Lights, Camera, Activism: Recognition Strategies in Hollywood and Comedy
基于对好莱坞电视制作和职业喜剧领域从业者的深度访谈,研究识别出七种认可工作策略,分为叙事策略和权力策略,并分析从业者如何在约束中通过微观行动推动社会变革。
Against the background of the #MeToo movement and the national reckoning with American racism, we assess how professionals in two fields of cultural entertainment engage in strategies to promote recognition. We draw on seventy in-depth interviews with creatives working in television production in Hollywood and professional comedy to advance a three-part argument: First, we describe seven distinct recognition work strategies they highlight, which differ in their goals, methods, and intended targets. These are categorized into two types: 1) Narrative Strategies (“sparking thoughts and dialogue,” “reflecting reality,” “Trojan Horse,” and “emotional modulation”); and (2) Power Strategies (“see it to be it,” “redistributing power,” and “creative composition”). Second, we show how interviewees perceive that various constraints limit their capacity to pursue social goals through creative work. Third, we show that their recognition strategies operate in relation to these perceived constraints and how creatives conceptualize their micro-level actions as progressively creating broader changes. Many creatives believe their industry has the ability to transform society in small but cumulative ways; this study shows the ways in which they believe this process works, contributing to the growing literature on occupational activism.