Enquête sur l'étrange nature du héros de série télévisée

Abstract

In this article the author sets out to define the specific nature of the heroes of TV series in comparison with other heroes (of novels, plays or films). She argues that it stems from a more stable anchorage between a fictive character and a live person. Drawing on a corpus of 467 letters and their general framework, and noting that these letters are addressed to a compound being "both a character and an actor", she departs from a dualistic approach opposing reality and fiction, and instead describes the inherent features of this mixed entity. In the general trend of extension of the social sciences to new objects, the heroes of series can thus occupy their particular place amongst the humans and non humans.