Friday, May 15, 2009

A Look at Hegemonic and Counter-Hegemonic Representations of Masculinity and Femininity in CSI: Miami

All episodes of CSI: Miami have the same underlying themes; there’s a crime, it’s in Miami, and it needs investigating. Almost every episode involves multiple murders, a long list of suspects, and some conflict with the CSI team members. Generally, the show reinforces hegemonic representations of masculinity and femininity through male CSIs and female victims. The show also disrupts these representations through female CSIs and male victims. However, “Wolfe in Sheep’s Clothing” is different. This episode adds betrayal and a child in danger.
CSI: Miami regularly reinforces and disrupts hegemonic representations and understandings of masculinity and femininity; however, in this particular episode, four prominent characters display both hegemonic and counter-hegemonic qualities.

CSI team leader Horatio Caine strongly reinforces hegemonic representations and understandings of masculinity. He is pushing 50 and is still a badass in dark sunglasses. Horatio is known for his powerful one-liners including, “I say, bring it on.” [Put on sunglasses and insert dramatic, badass music here] He fits Newman’s definition of the “highly traditional stereotype” for men on television (Newman 93). Horatio is a leader, protector, and overall strong male character. However, even the tough guy has a soft spot. Horatio strays from hegemonic representations of masculinity any time a child is involved in a case. In this particular episode, a young child is kidnapped by a Russian mobster who plans to kill him. When Horatio discovers this, he makes saving the child his top priority. He immediately becomes nurturing, a trait traditionally assigned to females. This change makes Horatio part of the “new generation of leading men who are considerably more thoughtful, sensitive, and emotionally available” (Newman 93). The balance between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic representations solidifies Horatio’s character.

On the other hand, CSI Ryan Wolfe usually disrupts hegemonic representations of masculinity and reveals feminine characteristics. Ryan is insecure about where he stands with his coworkers on a professional as well as a social level. Ryan has been subordinate to the other characters since he started working in the crime lab. However, in this episode, Ryan breaks his character’s norms and reinforces hegemonic representations and understandings of masculinity. This specific case gives Ryan the opportunity to act bravely, take on a lot of responsibility, demonstrate a protective nature, and exhibit emotional strength. Nonetheless, this showing of masculinity is short-lived. By the end of the episode, Ryan is practically reduced to tears by fear and feelings of helplessness. For the majority of the episode, Ryan sports a light purple dress shirt and coordinating tie; this may be linked to the brevity of his display of hegemonic masculinity.

CSI Calleigh Duquesne almost always reinforces hegemonic representations of femininity in her social life. In this episode, Calleigh’s femininity is highlighted by her interactions with Ryan. She is the first one to notice and question Ryan’s strange behavior. In two instances, Calleigh expresses her concerns and explains to Ryan that he can come to her with anything. Both times Ryan gets irritated, ignore her offer to listen, and lies to her face. This parallels Newman’s claim, “By linguistically overexposing themselves … women perpetuate power differences between them and men” (Newman 85). In both situations, Ryan made Calleigh back down by dismissing her questions. However, Calleigh disrupts hegemonic representations of femininity when it relates to her work. She is a knowledgeable CSI and is very good at what she does. She exhibits dominance at the crime scene and in the crime lab; she sticks to her instincts and challenges what she doesn’t believe. One might not expect that from a slim blonde in hip-hugging pants and high heels.

Cynthia Lang, a character specific to this episode, initially reinforces hegemonic representations of femininity. She is the thin, attractive assistant to the foreign currency exchange broker murdered in this episode. Her position as his assistant reveals a subordinate relationship. Her looks make her a “sex object,” which she is – to an extent (Newman 92). It turns out that she is also a murderer. She shot her boss and tried to cover it up by seducing the security guard. Even though her “power over” the guard was gained by her femininity, that ability is “characteristically male” (Johnson 94). This dramatic twist shows that Cynthia actually disrupts hegemonic representations and understanding of femininity more than she reinforces them.

“Wolfe in Sheep’s Clothing” proves that an entire show is not necessary to reinforce and disrupt hegemonic representations and understandings of masculinity and femininity. In this episode, the characters reinforce and disrupt these constructs on their own. Horatio’s personality is big enough for hegemonic and counter-hegemonic representations. Ryan goes back and forth between masculinity and femininity during this episode. Callie reinforces hegemonic femininity in her social life but disrupts it in her professional life. Cynthia disguises herself with femininity but finally reveals masculine tendencies. All of these examples prove that gender is not a strict constraint. The analysis of this CSI: Miami episode reveals that a show created for entertainment still embodies deep underlying meanings about hegemonic masculinity and femininity.



Works Cited

Johnson, Allan G. “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us.” The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. Temple University Press, 1997. 91-98.

Newman. “Portraying Difference: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in Language and the Media.” 71-105.

“Wolfe in Sheep’s Clothing.” CSI: Miami. CBS, Philadelphia. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009 from http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi_miami/video/

2 comments:

  1. Kait-
    You chose a good focus for your analysis of (counter)hegemonic representations of masculinity and femininity. However, you need to drop a lot of the narration, clarify the wording of your thesis, and then cite sources on a point by point basis (no two sources in the same paragraph from the course readings).
    Your post demonstrates the typical outcome of the aforementioned issues, which is that it's obviously difficult to integrate analysis with a heavy amount of narration. That difficulty leads to the difficulty in citing the quotes from the readings to effectively back up points that you're making here.

    Use the quotes as a form of backup- you have a thesis and the thesis argues that there is a conflict in the representation of masculinities and femininities in the episode of this show. You make very clear points about the show in the blog post; however, you really just need to clear up the format for the assignment (just like it would be for any other paper) so that you're making points about the show, then using the quotes from sources (such as Newman) to back up your point on a point-by-point basis. It gets a bit hard to follow when the quotes from the text are scattered in the paragraphs among your points. You make good points...so keep them in one paragraph. Use the following paragraph to cite the source as your "expert backup" and contextualize the quote from the reading as well as how you see it illustrating the point you made in the paragraph before.

    -Jessie

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  2. By your analysis being based on specific characters from the show, you are strongly able to connect the different concepts of hegemony that came apparent in the episode. This allows for the reader to understand your argument more concisely. The narrations depicting the characters and their relation to different hegemonic standards are very sufficient. By having less narration, you were able to convey a strong message and thus made your point clearer.
    However, one thing you can focus on is connecting your different points. I felt as if your points for each character could have been put in larger perspective to the show, and even to society. Also, one more place you can focus on is supporting the quotes better.

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