Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin
The TV series Merlin (BBC, 2009-2012) is analysed to show that the fulfilment of Arthur’s Destiny - becoming the legendary king of Camelot - depends on his willingness to open up to socially stigmatised affects in the colonialist, heteropatriarchal Court of his father Uther, thus risking his delegit...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | spa |
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Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad
2022
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/37381 |
| _version_ | 1838390738542395392 |
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| author | Luque, Cecilia Inés |
| author_facet | Luque, Cecilia Inés |
| author_sort | Luque, Cecilia Inés |
| collection | Portal de Revistas |
| description | The TV series Merlin (BBC, 2009-2012) is analysed to show that the fulfilment of Arthur’s Destiny - becoming the legendary king of Camelot - depends on his willingness to open up to socially stigmatised affects in the colonialist, heteropatriarchal Court of his father Uther, thus risking his delegitimization as a subject. The premise of the series is that young Pendragon’s powers as a ruler rest on the affects that define what kind of man he is and how ethical his actions are; thus, Arthur’s masculinity becomes an arena of political struggle. Between the prince and Merlin is established a strong affective relationship that takes the form of an affidamento; this bond allows Arthur to desubjugate from the hegemonic masculinity represented by his father and to empower himself to forge his own project as ruler, which no longer defines the community in terms of identity (“those who are like me”) but in terms of “grievable otherness” (“the others who may not be like me but deserve mourning all the same for being valuable lives”). From this case study I reflect on the importance of affects pertaining to male subjectivity in processes of social change. |
| format | Online |
| id | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-37381 |
| institution | Universidad Nacional de Cordoba |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-373812022-04-20T18:39:07Z Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin Afectos y desujeción en la formación de un rey. Arthur Pendragon en la serie Merlin Luque, Cecilia Inés masculinity ethics social change masculinidad ética cambio social The TV series Merlin (BBC, 2009-2012) is analysed to show that the fulfilment of Arthur’s Destiny - becoming the legendary king of Camelot - depends on his willingness to open up to socially stigmatised affects in the colonialist, heteropatriarchal Court of his father Uther, thus risking his delegitimization as a subject. The premise of the series is that young Pendragon’s powers as a ruler rest on the affects that define what kind of man he is and how ethical his actions are; thus, Arthur’s masculinity becomes an arena of political struggle. Between the prince and Merlin is established a strong affective relationship that takes the form of an affidamento; this bond allows Arthur to desubjugate from the hegemonic masculinity represented by his father and to empower himself to forge his own project as ruler, which no longer defines the community in terms of identity (“those who are like me”) but in terms of “grievable otherness” (“the others who may not be like me but deserve mourning all the same for being valuable lives”). From this case study I reflect on the importance of affects pertaining to male subjectivity in processes of social change. Se analiza la serie Merlin (BBC, 2009-2012) para mostrar que el cumplimiento del Destino de Arthur –convertirse en el legendario rey de Camelot– depende de su predisposición a abrirse a afectos socialmente estigmatizados en la Corte colonialista y heteropatriarcal de su padre Uther, arriesgándose así a su deslegitimación como sujeto. La premisa de la serie es que las potencias del joven Pendragon como gobernante descansan sobre los afectos que definen qué tipo de hombre es y qué tan éticas son sus acciones; por ende, la masculinidad de Arthur deviene arena de lucha política. Entre el príncipe y Merlin se establece una fuerte relación afectiva que toma la forma de un affidamento; ese vínculo permite a Arthur desujetarse de la masculinidad hegemónica representada por su padre y empoderarse para forjar su propio proyecto como gobernante, el cual ya no define la comunidad en términos de mismidad (“los que son como yo”) sino en términos de “alteridad llorable” (“los otros que quizás no son como yo perode todos modos merecen duelo por ser vidas valiosas”). A partir de este estudio de caso reflexiono sobre la importancia de los afectos relacionados con la subjetividad masculina en los procesos de cambio social. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad 2022-04-20 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/37381 10.31056/2250.5415.v12.n1.37381 Ética y Cine Journal; Vol. 12 Núm. 1 (2022): Transversalidad del cine; 57-69 2250-5415 2250-5660 10.31056/2250.5415.v12.n1 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/37381/37554 Derechos de autor 2022 Ética y Cine Journal https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ |
| spellingShingle | masculinity ethics social change masculinidad ética cambio social Luque, Cecilia Inés Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin |
| title | Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin |
| title_alt | Afectos y desujeción en la formación de un rey. Arthur Pendragon en la serie Merlin |
| title_full | Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin |
| title_fullStr | Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin |
| title_short | Affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king. Arthur Pendragon in the TV series Merlin |
| title_sort | affects and desubjugation in the formation of a king arthur pendragon in the tv series merlin |
| topic | masculinity ethics social change masculinidad ética cambio social |
| topic_facet | masculinity ethics social change masculinidad ética cambio social |
| url | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/37381 |
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