Feminism Perspective on Bridgerton Drama Series

On December 25, 2020, Netflix released a classic TV Series "Bridgerton".Running for eight episodes, the series is based on the popular novel by Julia Quinn, which has made it 19 times on the New York Times bestselling author list.Bridgerton tells the story of an aristocratic English family community in the 1813 era in London when the matchmaking period arrived.Every year noble families will attend a formal event to introduce their daughters to Queen Charlotte to be chosen as brides by an elite noble family.It is interesting to see how upperclass British women in the 19th century are depicted in this drama series using the theory of multicultural feminism which is based on the view that all women are not equally constructed.But it depends on race and class, as well as sexual tendencies, age, religion, educational attainment, occupation, marital status, and health conditions.This research will use semiotic analysis from Charles S. Pierce.Pierce's analysis model is known as the triangle of meaning and consists of a sign, an object, and the last interpretant.Simple quantitative research was also conducted.The conclusion of this research is, although the director has made significant breakthroughs by using multi-racial actors for the elite British nobility in the Regency era, the director seems to be fixated on this drama novel which illustrates that women do not have the autonomy to determine their own lives.To determine the life of a woman requires authorization from an older brother or father as patriarch in the family.In addition, the depiction of women as gossipers reinforces the ideology of misogyny, women do not like other women by gossiping through the gossip column.