Teen Transnational Television - Research Design Project
December 8, 2024
With the rise of streaming services, the content and accessibility of television shows is becoming progressively globalized. It is possible to see and hear the stories of people very distant and very different from yourself. This is especially pertinent to those coming-of-age in this globalized world: teen audiences. While series made in other countries are increasingly available to American teen audiences, it remains to be seen whether these teen audiences would choose to watch a foreign show rather than a domestic one. Furthermore, to what extent do teens identify with characters of different nationalities? How does this compare to their identification with other Americans?
This paper will survey the research done into transnational teen television of all kinds. By examining the existing scholarship, I will identify gaps in the research. I will propose my own design for research which would aim to fill this gap. Ultimately, I aim to answer the following:
“How do teen users of streaming platforms engage with and make meaning from internationally produced series targeting a teen audience?”
Literature Review
The purpose of this literature review is to understand how teens identify with stories across cultural and linguistic borders. This literature review divides the research into three overarching themes: cultural proximity and asymmetrical interdependence, genre transnationalism and online culture, and global imagination and identity formation. Ultimately, I aim to uncover what this reveals about television in the context of globalization.
In an attempt to understand why teen viewers are drawn to television that originated outside of their familiar native culture, it is important to look at the ways in which all culture is shared across borders. Joseph Straubhaar introduces two terms crucial to the understanding of cultural exchange of this kind: cultural proximity and asymmetrical interdependence (Straubhaar, 2010). Cultural proximity is the idea that disparate cultures share certain aspects. Significantly, cultures with more similarities, or proximity, exchange cultural products between them more easily (Straubhaar, 2010, p. 265). Asymmetrical Interdependence describes how all cultures are intertwined in complex ways, yet some cultures can have more power or influence in some settings (Straubhaar, 2010, p. 263). Overall, these terms are introduced with the intent to, “offer a more nuanced and complex understanding of the relationships between global and local cultures than the simple notion of media imperialism" (Straubhaar, 2010, p. 277).
British film and television professor Faye Woods (2016) applies Straubhaar’s scholarship to the exchange of American and British teen television. In her chapter, “Teen TV Translations: Across the Pond,” Woods argues that there is cultural proximity between American and British youth, resulting in an exchange of television texts. The cultural proximity between the US and the UK arises from shared language and values. However, this does not result in an even exchange of television content. Woods describes the relationship between youth media in the UK and the US as, “pull-push” and “unbalanced yet reciprocal” (Woods, 2016, p. 107). This fits well with Straubhaar’s conception of asymmetrical interdependence. Woods argues that British teens were more “fluent” in American culture whereas American teens required translation of British culture. This explains why American teen series found popularity among British teens, yet British teen series were adapted for the American market. Woods looks at the case study of British series Skins (2007-2013) and its failed American adaptation Skins US (2011), which aired on the cable network BBC America. Skins US lacked the ‘authenticity’ of the original, leading to its demise, while the original resonated much more with viewers regardless of nationality (Woods, 2016, p. 125).
While cultural proximity provides the bridge for some teens when it comes to transnational television, other factors explain this exchange, particularly in the age of streaming. In her article, “Transnationalising Genre: Netflix, Teen Drama and Textual Dimensions in Netflix Transnationalism,” media scholar Mareike Jenner (2021) argues that Netflix transnationalizes genre in order to make teen television series accessible across national borders. Netflix achieves this by deemphasizing the local and emphasizing the national in order to address a transnational teenage audience (Jenner, 2021, p. 183). She provides two case studies, British Netflix original series Sex Education (2019-2023) and German Netflix original series How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) (2019-2021). Jenner describes how Sex Education takes place in Wales and yet lacks regional specificity, instead portraying a certain generic “Britishness” via accent, wardrobe and so on (Jenner, 2021, p. 194). Similarly, though it is largely in German, all the central characters in How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) know how to speak English.
