Investigating Medical Drama TV Series: Approaches and Perspectives. 14th Media Mutations International Conference

Authors

Stefania Antonioni (ed)
University of Urbino image/svg+xml
Marta Rocchi (ed)
University of Bologna image/svg+xml
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21428/93b7ef64.8ac7a6ca

Synopsis

Since its inception in the 1960s, medical drama has emerged as a prominent genre within the television landscape. Its nomenclature derives from its dual focus: the hospital setting as the backdrop for events and the narrative exploration of medical cases, professional dynamics, and interpersonal relationships. This genre's widespread prevalence and success, primarily within the realm of television, have garnered the attention of media studies scholars, critics, medical device providers, and the broader healthcare community. In light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, there is an increased imperative to examine the influence of this global health crisis on the portrayal of medical professionals in television series.

While some of the most renowned medical TV series, notably E.R., have ceased airing, over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video enable continued viewership. Additionally, there has been a notable surge in global medical drama productions in recent years. Research efforts have predominantly delved into the narrative structures of medical dramas and the role of the audience in their reception. These narratives are also appreciated for their pedagogical value, serving as potent educational tools. The popularization and societal impact of medical dramas have been studied, particularly in their influence on medical students and the public's perception of healthcare.

Medical dramas often address significant social issues and have, as a result, been examined from a bioethical standpoint. They additionally play a pivotal role in the representation of marginalized groups, making them a focal point in gender studies as they explore the evolving depictions of diversity. Linguistically, the specialized language employed in these productions has generated substantial research in areas such as dubbing, medical terminology, and textual analysis. This multifaceted genre continues to be a rich and fertile field of academic inquiry.

Drawing on these multi-disciplinary perspectives, the conference aims to promote discussion and share research results on medical drama TV series focusing on the different methods and approaches employed for their analysis.

Chapters

Author Biographies

Stefania Antonioni, University of Urbino

Stefania Antonioni is associate professor of Television Studies at the Department of Communication, Humanities and International Studies of the University of Urbino Carlo Bo. Her research interests include transmedia narratives, audience reception online and offline, TV serial narratives, visual studies. She authored the book Imagining. Serialità, narrazioni cinematografiche e fotografia nella pubblicità contemporanea (2016) and several articles, among which “‘SKAM Italia Did it Again’: The Multiple Lives of a Format Adaptation from Production to Audience Experience”, in Critical Studies in Television 16(4) 2021 (with L. Barra and C. Checcaglini); “From Parenthood to Tutto può succedere: Ready-made elements and cultural translation”, in VIEW Journal of European Television History & Culture 9(17) 2020 (with C. Checcaglini).

Marta Rocchi, University of Bologna

Marta Rocchi is junior lecturer at the Department of Arts at the University of Bologna. Her research interests concern data-driven approaches for the study of narrative ecosystems, gender inequalities in the audiovisual industry and climate change communications in screen industry. Her publications include a book, several papers in peer-reviewed journals and a book chapter. She was curator of special section of SERIES journal on “Making Models of Contemporary Serial Media Products”. Among her most recent publications are: “Modeling Narrative Features in TV Series: Coding and Clustering Analysis” (2022 with G. Pescatore), “Environmental Misinformation and Audiovisual Serial Narratives: An Automatic Analysis of the Twitter Social Discursiveness on Seaspiracy” (2022), “Women’s Labour in TV Series Production: A Comparative Analysis of Italian Generalist TV and Pay Platforms (2016-2019)” (2023).

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Published

December 23, 2023

Series

Conference Proceedings
Copyright (c) 2025 The Authors

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Details about this monograph

ISBN-13 (15)

9788894731811

How to Cite

Antonioni, S., & Rocchi, M. (Eds.). (2023). Investigating Medical Drama TV Series: Approaches and Perspectives. 14th Media Mutations International Conference. Media Mutations Publishing. https://doi.org/10.21428/93b7ef64.8ac7a6ca