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The L Word Analysis

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Although there is currently more than there was in the past, there is still not a lot of representation for lesbians and lesbian couples in today’s media. Created, written, and produced by Ilene Chaiken, The L Word, is a trailblazing television show that is centered mainly on lesbians and lesbian relationships. One of the most monumental events to take place in an episode titled “Land Ahoy” in the second season of the L word, when several of the characters went on a cruise meant for same sex loving women while another character met with her father. Many events took place in this episode and it is a strong example of Chaiken demonstrated, through usage of Stuart Hall’s theory of encoding and decoding and Julie D’Acci’s theory of the integrated …show more content…

Dana was especially nervous about going through security, and no one understood why until the TSA took another look at her bag. The TSA officers were surprised to find that there was a strap-on dildo and nipple clamps in Dana’s suitcase. The male officer takes the dildo out and waves it around wildly, drawing a lot of attention and causing embarrassment. He also puts the nipple clamps up to his chest in an inappropriate and unnecessary way. After this ordeal, the female officer winks at them and says “have fun”, and the group scurries away. Ilene Chaiken encoded this scene to seem over-the-top and ridiculous, as if no professional would ever actually do what he did, but it could be decoded by the audience to be shocking and causes those to wonder if that would actually happen. This scene could also be decoded as the oppositional meaning: a warning, or something relatable if this has happened to someone before. Or, the scene could be decoded exactly as Chaiken intended, as a laughable scene to not be taken seriously at …show more content…

Chaiken challenged her audience by showing us something shocking that would spark a unique reaction, as well as showing us a different way to view parental relationships in regards to their queer children. This episode is very telling of the fact that the series as a whole is meant to show the diversity that is queer

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