analizu ženskih uloga u ovoj seriji, primarno njihovih uloga u radnji, mogućnost razvitka lika, dugovječnost, izgled i način kako su prvi put prikazane. U glavnom dijelu, ovaj rad uzima za analizu šest najupečatljivih ženskih likova iz serije i analizira ih unutar tri arhetipa koji su zastupljeni u gotičkoj i horor literaturi i medijima: damu u nevolji (Mary Winchester i Jessica Moore), ženskog negativca (Lilith i Abaddon), te heroinu (Jo Harvelle i Charlie Bradbury). Ovaj rad se također poziva na radove pisane na temu tradicije horor žanra, reprezentaciju ženskih likova u žanru, radove pisane specifično o seriji Supernatural, te samu seriju kao izvorni materijal za predstavljene argumente. Zaključak ove analize je da serija često samo prati jednostavne predloške za stvaranje ženskih likova, bez dovoljno informacija da bi lik bio potpun i trodimenzionalan, da su ženski likovi najčešće samo način da se pokrene radnja ili dodatno okarakterizira glavni (muški) lik, i da nestanu s ekrana čim ispune svoju svrhu. Primjeri svrgavanja onog što se očekuje od likova su rijetki i ne zadovoljavaju, što ostavlja seriju s većim dijelom ženskih obožavatelja bez ženskih likova s kojima bi se mogle poistovjetiti.
Keywords
popular culture
gothic
horror
gender
feminism
supernatural
archetype
Keywords (croatian)
popularna kultura
gotika
horor
rod
feminizam
natprirodno
arhetip
Language english
URN:NBN urn:nbn:hr:162:892975
Study programme Title: English Language and Literature (double major) Study programme type: university Study level: undergraduate Academic / professional title: sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/prvostupnica (baccalaureus/baccalaurea) engleskoga jezika i književnosti (sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/prvostupnica (baccalaureus/baccalaurea) engleskoga jezika i književnosti)
Type of resource Text
File origin Born digital
Access conditions Open access
Terms of use
Created on 2019-12-06 13:01:33