Affective Sexual Pedagogies in Film and Television

262 Pages·2017·2.286 MB·English

by  Kyra Clarke

Affective Sexual Pedagogies in
Film and Television
“This work provides a rich and insightful analysis of ways in which
tropes of teen sexualities are played out on screens via some of the most
popular texts of the last few years. One of its strengths is the author’s
eye for disruptions of endorsed cultural narratives and the potential of
film and TV to offer ‘messy’ alternatives as ‘pedagogical moments.’”
—Michele Paule, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Popular film and television hold valuable potential for learning about
sex and sexuality beyond the information-based model of sex educa-
tion currently in schools. This book argues that the representation of
complicated—or “messy”—relationships in these popular cultural
forms makes them potent as affective pedagogical moments. It endeav-
ours to develop new sexual literacies by contemplating how pedagogical
moments, that is, fleeting moments which disrupt expectations or cre-
ate discomfort, might enrich the available discourses of sexuality and
gender, especially those available to adolescents. In Part One, Clarke
critiques the heteronormative discourses of sex education that produce
youth in particularly gendered ways, noting that “rationality” is often
expected to govern experiences that are embodied and arguably inher-
ently incoherent. Part Two explores public intimacy, contemplating the
often overlapping and confused boundaries between public and private.
Kyra Clarke is an early career researcher, currently a Research Fellow
and Associate Lecturer at the University of Western Australia. Her
research particularly centres around feminism, affect, sex education,
and queer theory, exploring a range of popular textual forms.
Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies
For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com.
97 Explorations in Critical Studies of Advertising
Edited by James F. Hamilton, Robert Bodle, and Ezequiel Korin
98 Popular Culture and the Austerity Myth
Hard Times Today
Edited by Pete Bennett and Julian McDougall
99 Historicising Transmedia Storytelling
Early Twentieth-Century Transmedia Story Worlds
Matthew Freeman
100 LGBTQs, Media and Culture in Europe
Edited by Alexander Dhoest, Lukasz Szulc, and Bart Eeckhout
101 Matrix Activism
Global Practices of Resistance
Michela Ardizzoni
102 Materializing Memory in Art and Popular Culture
Edited by László Munteán, Liedeke Plate, and Anneke Smelik
103 The Trauma Graphic Novel
Andrés Romero-Jódar
104 Politics, Media and Democracy in Australia
Public and Producer Perceptions of the Political Public Sphere
Brian McNair, Terry Flew, Stephen Harrington, and Adam Swift
105 Spectral Spaces and Hauntings
The Affects of Absence
Edited by Christina Lee
106 Affective Sexual Pedagogies in Film and Television
Kyra Clarke
Affective Sexual Pedagogies
in Film and Television
Kyra Clarke
First published 2017
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
The right of Kyra Clarke to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
CIP data has been applied for.
ISBN: 978-1-138-12049-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-65168-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by codeMantra
To Bree and Zak
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction: Pedagogical Moments 1
1 Beyond Repetitive Endings: Teen Film, Fake Orgasm
and Performance in Easy A 28
2 Becoming Pregnant: Girlhood, Responsibility and
“Irrationality” in Juno 58
3 Constructing Virginity: Religion, Secularism and
Abstinence in Looking for Alibrandi and The Rage
in Placid Lake 90
4 Touching Fingers, Touching Lips: Exploring
Heteronormativity, Affect and Queer Relationships
in Glee 117
5 Flirting with Uncertainty: Disability,
Communication and Challenging Normal in
The Black Balloon 157
6 Uncomfortable Feelings: Grief, Hospitality and
Belonging in Skins 186
Bibliography 213
Index 241
This page intentionally left blank
List of Figures
I.1 Anita (Molly Shannon) takes a sex education class.
Screenshot from Never Been Kissed. 1999. Directed
by Raja Gosnell. USA: Fox 2000 Pictures, Bushwood
Pictures, Flower Films, Never Been Kissed Productions. 1
1.1 The shot pauses as Olive (Emma Stone) and Todd (Penn
Badgley) ride away on Todd’s neighbour’s lawnmower.
Screenshot from Easy A. 2010. Directed by Will Gluck.
USA: Screen Gems, Olive Bridge Entertainment. 28
1.2 Towards the end of her webcast, Olive (Emma Stone)
presents her final cue card ‘NOT with a Fizzle, But with
a BANG’. Screenshot from Easy A. 2010. Directed by
Will Gluck. USA: Screen Gems, Olive Bridge
Entertainment. 42
1.3 As the “sexy” Olive (Emma Stone) walks through
the school corridor, students turn to watch her pass.
Screenshot from Easy A. 2010. Directed by Will Gluck.
USA: Screen Gems, Olive Bridge Entertainment. 50
2.1 Juno (Ellen Page) confronts Bleeker (Michael Cera) by
the lockers about his plans for prom. Screenshot from
Juno. 2007. Directed by Jason Reitman. USA: Fox
Searchlight Pictures, Mandate Pictures, Mr Mudd. 58
2.2 Juno (Ellen Page) sits in her bedroom, talking on her
hamburger phone to her friend Leah about her plans for
an abortion. Screenshot from Juno. 2007. Directed by
Jason Reitman. USA: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Mandate
Pictures, Mr Mudd. 60
2.3 Juno’s friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) and her stepmother
Bren (Alison Janney) support Juno at her ultrasound
as the ultrasound technician (Kaaren de Zilva) points
something out on the screen. Screenshot from Juno.
2007. Directed by Jason Reitman. USA: Fox Searchlight
Pictures, Mandate Pictures, Mr Mudd. 76
3.1 Josie (Pia Miranda) and Jacob (Kick Gurry) contemplate
sex in Jacob’s bed. Screenshot from Looking for