New Masculinities in Tell Me a Story’s Nick Sullivan (2018–): The Toxic Geek Werewolf

Abstract

[eng] In Gothic audiovisual productions, werewolves’ masculinity has constantly been subjected to rigorous scrutiny within the field of Cultural and Gender Studies. Hence, on account of the recent release and the little attention paid to new Williamson’s TV series Tell Me a Story (2018–), this paper will examine the representation and development of Nick Sullivan, the shapeshifting character in “Little Red Riding Hood”, throughout the first season. Not only will Nick’s performativity be analysed according to geek and toxic masculinity, but he will also be compared both physically and performatively to the most outstanding lycanthropes in popular culture. At last, the results will show that although Nick legitimises some stereotypical features of former werewolves such as the sexualisation of the male body, by depicting him as a blonde-haired and blue-eyed geek, the rejection of previous colonial stereotypes is reinforced. Moreover, Nick’s evident toxic masculinity challenges the romanticised use of violence improperly defined as protection in youth culture, defining the audiovisual as a criticism against the normalisation of toxic performative acts that can conclude in criminal cases.