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Description
Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, Columbo, McCloud, McMillan and Wife, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Ironside, Mannix, The F.B.I., Adam 12, and Barney Miller were just a few of the crime television shows that proliferated in the 1970s. This thesis examines how this widely consumed genre represented masculinity. As feminists gained a greater public voice during the decade, their ideals permeated the general consciousness. By challenging culturally accepted femininity, feminists called into question normative masculinity. At the same time, other social and political conditions of the 1970s, such as a feared urban crisis and rising police forces in cities, made crime television relevant to American audiences. This thesis deconstructs some of the most popular crime shows of the decade: Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, and Columbo. It argues that while some attempts were made to portray a more complex form of masculinity, the TV shows ultimately continued to construct a traditional gender hierarchy. From the hyper-masculine Lieutenant Kojak to the sly fox Lieutenant Columbo, men remained the individuals worthy of respect and emulation. Masculinity diversified, but its superiority to femininity remained unchanged. Representations of masculinity are understood through poststructural analysis, textual analysis of dialogue and interpersonal relationships, and visual analysis of character appearance and physicality. The 1970s opened with great promise for feminist success, but 1980s conservatism began to reverse feminist gains. However, backlash was not a 1980s creation. Gender was a contentious issue throughout the 1970s. Crime television provided one important medium for such a conversation to take place.
