Frames and Fictions on Television

Television drama both reflects and contributes to the production of cultural identity. At a time of deep cultural uncertainty, how has this been represented within the programmes that help individuals make sense of their own lives and identities? This book addresses the question head on: the contributors examine a range of issues of identity in relation to the shifting historical context, while considering social class, ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, and national/diaspora identity. These are debated in relation to current aesthetic and social concerns, and particular attention is paid to the changing identity of British television drama over the last 35 years: the fragmentation of the home audience, the transnationalisation of media culture, the increasingly hybrid nature of programme formats, and the growth in popularity of US series within a British viewing context.