Cultural (de)legimitation of television serie

Abstract

The cultural legitimation of television series is perceived in a critical way by some authors linked to television studies. The mistrust of this process has to do with the belief that it has provoked a strengthening of cultural, class, and gender hierarchies. The arguments employed by the cultural delegitimizers of television series are, mostly, an application of Bourdieu’s sociological theories of distinction and  cultural studies. Our aim is to reveal the weaknesses of some of their arguments against this process of cultural legitimation, such as their attacks on cultural hierarchies, their apology for everything popular, and their discomfort with aesthetic.