From Margins to Mainstream: Narrativizing Power on Screen
- URL: https://www.univ-reims.fr/cirlep
- Event Date: 2025-06-13 ~ 2025-06-13
- Abstract Submission Date: 2025-05-01
- Submission Date: 2025-04-05
- Organizer: CIRLEP (UNIVERSITY OF REIMS CHAMPAGNE ARDENNE)
- Location: Reims, France
Humanities, Literature & Arts (General) American Literature & Studies Interdisciplinary Studies (General)
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word mainstream as that which is "compatible with the prevailing attitudes and values of a society or group.” In this regard, while the concept of the mainstream is often linked to prevailing social norms, it is also shaped by specific social groups and influenced by political, social, and economic changes, as highlighted by scholars like Pierre Bourdieu (1993) and Douglas Kellner (1995), who emphasize its connection to commercial and institutional powers. This tension within the mainstream can make it highly ambivalent, reflecting both resistance and co-optation. In media and popular culture, the mainstream is associated with mass communication outlets that are consumed by large audiences to the extent that they can shape public opinion. However, this has been recently questioned, with concerns about the mainstream’s tendency to distort, falsify, and align with power structures while fostering the marginality of others, as argued by David Croteau and William Hoynes (2003). Michel Foucault’s work on discourse and power (1972) could provide insights into how control over representation—and by extension over the boundary between margins and mainstream—has been historically maintained, while Homi Bhabha’s theories about cultural hybridity (1994) bring attention to the interplay of mainstream and marginalized perspectives. John Fiske’s contributions to the study of popular culture, media, and audience dynamics have also shaped scholarly understanding of the relationship between media, culture, and power, particularly how media shapes identities and (dominant) social norms (1989). Similarly, Stuart Hall explores the various ways media content can either empower marginalized groups or render them objects of curiosity, sensationalization, and exoticization (1997)
While the inclusion of marginalized voices into the mainstream may consolidate existing hierarchies rather than foster genuine transformation, the extent to which marginalized voices challenge or uphold these structures depends on how they are represented, who controls the narrative, and the broader societal context in which this transition occurs.
These questions have been central to debates about race, as they bring attention to how mainstreaming the marginal can simultaneously provide opportunities for visibility and empowerment while posing risks of co-optation. The works of film scholars such as Donald Bogle (2001), Frederick Gooding Jr (2020)., and Ed Guerrero (1993) trace the historical evolution of Black representation in Hollywood and American popular culture. Their studies illustrate how portrayals of Blackness have been used to reinforce stereotypes in films like Birth of a Nation (1915) and Gone with the Wind (1939) challenge these stereotypes in films such as Lilies of the Field (1963), or offer more empowering depictions, as seen in Blaxploitation films of the 1970s. The work of bell hooks (1996), Kimberlé Crenshaw (1991), Patricia Hill Collins (2000), and Marquita Marie Gammage (2017) explores the questions of power and marginality, shedding light on the intersections of race, class, and gender while examining the complex experiences of Black women. Their analyses, focused on movies such as Imitation of Life (1959), The Color Purple (1985), Daughters of the Dust (1991), The Help (2011), and Precious (2009), also provide valuable insights into more recent televised media texts, including Orange is the New Black (2013–2019), Dear White People (2017–2022), and Black-ish (2014–present). Critical race theory has similarly advanced discussions of the tensions between the mainstream and the marginal, with scholars such as Peggy McIntosh (1990), Herman Gray (1995, 2005), George Yancy, and Richard Delgado (2017) offering significant insights into how white privilege operates as a mechanism of power within mainstream narratives. These ideas have informed works like Get Out (2017) and When They See Us, (2019), illustrating how mainstream media can both challenge and reinforce dominant cultural hierarchies.
The interplay between margin and mainstream has also received significant attention in relation to gender and queer identities. While the inclusion of women and LGBTQ+ groups in media can amplify visibility and encourage a rethinking of dominant cultural norms, it often unfolds within the constraints of commercial imperatives that prioritize profit, altering content to boost box office performance or increase viewership. Judith Butler’s work on performativity is particularly relevant in this context, as it highlights how LGBTQ+ characters in mainstream media either challenge or reinforce heteronormative norms, as seen in works like Pose and RuPaul’s Drag Race. Similarly, Angela McRobbie’s analysis of the commercialization of the "girl power" phenomenon in mainstream media and popular culture reveals how consumer culture appropriates feminist narratives, shaping contemporary gender politics in ways that may dilute their transformative potential (1991, 2009). This dynamic is evident in shows and films such as Sex and the City (1998-2004), Girls (2012–2017), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and Legally Blonde (2001), where empowerment is often reframed to align with mainstream cultural and economic norms.
