Performance as Politics in the Roseanne Revival
Start Date
16-3-2024 5:15 PM
End Date
16-3-2024 6:00 PM
Description
While scholars often assert that the seriality of sitcoms precludes social critique, Roseanne (1988-1997) was a highly political series, evincing much more class consciousness than other sitcoms of its era. Despite a similar premise, the short-lived Roseanne revival (2018) reflected a substantially more conservative politics than in its prior seasons. In addition to the producers’ attempts to court conservative viewers, several changes in stylistic form contributed to this reversal, including shifts in narrative structure and performance style. Comparison of prior seasons to the revival therefore provides an opportunity to reconsider the role that aesthetics play in the generation of ideological meaning on sitcoms.
Performance as Politics in the Roseanne Revival
While scholars often assert that the seriality of sitcoms precludes social critique, Roseanne (1988-1997) was a highly political series, evincing much more class consciousness than other sitcoms of its era. Despite a similar premise, the short-lived Roseanne revival (2018) reflected a substantially more conservative politics than in its prior seasons. In addition to the producers’ attempts to court conservative viewers, several changes in stylistic form contributed to this reversal, including shifts in narrative structure and performance style. Comparison of prior seasons to the revival therefore provides an opportunity to reconsider the role that aesthetics play in the generation of ideological meaning on sitcoms.