The New Female Antihero: The Disruptive Women of Twenty-First-Century US Television

Hagelin and Silverman (both, English, Univ. of Colorado, Denver) analyze a unique cultural shift in the portrayal of women in the last decade of American television. In this thoroughly researched, clearly written book, they state that—although TV in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s saw nuanced depictions of women (e.g., The Mary Tyler Moore Show)—the women antiheroes of more recent TV are radically different: They flout social norms, display bleak and pessimistic outlooks, and are driven to seek a new kind of feminism. Hagelin and Silverman analyze the evolving role of the woman antihero on TV in drama and thriller series like Game of Thrones, Scandal, and Homeland. The authors also examine how the protagonists of “girl comedies” (such as Girls, Broad City, and Insecure, whose creators often star as fictionalized versions of themselves) openly and casually discuss personal failings.