Page 136 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CULTURAL CONTEXT

bers. Thus, popular genres, including the “buddy” stories, Westerns, and
the war genre provide safe arenas that permit intimacy without raising
concerns about sexuality.
As genres target younger audiences, age increasingly influences the
worldview of popular genres. (For further discussion, see Chapter 8.)
For instance, in the reality show Real World (MTV), the cast members,
all in their early twenties, live together in a house. Older adults appear
only fleetingly in the series, as when Frankie receives a visit from her
mother and stepfather.
Moreover, a popular genre features adults like Adam Sandler, Rob
Schneider, and Tom Arnold, who behave like adolescents. In Dumb and
Dumber (1994), Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels play nerds who, though
technically adults, face all of the problems of teenagers: trying to fit in
(the “joke” is that they actually think that they are cool), and finding
girlfriends. Like awkward pubescent boys at a dance, they are much more
comfortable hanging out with each other than members of the opposite
sex. They even dress like young kids.
In addition, the worldviews of many popular genres, including
action/adventure, Westerns, police dramas, and war genres operate at
an adolescent level of development. This worldview is defined by ab-
solutes: Good Guys verses Bad Guys. This is a direct world, in which
diplomacy and negotiation are supplanted by a good beating. Heroes like
the Rock and Vin Diesel triumph because of their physical dominance.
Ivry speculates about why this adolescent fantasy is so popular with adult
males: “Maybe these Peter Pan comedies are popular because they’re
wish-fulfillments, too. Or maybe it’s just because they appeal to the inner
dork in all men.” 29

International Perspectives

Many popular genres are transcultural, appearing in countries through-
out the world. The escalating international presence of popular genres
coincides with the development of many national media systems. For
instance, in 2005 India emerged as the third-highest satellite and cable
television subscriber base in the world (after China and the United States).
Between 2000 and 2005, the number of cable and television channels
increased from 165 to more than 250, and the total audience grew from 30
million to 61 million. Moreover, an episode of the popular quiz program
30
Kaun Banega (a version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) attracted ap-

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