Cable Guys

The emergence of «male-centered serials» such as The Shield, Rescue Me, and Sons Of Anarchy and the challenges these characters face in negotiating modern masculinities. Fromthe meth-dealing but devoted family man Walter White of AMC’s Breaking Bad,to the part-time basketball coach, part-time gigolo Ray Drecker of HBO’s Hung,depictions of male characters perplexed by societal expectations of men andanxious about changing American masculinity have become standard across thetelevision landscape. Engaging with a wide variety of shows, including TheLeague, Dexter, and Nip/Tuck, among many others, Amanda D. Lotzidentifies the gradual incorporation of second-wave feminism into prevailinggender norms as the catalyst for the contested masculinities on display incontemporary cable dramas. Examiningthe emergence of “male-centered serials” such as The Shield, Rescue Me, and Sons of Anarchy and the challenges these characters face in negotiatingmodern masculinities, Lotz analyzes how these shows combine feminist approachesto fatherhood and marriage with more traditional constructions of masculineidentity that emphasize men’s role as providers. She explores the dynamics ofclose male friendships both in groups, as in Entourage and Men of aCertain Age, wherein characters test the boundaries between the homosocialand homosexual in their relationships with each other, and in the dyadicintimacy depicted in Boston Legal and Scrubs. Cable Guys provides amuch needed look into the under-considered subject of how constructions of masculinitycontinue to evolve on television.