Bravo and the Constraints of Consumer Citizenship

391 Pages·2017·4.79 MB·English

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Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses
Fall August 2014
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Alison D. Brzenchek
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Brzenchek, Alison D., "The Cable Network in an Era of Digital Media: Bravo and the Constraints of
Consumer Citizenship" (2014). Doctoral Dissertations. 55.
https://doi.org/10.7275/bjgn-vg94 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/55
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THE
 CABLE
 NETWORK
 IN
 AN
 ERA
 OF
 DIGITAL
 MEDIA:
 BRAVO
 AND
 THE

CONSTRAINTS
 OF
 CONSUMER
 CITIZENSHIP

A
 Dissertation
 Presented

by

ALISON
 D.
 BRZENCHEK

Submitted
 to
 the
 Graduate
 School
 of
 the

University
 of
 Massachusetts
 Amherst
 in
 partial
 fulfillment

of
 the
 requirements
 for
 the
 degree
 of

DOCTOR
 OF
 PHILOSOPHY

May
 2014

Department
 of
 Communication
©
 Copyright
 by
 Alison
 D.
 Brzenchek
 2014

All
 Rights
 Reserved
THE
 CABLE
 NETWORK
 IN
 AN
 ERA
 OF
 DIGITAL
 MEDIA:
 BRAVO
 AND
 THE

CONSTRAINTS
 OF
 CONSUMER
 CITIZENSHIP

A
 Dissertation
 Presented

by

ALISON
 D.
 BRZENCHEK

Approved
 as
 to
 style
 and
 content
 by:

___________________________________________________

Mari
 Castañeda,
 Chair

___________________________________________________

Emily
 West,
 Member

___________________________________________________

Shawn
 Shimpach,
 Member

___________________________________________________

Nancy
 Folbre,
 Member

________________________________________________

Erica
 Scharrer,
 Chair
 Department
 of

Communication
DEDICATION

I
 dedicate
 my
 dissertation
 to
 Bentley
 and
 Blackjack
 Brzenchek.
 Bentley,
 a

feisty,
 intelligent,
 and
 independent-­‐minded
 miniature
 schnauzer
 died
 on
 March
 17,

2012.
 Blackjack,
 a
 loyal
 and
 athletic
 lab
 mix
 with
 a
 passion
 for
 playing
 fetch
 died
 on

March
 23,
 2012.
 They
 were
 both
 loving
 dogs
 that
 made
 me
 a
 better
 human
 being.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing
 a
 dissertation
 is
 a
 long
 arduous
 process,
 and
 I
 am
 grateful
 I
 had
 the

unwavering
 support
 and
 guidance
 of
 Mari
 Castañeda.
 Dr.
 Castañeda
 is
 a
 serious

scholar
 and
 a
 generous
 mentor.
 Her
 rigorous
 approach
 to
 research
 pushed
 me
 to
 set

high
 standards,
 while
 Dr.
 Castañeda’s
 open
 and
 caring
 mentorship
 gave
 me
 the

strength
 to
 move
 forward
 when
 faced
 with
 setbacks
 and
 frustrations.
 From

feedback
 on
 countless
 drafts
 of
 chapters,
 meetings
 on
 campus
 to
 talk
 though
 ideas,

and
 phone
 calls
 to
 discuss
 my
 progress
 after
 I
 took
 an
 out-­‐of-­‐state
 position
 as
 a

lecturer,
 Dr.
 Castañeda’s
 support
 made
 the
 completetion
 of
 this
 project
 possible.
 I

am
 grateful
 for
 the
 indelible
 mark
 she
 has
 left
 on
 my
 dissertation,
 my
 development

as
 a
 scholarly
 writer,
 and
 my
 commitment
 to
 feminist
 political
 economic
 analysis.

The
 support
 of
 my
 committee
 –
 Emily
 West,
 Shawn
 Shimpach,
 Julie
 Graham

(1945-­‐2010),
 and
 Nancy
 Folbre
 –
 has
 also
 been
 of
 immense
 value.
 My

understanding
 of
 consumer
 culture
 and
 qualitative
 methods
 expanded
 through

course
 work
 and
 discussions
 with
 Dr.
 Emily
 West.

 An
 early
 paper
 I
 wrote
 for
 Dr.

West
 guided
 my
 interest
 in
 consumer
 citizenship,
 while
 a
 discussion
 I
 had
 with
 Dr.

