Page 103 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 4

Judge Hardy represents the three types of legitimate authority defined
by Max Weber: traditional, rational-legal, and charismatic. He exercises
traditional authority by serving as the guardian of absolute moral stan-
dards. His rational-legal authority is rooted in his professional status,
which empowers him to render judgments on the basis of their logical
relation to formal rules. His authority, however, is not limited to his orga-
nizational function; it also resides in his personal qualities. His charisma
is in his dignity and inner-direction, which draw others to him. The judge,
not Andy, stands at the narrative center of these films.
During the course of the films, others approach the Judge for advice
and approval. He rarely makes requests of others; instead, he deliberates
on requests made of him. Andy’s role is, in great part, to provide the
judge with occasions for moral and practical teaching. Where the judge is
self-confident, decisive, knowledgeable, and experienced, Andy is weak
in all relevant respects. Andy’s salvation lies in his desire to please and
conform, to anticipate his father’s wishes and, ultimately, to internalize
these expectations so that he will be able to act as the judge would want
him to when he becomes an adult.
What do Andy’s problems amount to? Getting to the dance, getting
the right car, getting the girl. Andy has not yet gained the vision or
the wisdom to bring order to his complicated life. He moves from one
desire to another (cars, girls, and money-making schemes) with little
sense of connection or consequence. Small problems assume an exag-
gerated importance in Andy Hardy’s world of moral certainty, because
the fundamental problems of meaning and identity are so firmly fixed
and taken for granted.
Andy knows who he is and who he wants to be: he wants to be an adult
just like his father. The plot complications in the Hardy films reflect the
distance he must travel to attain the experience and wisdom of adults.
“Sometimes I wonder if it’s all worthwhile,” Andy asks in Love Finds
Andy Hardy. Adulthood demands a kind of vision and self-control not
easily achieved. Andy will have to learn the painful lesson of traditional
adolescence, which is that his own development depends upon the sup-
port and direction of competent adults.
Andy’s problems stem from his illusion that he can go it alone. After
his schemes backfire (as they inevitably do), he professes to have learned
his lesson. However, it is usually not long before he falls back into the
myth of adolescent self-sufficiency. After his father has rescued him from
one of his ill-conceived ventures, Andy declares, “I won’t be any trouble.

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