From pleasure to politics: Five functions of watching TV-series for public connection

Abstract

This article addresses the question of how engagement with fictional entertainment can enable audiences to function as citizens. It argues that existing theoretical perspectives assume spurious links between the use of fictional entertainment and politics. This article mobilizes the theoretical perspective of public connection to show how audience’s engagement with fictional entertainment can forge manifest links to the sphere of politics. The article presents five functions that capture the main varieties of how the engagement with TV series enables public connection. These functions are conceptualized as ‘Charging’, ‘Deepening’, ‘Affinitive motivation’, ‘Introduction/Extension’ and ‘Solidification’. These functions are theoretically qualified and empirically grounded in extensive qualitative research into people’s use of TV series in Norway. The article argues that these functions also apply to the engagement with other forms of fictional entertainment, including film and fiction literature.