Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This paper addresses a void in academic discourse by scrutinising Indian OTT web series as exemplars of ‘quality’ television, referencing the criteria outlined by television scholar Thompson (1996). Drawing on Albrecht’s (2016) examination of masculinity in contemporary quality television, the study endeavours to explore how Indian web series provide fertile ground for diverse portrayals of masculinity in contrast to conventional soap operas that are sometimes seen to reinforce gender stereotypes. Focussing on two Amazon Prime Video series, the analysis seeks to shed light on the cultural significance of Indian web series and their subversive masculine representations.

Keywords

Masculinities subversion web series quality television

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abbott

Geraths

(2021) Modern masculinities: resistance to hegemonic masculinity in modern family. Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric 11(1): 36–56.

Agarwal

Patnaik

(2023) (Re)Visiting masculinities in Indian television soap operas. Quarterly Review of Film and Video 42: 1–22.

Albrecht

(2016) Masculinity in Contemporary Quality Television. Milton Park: Routledge.

Ashraf

(2021) Only I am the brahma’: religion and narrative in the Netflix thriller series Sacred Games (2018–2019). Religions 12(7): 478.

Benjamin

(2021) New screen economies and viewing paradigms: the ethics of representation in Delhi crime. Open Philosophy 5(1): 67–74.

Bentall

(2004) The Company you Keep: The Transforming Power of Male Friendship. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Books.

Bombay Talkies (2013) Flying Unicorn Entertainment, India.

Bonus: Karan’s Journey (2019 season 1) Excel Entertainment, India.

Bowie

(2024) Peak TV vs Peak TV. https://www.adambowie.com/blog/2024/02/peak-tv-vs-peak-tv/ (accessed 12 March 2025).

10.

BrandWagon Online (2023) India has 481 million OTT users and 102 million active paid subscriptions, reveals Ormax report. Financial Express, 6 November. Available at: https://www.financialexpress.com/business/brandwagon-india-has-481-million-ott-users-and-102-million-active-paid-subscriptions-reveals-ormax-report-3298029/ (accessed 8 March 2024).

11.

Carabí

Armengol

(2014) Alternative Masculinities for a Changing World. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks.

12.

Cardwell

(2007) Is quality television any good? Generic distinctions, evaluations and the troubling matter of critical judgement. In: McCabe

Akass

(eds). Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. London: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd, 19–34.

13.

Chowdhry

(2014) Masculine spaces: rural male culture in North India. Economic and Political Weekly 49: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24481028

14.

Dahaad (2023) Excel Entertainment. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19868314/

15.

Desai

(2020) Panchayat review: a flawless TVF show that reclaims rural India from the movies. Available at: https://www.filmcompanion.in/reviews/streaming-reviews/panchayat-review-a-flawless-tvf-show-that-reclaims-rural-india-from-the-movies (accessed 8 March 2024).

16.

Diwan

(2023) Next Episode: The Story of Video Streaming Viewership in India. Vancouver, BC: UBC Library Open Collections.

17.

Doctor

Raghavendra

(2011) Out of the Box: Gay Characters on Indian TV. The Economic Times. 2 July. Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/out-of-the-box-gay-characters-on-indian-tv/articleshow/9072891.cms?from=mdr (accessed 12 March 2025).

18.

Dutta

(2022) Content carnival? (re)Viewing representation, Indianness, and OTT culture in India. In: Samuel

Mitchell

(eds) Streaming and Screen Culture in Asia-Pacific. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 145–160.

19.

Feasey

(2008) Masculinity and Popular Television. Edinburgh: Edinburg University Press.

20.

Feuer

Kerr

Vahimagi

(1984) MTM: Quality Television. London: BFI Publications.

21.

Fricker

(2007) ‘Quality TV’ on show. In: McCabe

Akass

(eds), Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. London: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd, pp. 13–16.

22.

Friedman

Keeler

(2023) Prestige Television: Cultural and Artistic Value in twenty-first-century America, Rutgers University Press Ebooks. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

23.

Glenn (2013) White masculinity and the TV sitcom dad: tracing the ‘progression’ of portrayals of fatherhood. In: Jackson

R.L.

II Moshin

J.E.

(eds). Communicating Marginalized Masculinities. Milton Park: Routledge, 174–188.

24.

Hassler-Forest

(2014) Game of Thrones: quality television and the cultural logic of gentrification. TV/Series 6(6): 160–177.

25.

Inside Edge (2017) Excel Entertainment, India.

26.

Jaggi

Manohar

(2019) Man’s world in ladies room: examining the counter-hegemonic gender representations in Indian digital streaming content. Media Watch 10: 19–30.

27.

Jancovich

Lyons

(2003) Quality Popular Television: Cult TV, the Industry and Fans. London: British Film Institute.

28.

Kaul

Sahni

(2010) Portrayal of women in television (TV) serials. Studies on Home and Community Science 4(1): 15–20.

29.

King

(2015) Quality Hollywood: Markers of Distinction in Contemporary Studio Film. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL28579645M/Quality_Hollywood

30.