Genre is transnationalized beyond language. Jenner highlights one central theme tying together these transnational teen series: online culture (Jenner, 2021, p. 194). The representation of technology use has become a key convention of the teen genre across multiple countries. Essentially, new teen shows portray the use of social media and devices in a way that is meaningful to young audiences. Norwegian Journalist and Media Professor Vilde Schanke Sundet (2020) describes this emerging genre convention in her exploration of Skam (2015-2017), a Norwegian teen drama which found an international audience and inspired many adaptations. Skam took the idea of online culture to the extreme, integrating the show across media platforms. Beyond the ordinary episode, the show created official social media accounts for characters, posted fake text messages, and even created youtube channels (Sundet, 2020, p. 4). The result was a ‘hyperdiagesis,’ a rich fictional world in which the series itself only represents the tip of the iceberg, inviting young audiences to participate in its construction (Sundet, 2020, p. 4). This collectively constructed fictional world aligns with Shani Orgad’s conception of global imagination.
In the era of new media, technology has erased the geographic and chronological divisions of the past. The average viewer has access to countless images of people and places very distant from their own living room. This erasure of time and space has led to what media scholar Shani Orgad (2012) dubs ‘global imagination.’ Orgad defines the global imagination as, “ a collective way of seeing, understanding and feeling, at a global level, to a sense of ‘who we are, how we fit together… what we might expect from each other…” (Orgad, 2012, p. 14). Divya McMillan’s research into groups of teens in four globalized cities (2009) supports the rise of global imagination. The study focused on subjects aged fourteen and fifteen in Johannesburg, Bangalore, Munich and New York. In a qualitative examination of subjects’ everyday use of local and transnational TV networks, McMillan and her team found that television played an important role in identity formation among teens across nationality (McMillan and Fisherkeller, 2009, p. 237). Thus, transnational television has become a useful tool for teens, allowing them to mediate their own culture, as well as their place in a larger globalized culture. This is significant. As Shani Orgad writes, “Media representations nourish a wide and deep understanding that guide and frame people’s actions” (Orgad, 2012, p. 4). Teenage years are a tumultuous time, and transnational television can help teens make sense of themselves and own their place in our increasingly globalized world.
While many scholars have begun to tackle the rise of transnational teen television, there are certainly many gaps in the research, some of which my research question will aim to fill.
First, there is a lot of research looking at the transfer of teen television between the United States and the United Kingdom. This makes sense, as they share cultural proximity and language. However, American teens view series from many other countries outside the UK. Thus, it is crucial to look at more transnational series that don’t originate in the US or the UK, including those not in English. More research should be done into the role that language plays in transnational television. Many teens are not deterred by having to use subtitles or dubbing. Another factor that should be considered is bilingualism and multilingualism.
Furthermore, some shows disturb Jenner’s theory of genre transnationalism and regional specificity. I would cite the show Derry Girls (2018-2022) as the most prescient example of this. This series is highly specific in both region (Northern Ireland) and time period (1990s), yet it has found incredible success among American audiences and elsewhere. Therefore, more research should be done into how shows with regional or chronological specificity are able to appeal to international audiences.
Finally, there is much work looking at the US as a cultural hegemon. While for decades, the US exported teen television abroad, it is crucial that we look at the more recent trend of international television appealing to young American audiences as well.
Research Design
My own research would attempt to fill in this gap in the research by studying international television imported to the US via streaming. My research would be limited to single streaming video on-demand (SVOD) service, Netflix. I selected Netflix because they take up the largest share of the American market over any other SVOD. Furthermore, their library is vast and their commissioned content is produced both inside and outside of the US, yet is available to any subscribers, regardless of nationality. To best address my research question, my design is two-fold. I will first conduct a hermeneutic investigation based off of previous research. Then, I would create a post positivist study in order to contextualize responses to the first part of the research.
