Page 153 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 6

I do not recall in my happy adult life a national vote that resulted in a 52 to
48 percent victory. Most of the “referenda” or “elections” that take place
in our region usually result in fantastic pre-fixed victories. . . . So a 52 to
48 percent outcome—even for just a song contest—is a breath of fresh
air. . . . Thank you, LBC, for allowing ordinary Arabs to show that they
are not always willing participants in the political freak shows that are the
“official elections” for president and other forms of Great Leader. 6
However, the reaction to this “election” also revealed the fundamental
mistrust of the democratic process by large segments of the society. Af-
ter the results were announced, the studio audience erupted, with many
people throwing chairs and screaming their displeasure. There was rioting
in the streets of Beirut throughout the night.
A popular genre can also be employed as an instrument in a larger
campaign to promote an ideology. In 2004, evangelical Christian groups
in the United States mounted a vigorous grassroots campaign to support
Pat Gillespie, a candidate in Showtime’s mock election reality television
series American Candidate. The Home School Legal Defense Associa-
tion sent an email “action alert” under the headline “Home School Dad
on the Front Lines,” urging its 81,000 supporters to vote for Gillespie,
whose socially conservative platform centered on his opposition to abor-
tion. The email added, “If Pat wins, he’ll be able to speak on TV for 20
minutes on any subject he chooses.” 7
In the final show, Gillespie beat Malia Lazu, 26, a liberal from Boston
with a pierced tongue. After winning, Gillespie used his speech to endorse
President Bush in the “real” election.
Genres can also serve as an arena that reflects the attitudes and beliefs
of subcultures within a society. To illustrate, American documentary film-
maker Jacqueline Salloum observes that in Israel, a strain of rap music
furnishes perspective into the experience of Palestinians living in Israel:
“In Israel, there are too many Palestinian hip-hop groups to count. They
sing about the racism and living as third-class citizens, police brutality
and wanting to be united with all Arabs around the world.” According to
8
Salloum, the rap song “Who’s the Terrorist” by the group Dam (whose
name means blood in Arabic) has become an anthem for Palestinian
teenagers. 9
Popular genres also can serve as a form of political expression in au-
thoritarian countries—often at considerable personal risk to the artists.
For instance, in February 2006, one of the bands at a rock concert in
Tehran, Iran, sang an original composition with the following lyrics:

138