TV in/vs. Postfeminism: Feminist Camp in 30 Rock

This chapter argues for 30 Rock (2006–2013, Creat. Tina Fey) as camp’s answer to postfeminism’s inner contradictions, such as an anti-feminist backlash and notions of sexualization as empowerment. Horn reads the series as a hybrid of feminist sitcom (e.g., Murphy Brown, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and variety show (e.g., Saturday Night Live) to account for 30 Rock’s infusion with slapstick elements. Fey’s show thereby creates a carnivalesque environment for its criticism and deliberately reverses the sidekick–lead dynamic, through which the liminal (concerning sitcoms’ representation of gender) is brought to the fore. 30 Rock thus effectively combines elements of critical distance and affective involvement to foster the audience’s detached attachment to its central female characters, which enables the show’s intervention in postfeminist sensibility.