West
 after
 my
 comprehensive
 exams
 led
 me
 to
 settle
 on
 the
 Bravo
 cable
 network
 as

my
 object
 of
 study.
 During
 the
 writing
 process,
 Dr.
 West
 provided
 valuable
 feedback

that
 pushed
 me
 to
 clarify
 my
 arguments.
 My
 interest
 in
 television
 and
 film
 studies

grew
 through
 course
 work
 and
 discussions
 with
 Dr.
 Shawn
 Shimpach.

 He
 offered

valuable
 direction
 regarding
 historical
 research
 that
 helped
 guide
 my
 methodology.

Moreover,
 Dr.
 Shimpach’s
 thoughtful
 critique
 in
 the
 editing
 stage
 enabled
 me
 to

strengthen
 my
 scholarly
 voice.

v
Dr.
 Julie
 Graham
 (1945-­‐2010)
 began
 serving
 on
 my
 dissertation
 committee

when
 I
 audited
 a
 course
 with
 her
 in
 Fall
 2009.
 While
 I
 only
 knew
 Dr.
 Graham
 for
 a

short
 period
 of
 time,
 her
 approach
 to
 political
 economy
 pushed
 me
 to
 think
 about

the
 tensions
 between
 structure
 and
 agency
 in
 more
 nuanced
 ways.
 I
 am
 thankful
 to

have
 been
 touched
 by
 Dr.
 Graham’s
 intellectual
 rigor,
 generosity,
 and
 humanity.
 Her

willingness
 to
 participate
 in
 my
 prospectus
 defense
 in
 February
 2010,
 despite
 being

out
 of
 the
 country
 for
 the
 semester,
 is
 representative
 of
 the
 commitment
 she
 offered

all
 the
 students
 she
 mentored.
 I
 would
 also
 like
 to
 acknowledge
 Dr.
 Nancy
 Folbre’s

participation
 in
 my
 dissertation
 committee.
 I
 greatly
 appreciate
 her
 willingness
 to

commit
 her
 time
 to
 my
 scholarly
 development.
 Dr.
 Folbre’s
 work
 as
 a
 feminist

economist
 has
 influenced
 my
 understanding
 of
 the
 tensions
 between
 gender,

economics,
 and
 consumer
 citizenship.
 Moreover,
 her
 insightful
 feedback
 has
 pushed

me
 to
 clarify
 the
 theoretical
 and
 causal
 issues
 at
 stake
 in
 my
 dissertation
 research.

Dr.
 Erica
 Scharrer
 and
 Dr.
 Stephen
 Olbrys
 Gencarella
 are
 two
 final
 scholars

that
 I
 would
 like
 to
 thank.
 Dr.
 Scharrer
 served
 as
 the
 committee
 chair
 for
 my
 oral

exams,
 and
 her
 commitment
 to
 media
 literacy
 led
 me
 to
 develop
 an
 immediate

connection
 with
 her
 when
 I
 entered
 the
 doctoral
 program.
 Through
 course
 work

and
 discussions,
 Dr.
 Scharrer
 shaped
 my
 understanding
 of
 quantitative

methodology,
 gender
 representation,
 and
 media
 studies.
 Dr.
 Gencarella
 also

supported
 my
 development
 as
 a
 critical
 thinker
 and
 scholar.
 I
 am
 thankful
 for
 his

willingness
 to
 share
 the
 depth
 and
 breadth
 of
 his
 knowledge
 in
 rhetoric,
 cultural

studies,
 and
 media
 studies.
 My
 understanding
 of
 the
 dialectical
 relations
 between

agency
 and
 structure,
 on
 the
 one
 hand,
 and
 discourse
 and
 subjectivity,
 on
 the
 other,

vi
arose
 through
 Dr.
 Gencarella’s
 mentoring
 during
 my
 course
 work
 and
 in
 preparation

for
 my
 comprehensive
 exams.

Finally,
 I
 would
 like
 to
 acknowledge
 and
 thank
 my
 family
 for
 their
 support.

First,
 I
 would
 like
 to
 thank
 my
 parents,
 Elaine
 and
 Dennis
 O’Keeffe.
 There
 was
 a
 time

early
 in
 my
 college
 career
 when
 I
 faced
 personal
 and
 academic
 struggles.
 Still,
 my

parents
 never
 gave
 up
 on
 me.
 Without
 their
 emotional
 and
 financial
 support
 I
 would

not
 be
 where
 I
 am
 today.
 Like
 my
 parents,
 my
 brother
 Kevin
 O’Keeffe
 believed
 in
 me

when
 I
 did
 not
 believe
 in
 myself.
 Kevin
 provided
 me
 with
 strength
 during
 my

tumultuous
 college
 years,
 and
 he
 introduced
 me
 to
 my
 husband,
 David
 Brzenchek.