Kumkum Bhagya (2014) Balaji Telefilms, India.

31.

Life of Pi (2012) Fox 2000 Pictures, US.

32.

Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016) Prakash Jha Productions, Mumbai, India.

33.

List of OTT Platforms (no date) https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/List_of_OTT_Platforms_0.pdf (accessed 21 February 2024).

34.

Lotz

(2014) Cable Guys: Television and Masculinities in the 21st Century. New York: New York University Press.

35.

Lust Stories (2018) RSVP Movies, Mumbai, India.

36.

MacKinnon

(2003) Representing Men: Maleness and Masculinity in the Media. London: Arnold Publication. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA64601999

37.

Made in Heaven (2019) Excel Entertainment, India.

38.

McCabe

Akass

(2007) Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

39.

Menon

(2024) Beyond binge-watching: how the OTT video streaming platforms have transformed Indian television culture. Quarterly Review of Film and Video 1–25. doi: 10.1080/10509208.2024.2442863.

40.

Mirzapur (2018) Excel Entertainment, India.

41.

Munshi

(2020) Prime Time Soap Operas on Indian Television. Milton Park: Routledge.

42.

Newman

Levine

(2012) Legitimating Television: Media Convergence and Cultural Status. Milton Park: Routledge eBooks.

43.

Ojha

Vaish

(2024) A review of OTT platforms in India: challenges and current status. In: Kalorth

(ed) Exploring the Impact of OTT Media on Global Societies. New York, NY: IGI Global Scientific Publishing, pp. 192–216.

44.

Orange is the New Black (2013) Tilted Productions, US.

45.

Paatal Lok (2020) Clean Slate Filmz, India.

46.

Panchayat (2020) The Viral Fever, India.

47.

Paunksnis

(2023) Empowered, thy name is woman: lite feminism and Hindi SVOD platforms in India. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 24(3): 538–553.

48.

Paunksnis

(2023) Gender, Cinema, Streaming Platforms: Shifting Frames in Neoliberal India. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

49.

Pease

(2014) Reconstructing masculinity or ending manhood? In: Carabí

À.

Armengol

J.M.

(eds). Alternative Masculinities for a Changing World. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 17–34.

50.

Permanent Roommates (2014) The Viral Fever, India.

51.

Perspectives: Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2024–2028 (2024) Available at: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/business-model-reinvention/outlook/insights-and-perspectives.html (accessed 13 March 2025).

52.

Raheja

(2023) Films V/S OTT: why the demarcation between the two has become battle lines. Free Press Journal. 19 November. Available at: https://www.freepressjournal.in/weekend/films-vs-ott-why-the-demarcation-between-the-two-has-become-battle-lines

53.

Sacred Games (2018) Phantom Films, India.

54.

Sahu

(2018) Revisiting television in India: mapping the portrayal of women in soap operas. Sociological Bulletin 67(2): 204–219.

55.

Sex Education (2019) Eleven Film, London, UK.

56.

Sharma

(2023) New waves, new women: a content analysis of Indian web series and their impact on gender representations. Journal of Communication Management 2(04): 293.

57.

Srivastav

Rai

(2019) Metanarratives of identity in web-series: a narrative analysis of Netflix’s Ghoul (2018). International Journal of Media and Information Literacy 4(2): 50–59. doi: 10.13187/ijmil.2019.2.50.

58.

Srivastav

Shikha

(2022) Alternate entertainment or shifting discourse: a narrative analysis of popular web series in India. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy 7(1): 242–254. doi: 10.13187/ijmil.2022.1.242.

59.

St. Elsewhere (1982) MTM Enterprises.

60.

Statista (2024) OTT video - united States: Statista market forecast. Available at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/tv-video/ott-video/united-states (accessed 13 March 2025).

61.

Swades (2004) Ashutosh Gowariker Productions, India.

62.

The Family Man (2019) D2R Films, India.

63.

The Night Manager (2023) Banijay Asia, India.

64.

The Sopranos (1999) Chase Fims, Manchester, England.

65.

Thompson

(1996) Television’s Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER: Hill Street Blues, Thirtysomething, St. Elsewhere, China Beach, Cagney & Lacey, Twin Peaks, Moonlighting, Northern Exposure, L.A. Law, Picket Fences, with Brief Reflections on Homicide, NYPD Blue & Chicago Hope, and Other Quality Dramas. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA28035901

66.

Twin Peaks (1990) Lynch/Frost Productions, US.

67.

Vinikas

(2024) Linear TV: all you need to know | Kaltura. Available at: https://corp.kaltura.com/blog/linear-tv-all-you-need-to-know/ (accessed 6 March 2025).

68.

Viswamohan

(2024) Women in Contemporary Indian Films and Media. London: Routledge eBooks.

69.

Wood

(2022) Quality TV in the Streaming Age. Honors thesis, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI.

Disrupting masculinity: Locating Indian OTT web series as quality television and sites of subversive masculine representations

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References