« Mars women » et « gossip girls » : les ambivalences des héroïnes de séries adolescentes contemporaines

Abstract

The genre of the teenage series, which today has attained a form of stability, fills a gap in the representation of identity issues that are rarely addressed with such complexity by contemporary serial fictions. The generic formula of the teen drama is very much inspired by the soap opera, while frequently allying itself with fantasy and science fiction. The audience targeted by these series includes teenagers, but also children and young adults; in these series, several narrative strategies to attract the attention of these specific viewers can be identified. Otherwise, because these series attempt to capture a public of young girls and young women, they portray strong female characters, in line with the girlie wave of the 1990s. However, in contrast with the fictions of the previous decades like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for example, contemporary teenage series regularly portray the intersection of issues of gender, ethnicity, social class, and sexuality.

Keywords

• Veronica Mars
• Gossip Girl
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• teen series
• soap opera