 "Photo: Courtsey www.televisionheaven.co.uk/dawsonscreek.htm")
Analyzing a teen dramedy is not exactly your run-of-the-mill candidate for a master's thesis.
Beyond the surface of cliché teenage angst and self-absorbedness, how much deeper can one delve into the lives of TV teenyboppers?
Through the eyes of University of Massachusetts doctoral student Lori Bindig, the miscellaneous rendezvous of the cast of "Dawson's Creek" could not have been a more perfect fit.
While going for her masters in communication at the University of Hartford, Bindig was struggling to come up with an idea for her master's thesis. She approached Jack Banks, assistant professor of communication at the University of Hartford, for a helping hand.
"I was always interested in femininity," said Bindig. She was debating between basing her thesis on either eating disorders or fashion model Twiggy.
Professor Banks scoffed at the notion of Bindig mounting her thesis on the '60s mod icon. Despite being shot down, Bindig welcomed Banks' forthcoming proposal with open arms.
Banks was well aware of Bindig's love for "Dawson's Creek" and suggested it become her master's thesis. Needless to say, Bindig was beyond thrilled.
"It was kind of surreal," she said, her piercing blue eyes lighting up with excitement. "A lot of people thought I was crazy. Like, is she really going to school for this? They thought I looked more like a character than a researcher."
It doesn't really come as a surprise. With her wholesome charm, straight dirty blonde hair and bubbly personality, Bindig herself could come straight out of an episode.
The stereotypes only gave her more incentive to slam her cheeky disparagers.
"People said to me, 'Who cares?' but I think the issues that go on within the show are deeply important and I really wanted to convey that," she said.
So, Bindig set to work, putting in endless hours of episode-watching and note-taking, filling up a respectable six notebooks for each of the seasons.
Her note-taking lead to a master's thesis centered around four primary themes: gender, race, sex and consumerism.
Gender representation is clearly Bindig's preferred topic and, as she pointed out, is likewise distorted throughout the show.
"The title of the show leads viewers to believe the show is about the journey of a boy named Dawson Leery, when in fact the only character in every episode is [Dawson's best friend/off-and-on love interest], Joey Potter," she said.
The series shines the spotlight on Joey's path of finding true love, be it with Dawson, the boy across the creek, or Pacey, the alluringly witty troublemaker from the wrong side of the tracks.
Why, then, is the show entitled "Dawson's Creek?"
Bindig's take on it relates back to a common stereotype of women - the inability to function without their fair share of testosterone.
"Joey is a tomboy, and the tomboy is not supposed to be recognizable," she said. "Once Dawson saw her in makeup at a beauty pageant, he knew he loved her."
What worried Bindig was how Dawson realized he loved Joey. It took makeup and a fancy dress to wake him up from his oblivion - not brains and beauty.
Bindig believed this stereotype acted in accordance with Joey's academic stature. She was portrayed as an exceeding intelligent young woman yet was so dependent on Dawson. She relied on him for college tuition and, when offered the opportunity to go to Paris, declined because Dawson asked her not to go.
The racier topic of sex plays a vital role in gender throughout the show. The women were put under severe constraints while the men basically had the liberty to be concubines without repercussions.
"The first homosexual kiss on primetime television took place on Dawson's Creek, involving the openly gay character Jack McPhee," said Bindig.
"The boys in the show had sex without consequences," she said. "The girls suffered more. Jen [Lindley] was labeled as a slut. In the end, they kill her off. It shows that the pure good girl [Joey] gets the man but still has to follow certain rules to get there."
Now, the question on everybody's mind - how on earth did this culminate in a book?
"I was talking to a friend about my master's thesis and they said, 'Hey that's a great book idea,'" she said. "At that point, it became one of my goals."
While at a conference in May 2005, Bindig used an example from her "Dawson's Creek" thesis. A publisher overheard Bindig's example and was considerably intrigued by the prospect of a teen dramedy serving as the main course for a master's thesis.
Bindig forwarded all 302 pages to her publisher and shortly thereafter received feedback.
"I put it off until I attended another conference," she said. "The same woman I'd met at the last one introduced me to a man who forwarded my thesis to Lexington Books."
On Oct. 28, 2006, Bindig was engaging in a routine e-mail check when she came across one from Lexington Books, offering her a book contract. A year later, her book was published.
"I thought it would never happen," she said. "If someone would have come up to me and told me I was going to publish a book on 'Dawson's Creek,' I would have called them crazy."
Despite being on cloud nine, Bindig knows that not everyone will be wild about her work.
Surf the Web via Amazon.com and scroll through the comments on Bindig's book, "Dawson's Creek: A Critical Understanding."
One boldly reads, "I do not recommend reading this book unless you are a hard core feminist and not a fan of Dawson's Creek."
This came as a blow to Bindig, being the devout fan she is.
"I am a huge fan - I love the show," she said. "I still, in my heart, want Dawson and Joey to be together. I have the promo poster of season five hanging on my wall. Reading the review upset me. I wasn't being mean to the show. Just because you love something doesn't mean you can't critique it and look at it closely.
"What upset me the most is that person said I messed up my research, which is crazy because I saw all of the episodes a million times plus two," she said.
So, what is next on this vivacious grad student's agenda?
Rumor has it there is another critical novel in the works - this time focusing on the recently deceased teen phenomenon "The O.C."
This time around, she has a partner in crime -friend and grad student Andrea Bergstrom.
"It will be the same sort of analysis, only adding an audience component," she said. "When 'The O.C.' took off, the Internet and fan sites became more established, so I definitely think it's important to add an audience component."
More than anything, Bindig urges people to understand that such "guilty pleasures" as "Dawson's Creek" and "The O.C." are more than culminations of petty relationships and sexual urges.
The only thing such shows are "guilty" of are being landmarks in television history.
Heather Waxman can be reached at hwaxman@student.umass.edu.
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