Most of the existing scholarship, as outlined in the literature review, takes a hermeneutic approach to the study of teen transnational television. Faye Woods (2016) uses the case study of Skins and Skins US, Mareike Jenner (2021) looks at How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) and Sex Education, while Vilde Schanke Sundet (2020) analyzes Skam. Essentially, these authors do a close reading of their case studies in order to make broader claims about television transnationalism. Divya McMillan (2009), likewise takes a hermeneutic approach. However, instead of focusing on the content, McMillan looks at the subjects. Her research looks at the meaning teens make from texts, across four diverse cities.
Like McMillan’s approach, my research would focus on teen subjects. These subjects would be selected from across the US to ensure diversity of perspectives, but would be united in that all of them are current high school students. My research would focus solely on American teens. I have selected three foreign teen series available on Netflix: Derry Girls (Ireland, 2018-2022), Elite (Spain, 2018-2024), AlRawabi School For Girls (Jordan, 2021-2024). All three case studies are teen series focused on high school and produced outside of the US. However, that is where their similarities end. Derry Girls is in English (though with a heavy Northern Irish dialect) , while Elite is a Spanish-language show and AlRawabi School For Girls is in Arabic. Furthermore, the three vary in time period, tone, and subject matter. By choosing three very different series, my research would be able to identify different factors in teen readings of these texts. I would also include the American series Never Have I Ever (2020-2023) to act as a control. After viewing these four series, I would interview my subjects on what they found compelling (or not compelling). I would ask them what makes them relate to characters in both foreign and domestic shows. Furthermore, I would have them draw comparisons or highlight differences between foreign teen shows and American series they had seen that they found to be important. I would then use these interviews to identify certain patterns among subjects.
While the first part of my investigation would be qualitative, the second part would attempt to quantify teen television transnationalism. I would use Netflix viewer data on subscribers or subscriber households with viewers age thirteen through eighteen. I would then narrow down this group to the cohort who watch shows categorized as ‘teen series.’ I would identify how many international versus American series were watched by this group over the span of one year. This process would be repeated with data from the past ten years, providing us information on changes in spectatorship across a decade.
Together, these two different research methods would provide a strong theoretical framework to answer my research question. By marrying cultural and social science traditions, my research attempts to create a holistic understanding of the significance of teen television transnationalism in an increasingly globalized world.
Works Cited
Jenner, M. (2021). Transnationalising Genre: Netflix, Teen Drama and Textual Dimensions in Netflix Transnationalism. In M. Jenner (Ed.), Binge-Watching and Contemporary Television Research (pp. 183–200). Edinburgh University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctv27qzrrt.16?searchText=teen+foreign+television&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dteen%2Bforeign%2Btelevision%26so%3Drel%26pagemark%3DeyJwYWdlIjoyLCJzdGFydCI6MjUsInRvdGFsIjoyODgyN30%253D%26groupefq%3DWyJjb250cmlidXRlZF90ZXh0Iiwic2VhcmNoX2NoYXB0ZXIiLCJjb250cmlidXRlZF92aWRlbyIsInJlc2VhcmNoX3JlcG9ydCIsInNlYXJjaF9hcnRpY2xlIiwiY29udHJpYnV0ZWRfYXVkaW8iLCJyZXZpZXciLCJtcF9yZXNlYXJjaF9yZXBvcnRfcGFydCJd&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A290bbf0066759c822f7b644bee33d694
McMillin, D., & Fisherkeller, J. (2009). Local Identities in Globalized Regions: Teens, Everyday Life, and Television. Popular Communication, 7(4), 237–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540570090322134
Woods, F. (2016). Teen TV Translations: Across the Pond. In: British Youth Television. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-44548-3_4
Straubhaar, J. (2010). “Beyond Media Imperialism: Asymmetrical Interdependence and Cultural Proximity.” in D. Thussu, ed., International Communication (Routledge), 261-278.
Orgad, S. Media Representation and the Global Imagination. (2014). European Journal of Communication, 29(3), 386-387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323114531873b
Sundet, V. S. (2020). From ‘secret’ online teen drama to international cult phenomenon: The global expansion of SKAM and its public service mission. Critical Studies in Television, 15(1), 69-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749602019879856
