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It’s Not TV: The Pedagogy of Looking

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The Pedagogy of Queer TV

Part of the book series: Palgrave Entertainment Industries ((PAEI))

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Abstract

Looking is a HBO drama about a group of gay men living in San Francisco. Often compared to the Showtime drama Queer as Folk, which first aired in 2000, it has been touted as a mainstream window on gay men’s lives. But while Queer as Folk tackles socio-political issues and challenges the heteronormative status quo, Looking has been accused of overlooking structural issues and promoting assimilation. Refuting these critiques, this chapter argues that Looking does not simply promote homonormative assimilation but critically examines processes of “gaystreaming.” Although the three lead characters embrace heteronormative values, the text distances itself from them and explores the tensions between queerness and gay assimilation. The programme reflects on what it means to be gay in a post-closet world and what happens to queer difference when gays enter the mainstream. Like most quality dramas, it teaches through cinematic realism and post-modern self-reflexivity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Stepford,” a term borrowed from Ira Levin’s 1972 book Stepford Wives, is used to refer to someone who is so submissive and obedient that they seem like a robot.

  2. 2.

    “Slumming” means spending time with people from a lower social level out of curiosity or for charitable reasons.

  3. 3.

    Grindr is a social networking mobile app for gay and bisexual men designed to help them meet other men who are in the same area.

  4. 4.

    “Pos” means HIV positive.

  5. 5.

    Ken Loach is a British social realist filmmaker.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Ava Laure Parsemain

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  1. Ava Laure Parsemain
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Correspondence to Ava Laure Parsemain .

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Parsemain, A.L. (2019). It’s Not TV: The Pedagogy of Looking. In: The Pedagogy of Queer TV. Palgrave Entertainment Industries. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14872-0_8

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