The overlap between margins and the center can also be revisited through the ways audiences and online communities, such as fan fiction platforms, drive content creation and interaction. Henry Jenkins' concept of “transmedia storytelling” (2006) is particularly relevant for analyzing how social media platforms like Tumblr and Twitter enable marginalized voices to extend their narratives beyond the confines of traditional media. Sherry Turkle’s work explores the intersection of technology and human behavior, focusing on the social impact of digital culture and how technology influences both individual and collective experiences. Similarly, Lawrence Lessig’s studies of digital rights, online creativity, and intellectual property have been instrumental in understanding how digital spaces are regulated, shaping their capacity to challenge mainstream narratives and assert autonomy.
This study day will center on these themes and engage with the following questions: How do marginalized voices transition from the periphery to the center in media narratives, and what are the power dynamics that facilitate or obstruct this process? And does the mainstreaming of media narratives empower or co-opt marginalized voices, and to what extent does their inclusion reshape dominant cultural norms and structures, or simply reinforce existing hierarchies?
Research angles will revolve around, but not be limited to, the following axes:
- The meanings, forms and structures of marginalized and mainstream narratives in media and popular culture.
- The role of gatekeepers in determining which marginalized voices gain access to the mainstream, and the ability of marginalized groups to maintain control over their narratives when entering the mainstream.
- The influence of economic and institutional forces on which marginalized voices become part of the mainstream.
- The impact of audience reception of marginalized voices in shaping their cultural influence.
- The potential of social movements to reevaluate dominant media narratives, and the role of activism in fostering the advocacy for the rights of specific groups, such LGBTQIA+ and disability rights.
- Scholarly research focusing on racial, feminist, intersectional, queer, and disability studies, and its impact on changing the boundaries and definitions of the mainstream.
- The overlap between media and more traditional narrative forms, such as literature, and the ways in which the literary canon and the media mainstream interact with each other.
- The strategies used by creators of media narratives, such as innovative cinematography and subversion of traditional storytelling, amplify marginalized voices and expose power dynamics.
- The role of storytelling methods on various digital platforms, such as fan websites, video games, and social media advertising, in pushing the boundaries of the mainstream.
The study day will take place on 13 June 2025 at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, (Campus Croix Rouge) in France.
We welcome proposals in English and French that engage with these frameworks or bring new perspectives to the discussion of power, narrative, and the shifting boundaries between the margins and the mainstream in media. Papers may address topics across film, television, digital media, or other cultural forms. Research that adopts interdisciplinary perspectives is highly encouraged.
Submission Guidelines:
- Abstracts of 250–300 words
- Deadline: 05 April 2025
- Submit to: Imen Yaakoubi (imen.yaakoubi@univ-reims.fr) and Margaux Collin (margaux.collin@univ-lorraine.fr)
Works cited list:
Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.
Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. Continuum, 2001.
Bourdieu, Pierre. The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature. Edited by Randal Johnson, Columbia University Press, 1993.
Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge, 1990.
Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge, 2000.
Crenshaw, Kimberlé. "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color." Stanford Law Review, vol. 43, no. 6, 1991, pp. 1241–1299.
Croteau, David, and William Hoynes. Media/Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences. 4th ed., SAGE Publications, 2003.
Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. NYU Press, 2017.
Fiske, John. Understanding Popular Culture. Routledge, 1989.
Foucault, Michel. The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language. Translated by A.M. Sheridan Smith, Pantheon Books, 1972.
Gooding Jr., Frederick W. Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny: What the Academy Awards Tell Us About African Americans. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Gray, Herman. Cultural Moves: African Americans and the Politics of Representation. University of California Press, 2005.
Gray, Herman. Watching Race: Television and the Struggle for Blackness. University of Minnesota Press, 1995.
Guerrero, Ed. Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film. Temple University Press, 1993.
Hall, Stuart. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage Publications, 1997.
Hall, Stuart. “The Spectacle of the Other.” Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, edited by Stuart Hall, Sage Publications, 1997, pp. 223–279.
hooks, bell. Reel to Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies. Routledge, 1996.
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. NYU Press, 2006.
Kellner, Douglas. Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity, and Politics between the Modern and the Postmodern. Routledge, 1995.
Lessig, Lawrence. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books, 1999.
McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Independent School, vol. 49, no. 2, 1990, pp. 31–36.
McRobbie, Angela. Feminism and Youth Culture: From 'Girl Power' to 'Girls' Rights'. Palgrave Macmillan, 1991.
McRobbie, Angela. The Aftermath of Feminism: Gender, Culture and Social Change. Sage Publications, 2009.
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Basic Books, 2011.
Turkle, Sherry. The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit. Simon & Schuster, 1984.
Scientific Committee:
Yannick Bellenger-Morvan (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
Margaux Collin (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
Catherine Girodet (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
Sylvie Mikowski (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
Yann Philippe (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
Christine Sukic (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
Imen Yaakoubi (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
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