Throughout
 my
 time
 in
 the
 doctoral
 program,
 Dave
 was
 willing
 to
 make
 personal

sacrifices
 to
 support
 my
 professional
 goals.
 From
 the
 five
 hour
 drives
 he
 endured

each
 weekend
 from
 Wilkes-­‐Barre
 to
 Shutesbury
 and
 his
 understanding
 when
 I
 was

immersed
 in
 my
 writing
 and
 not
 the
 best
 company,
 to
 his
 support
 when
 I
 took
 a

lecturer
 position
 at
 The
 Pennsylvania
 State
 University
 while
 I
 was
 finishing
 my

dissertation,
 Dave’s
 commitment
 and
 selflessness
 never
 faltered.
 I
 am
 grateful
 for

Dave’s
 love,
 support,
 and
 encouragement.
 Last
 but
 not
 least,
 my
 canine
 companions

also
 need
 to
 be
 thanked.
 Bentley
 (1996-­‐2012)
 and
 Blackjack
 (1997-­‐2012)
 provided

me
 unconditional
 love
 for
 fifteen
 years.
 Today,
 I
 am
 blessed
 to
 have
 Casper
 and
 Coal

in
 my
 life.

vii
ABSTRACT

THE
 CABLE
 NETWORK
 IN
 AN
 ERA
 OF
 DIGITAL
 MEDIA:

BRAVO
 AND
 THE
 CONSTRAINTS
 OF
 CONSUMER
 CITIZENSHIP

MAY
 2014

ALISON
 BRZENCHEK,
 B.S.,
 PENNSYLVANIA
 STATE
 UNIVERSITY

M.S.W.,
 UNIVERSITY
 OF
 MICHIGAN

Ph.D.,
 UNIVERSITY
 OF
 MASSACHUSETTS
 AMHERST

Directed
 by:
 Professor
 Mari
 Castañeda

This
 dissertation
 takes
 a
 historiographical
 approach
 to
 the
 evolution
 of
 cable

television
 over
 thirty
 years.
 Case
 analysis
 of
 archival
 data
 is
 used
 to
 trace
 the

trajectory
 of
 the
 Bravo
 cable
 network
 from
 1980
 through
 2010.
 My
 dissertation
 is
 a

vital
 contribution
 to
 critical
 cultural
 studies,
 feminist
 studies,
 citizenship
 studies,

and
 media
 history
 because
 it
 historicizes
 the
 role
 branding,
 commodification,
 and

convergence
 played
 in
 Bravo’s
 evolution
 from
 a
 highbrow
 arts
 programmer
 guided

by
 bourgeois
 consumer
 citizenship,
 to
 a
 affluent
 lifestyle
 network
 guided
 by

nouveau
 riche
 consumer
 citizenship.

My
 combination
 of
 production
 studies
 and
 political
 economic
 analysis
 gives

visibility
 to
 the
 interpenetrating
 relations
 between
 branding,
 commodification,
 and

convergence
 at
 the
 micro
 and
 macro
 levels.
 I
 argue
 cable
 television
 and
 its
 networks

shaped
 and
 were
 shaped
 by
 the
 cultural,
 political
 economic,
 and
 technological

processes
 of
 the
 media
 landscape.
 Still,
 I
 conclude
 that
 Bravo’s
 commercial

metamorphosis
 over
 three
 decades
 is
 a
 tragic
 example
 that
 is
 representative
 of
 the

ways
 institutional
 practices
 are
 constrained
 by
 the
 structural
 parameters
 of
 the

viii
media
 landscape.
 Bravo’s
 twenty-­‐first
 century
 status
 as
 an
 affluent
 lifestyle
 network

driven
 by
 brand
 management,
 cybernetic
 commodification,
 and
 digital
 convergence

supports
 this
 claim.
 Bravo’s
 shift
 to
 affluent
 lifestyle
 entertainment
 has
 left
 an

indelible
 mark
 on
 gendered
 programming
 in
 the
 digital
 media
 landscape.
 I
 argue

that
 this
 ostentatious
 form
 of
 branded
 entertainment
 uses
 irony
 and
 conspicuous

lifestyle
 as
 aesthetic
 commodities
 to
 support
 the
 iteration
 of
 postfeminist
 nouveau

riche
 consumer
 citizenship,
 and
 I
 show
 how
 this
 happens
 across
 interconnected

texts,
 platforms,
 and
 industries
 reliant
 upon
 cybernetic
 commodification.

ix