ABSTRACT
Using Vinyl (2016–) as a case study, Boisvert analyzes HBO’s current programming’s conflicted treatment of gender. Burdened by the collapse of his marriage, his identity and his music industry – all metaphorically suggested by the building collapse of the first episode – Vinyl’s main protagonist, Richie Finestra, is a man “in crisis” whose narrative allows for the representation/deconstruction of a “toxic”, hegemonic and deeply tormented model of masculinity, a popular trend in many contemporary series. Yet, Vinyl also reveals the implicitly gendered dimension of HBO’s branding strategy. Promoted for its “quality pedigree” and cinematic look – both regular markers of Quality TV – this fiction shares, along with other landmark HBO male-centred serials, a key interest in hegemonic masculinity (Connell 2005) as a subject of critique and fascination. In this chapter, Boisvert interprets Vinyl as the latest illustration of HBO’s legitimation strategy as the “not TV/not feminine” premium cable network that still mostly, although not exclusively, relies upon male auteurs adapting “masculine” film genres centred on male characters. Since the current era of Quality TV has started to attract criticism for its masculine hegemony, Vinyl’s gender politics could explain both its massive media coverage and its mixed reviews. The story and narrative conventions of Vinyl epitomize the paradox that HBO is currently confronted with: by still capitalizing on the “(hegemonic) masculinity crisis” as an innovative and “prestige” topic, HBO’s production strategy could ultimately restrict its capacity for innovation and progressive gender representations.
