This book examines how contemporary TV series reflect and address social issues, power dynamics, and ideological perspectives in different cultural and political contexts. By analysing examples from around the world, the volume explores the transformative power of TV series in the age of digital globalization.
Global TV Series and the Political Imagination explores the transformative power of television in the digital age. We live in an era profoundly influenced by the proliferation of global and national streaming services, where contemporary television series have the ability to shape viewers' political and ethical imaginations. This volume examines how television series reflect and address social issues, power dynamics, and competing ideological perspectives in various cultural and political contexts, with a nuanced analysis of the political implications embedded in their narratives. Using case studies from sixteen countries across the world with very distinct political contexts and cultures, it offers an expanded view of the global television landscape beyond the traditional focus on anglophone productions. This diversity highlights cross-cultural similarities and differences in the production and reception of television series, and considers the varying effects of globalization on local cultural approaches. The book makes a strong contribution to the emerging field of TV philosophy, bringing together writings by a diverse group of scholars from different academic disciplines that deepen our understanding of television series as a vital cultural and political force in a globalized world. It will appeal to specialists and students in media studies, cultural studies, philosophy, and related fields, as well as the general reader interested in the impact of modern television formats.
Introduction: TV Series in the Age of Global Digital Distribution
Anastasia Krutikova and Tatsiana Zhurauliova
DOI: 10.47788/YVIT8901
1. Engrenages: Machiavellian Ethics and Politics for an Unpredictable and
Turbulent World in a French Crime Series Philippe Corcuff
DOI: 10.47788/CPSV5340
2. Reshaping Political Drama: Verisimilitude in South Korean Series Chief of
Staff Stéphane Thévenet
DOI: 10.47788/MLLB2944
3. Why Talk About Boys? Some Thoughts on Two Israeli SeriesOur Boys and
Unknowns Ayelet Lilti
DOI: 10.47788/PVNQ5896
4. Medieval Fantasy and Democracy: The Example of the French TV Series
Kaamelott Sylvie Allouche
DOI: 10.47788/GMGK4152
5. The Series The Days as a Global Resource for Political Education and
Democratic Conversation About Nuclear Energy Governance Adrienne Sala
DOI: 10.47788/GWBP1847
6. Our War for Our Survival: Politics and Ideology in Russian Spy Series
Sleepers Anastasia Krutikova and Tatsiana Zhurauliova
DOI: 10.47788/CYTW9581
7. Tekilat: The Power of Series in the Service of Power Solene Poyraz
DOI: 10.47788/QDOX3785
8. Al-Ikhtiyar or the Apology of the Egyptian State: (Re)Writing History on
the Small Screen Sixtine Deroure
DOI: 10.47788/IMXM5686
9. The Knockout: Mirroring the Social and Political Reality of Present-day
China Shensen Cai and Emily Dunn
DOI: 10.47788/DAHO5871
10. Soap Operas, Strategic Identities, and Electoral Competition in
Contemporary Brazil Antonio Athayde Sauandaj
DOI: 10.47788/ZKHN9067
11. Make Romantic Comedies, Not War: How Televised Romance Can Help Us
Reimagine Everyday Peace in Korea and Israel/Palestine Yuval Katz and Sojeong
Park
DOI: 10.47788/HBKR4317
12. Contributing to the Construction of a Democratic Dialogue in Côte
dIvoire: My Family Series in the Ivorian Political Landscape Othniel
Halépian Bahi Go
DOI: 10.47788/SPLY8194
13. Servant of the People: When Imagination Takes Over Thibaut de Saint
Maurice
DOI: 10.47788/LZOS7267
14. The Street Is Watching: Jaq, a Nuanced Story of Blackness, Gender, and
Urban Struggle in Contemporary London Alexandre Diallo
DOI: 10.47788/RZVW4518
15. The Platform: The Hybridities of Techno-Thriller and Politics in the
Emirates Thomas Richard
DOI: 10.47788/KCLL2713
16. Politics and Philosophy in Two Mexican Streaming Thrillers: Ingobernable
(Uncontrollable, 2017) and El candidato (The Candidate, 2020) Paul Julian
Smith
DOI: 10.47788/HXGE8610
17. Borgen: Power & Glory: Northern Europes Green Policies and the Challenge
of Relying on Black Gold Benjamin Campion
DOI: 10.47788/SNLM1644
18. Feminism Waves and Series Waves in the USA Sandra Laugier
DOI: 10.47788/BAQF9885
Anastasia Krutikova is a postdoctoral researcher at Waseda University, Tokyo. She holds a Ph.D. in socio-cultural anthropology from the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). Her research focuses on anthropological theory, media anthropology and secondary education in France and Russia.
Tatsiana Zhurauliova is a postdoctoral fellow at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, as part of the ERC Demoseries project. She received her PhD in art history from Yale University in 2014. She has held the positions of Associate Researcher and Research and Teaching Fellow at the Université Paris Nanterre and the Université de Paris, and Collegiate Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on the intersection of visual culture and discourses on identity and difference in the United States and Eastern Europe.
