"Currently, television series -especially Anglo-Saxon ones- have become one of the most influential products of popular culture, exhibiting an unprecedented balance between art and industry". This is the opinion of Alberto N. García, professor of the School of Communication of the University of Navarra, on the occasion of the international meeting 'Identity and emotions in contemporary television series', of which he is the scientific coordinator .

Some thirty experts from the UK, Germany, Denmark, the USA, Belgium and Spain are participating in this meeting organized by the project 'Emotional culture and identity' of the Institute for Culture and Societywhich is supported by sponsorship from Zurich Insurance. It will be held on October 25 and 26 at the Amigos Building of the campus Pamplona.

According to Professor García, "it is no coincidence that right now television series are the realm of the screenwriter; long-running stories are engaging because of the complexity of their human conflicts(Breaking Bad, Homeland) and the narrative daring of the plots(Lost, Game of Thrones). They are stories that are part of the canon of an entire generation, so their influence on other arts will be seen sooner or later."

The rise of the antihero

On the other hand, the professor of Communication and partner of the ICS highlights a distinctive feature of current series: the rise of the antihero, which he considers a reflection of society. "We live in cynical, pessimistic times, where heroism is always under suspicion," he says.

Along with these aspects, he points out two other reasons. First," he argues, "it is an attempt to differentiate itself from traditional television. Since The Sopranos was such a success, many other channels explored the same subject contradictory protagonist: characters that combine a criminal, wild or lying life with another familiar facet that 'redeems' them in the eyes of the viewer. In that moral ambiguity is the protagonist of Homeland, for example".

On the other hand, he points out that the serial format -expanding a story for a long issue hours- "allows us to immerse ourselves in all the edges of the complexity of the antihero". Thus, he explains that "we see him in domestic spheres, with his children, in environments far from that other professional face that turns these characters into repulsive beings".

Precisely, Alberto N. García will talk about the question of the antihero in a discussion paper of the international meeting . In addition, the other speakers will address topics such as the role of women in the series, metaphors and anthropology in The Walking Dead, and love, fear and desire in horror series, among others.

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