posted on 2023-08-30, 16:17authored byTanya Horeck
This article explores the politics of streaming sexual violence through the case study of Netflix Original 13 Reasons Why (2017-). Evaluating the observation that long-form drama with its extended temporality can engage with rape culture in more sustained and critical ways, this article argues that this is not necessarily the case. Tracking the ways in which Netflix hooks and trains its audiences to binge-watch 13 Reasons Why—in both its narrative hermeneutics and its structures of reception—I argue that those reception practices and narrative hooks, particularly around sexually graphic content, are cultivated around successive levels of intensity, similar to levels in a video game. In effect, sexual violence is gamified in 13 Reasons Why and is used as a structuring punctuation device for the full-drop season, which aims to keep viewers locked into Netflix’s streaming interface. I conclude that the seriality of 13 Reasons Why as a binge-able Netflix product places a premium upon the ‘next episode’ in a way that ultimately forecloses a deeper, more meaningful engagement with the serious issues of sexual violence and victimization. This article argues for the importance of examining how new technological and networked modes of delivery and response are shaping audience’s affective encounters/engagements with images of sexual violence in the digital streaming era.
History
Refereed
Yes
Volume
16
Issue number
2
Page range
143-166
Publication title
Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies