#CybillToo?: how a feminist sitcom (almost) exposed Hollywood’s dark secrets

Abstract

The sitcom Cybill (CBS 1995–1998) is loosely based on the real-life experiences of its feminist star and executive producer, Cybill Shepherd. The show thus has the extraordinary potential to relate the experiences of a Hollywood actress, operating within a singularly influential apparatus in the creation of dominant ideologies, including representations of women. This ‘belly of the beast’ set-up suggests an abundance of possibilities for the woman buffoon, trickster or thief of language to tell her thus-far censored, inside story, but within a medium and textual format that are themselves significantly controlled by, and instrumental in perpetuating, that very same machinery. Yet this sitcom was produced in the nineteen-nineties, a decade characterised by apolitical, postmodern irreverence. This article will assess the sitcom’s integration of postmodern, conservative and feminist discourses by conducting a critical discourse analysis, as formulated by Norman Fairclough, of one episode. The episode is one of two in which the show depicts Hollywood producers requesting sexual favours in return for employment opportunities, two decades before the practice provoked international outrage and brought about the formation of the #MeToo movement. The episode overall adopts a morally dubious positioning in its portrayal of Hollywood realities. However, as will be argued, this very postmodern ambiguity enabled the sitcom to represent and denounce long-established ‘casting couch’ practices, if in a cursory and trivialising manner.

Keywords:

• Cybill
• sitcom genre
• critical discourse analysis
• postmodernism
• feminism
• conservatism

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Dr Sharon Lockyer and Dr Simon Weaver.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Shepherd would eventually star, alongside her daughter Clementine Ford, in The L Word (Showtime 2004–2009) (Chaiken, Abbot, and Greenberg n.d.), a drama series focussed on the LGBT community.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicole S. Kypker

Dr Nicole S. Kypker is explored American cultural history, political ideologies and the sitcom genre in her PhD thesis, which she completed at Brunel University in 2020.