Producing Awkwardness: Affective Labour and Masculinity in Popular Culture

Under neoliberalism, the relation between awkward affect and normative masculinity can be understood through two contrasting models. Awkward relations may be evoked to be contained and managed, a model exemplified by the series Impractical Jokers. The series Louie, however, showcases an awkwardness revealing the potential for new kinds of gendered relations.