Page 131 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 5

States lands him in the middle of a plot to take over the office after the
president has suffered a debilitating stroke. The appearance of actual
politicians such as the former speaker of the House Tip O’Neill and bona
fide journalists Sander Van Oker and Helen Thomas adds an authenticity
to the story that further blends fiction and reality.
Indeed, the influence of the media has become so pervasive that popular
genres dictate how the public thinks about real life. TV news programs
now cover significant events such as the deaths of Pope John II and
Terri Schiavo as though they were reality shows—in effect, converting
real life into a reality show. Conversely, TV news programs now devote
considerable attention to celebrity “news,” such as the Michael Jackson
trial or the breakup of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.
According to columnist Frank Rich, the early popular support for the
war in Iraq was largely a result of the Bush administration’s strategy of
promoting the conflict within the context of the war genre. Bush tagged
Saddam as a villainous “evildoer” and positioned the United States as
heroic “liberators.” Rich explains: “The president has made a tic of
hammering in melodramatic movie tropes: good vs. evil, you’re with
us or you’re with the terrorists, ‘wanted dead or alive,’ ‘bring ’em on,’
‘mission accomplished.’” 20
Ironically, by explaining this conflict in terms of the war genre, Bush
established expectations among the public for a simple, formulaic “happy
ending.” Consequently, the protracted period of “insurgency” and grow-
ing list of U.S. casualties has led to a general disenchantment with the
war. Rich continues:

Mr. Bush has flubbed the basic storytelling essential to sustain public
support for his Iraq adventure. . . . When you relay a narrative in that
style, the audience expects you to stick to the conventions of the genre;
the story can end only with the cavalry charging in to win the big final
battle. . . . By contrast, Mr. Bush never marshaled the number of troops
needed to guarantee Iraq’s security and protect its borders; he has now
defined “mission accomplished” down from concrete victory to the incho-
ate spreading of democracy. To start off sounding like Patton and end up
parroting Woodrow Wilson is tantamount to ambushing an audience at a
John Wayne movie with a final reel by Frank Capra. 21

Worldview

What kind of world is depicted in soap operas or horror/suspense novels?
Every genre presents its own distinct worldview that attracts its intended

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