Page 171 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 6

halcyon existence, spared the complications that plague the upper class.
However, it is doubtful that people who are struggling to make ends
meet would regard their lives as “simple.” The word “simple” is also a
condescending slap at the mentality of blue-collar workers, suggesting
an intellectual inferiority. The inference is that, somehow, rich people
are intrinsically superior and deserve the rewards of wealth.
The humor of The Simple Life is based on the premise that the women
are delightfully unsuited for these menial jobs. In one episode, they fail
to install computer chips properly in a plant. They end up goofing off,
covering themselves in bubble wrap, and get in trouble. However, the
joke is not that they are incompetent but, rather, that the tasks assigned
to them are really not important or meaningful. Ultimately, however, the
heiresses have the last laugh; they climb back up the social ladder when
they are done, leaving the “simple life” behind.

Structure

The formulaic structure of a genre can furnish clues about its ideology.
For instance, the structure of the action/adventure genre is essentially
conservative. The conventional plot operates according to the formula
of order/chaos/order. Initially, the world exists in a state of harmony.
However, almost immediately some problem, such as a troublemaker or
natural disaster, disrupts this initial tranquility. Most of the remainder
of the plot focuses on the restoration of order, which is achieved at the
conclusion of the program. Thus, this world is reactionary; it does not
require change but changing back to the status quo.
The population of this world (and by extension, the audience) longs for
some form of authoritarianism—either a more efficient law enforcement
system or a protector who goes outside the system to punish wrongdoers.
John Rash, senior vice president and director for broadcast negotiations
at Campbell Mithun, said the arrival of a fourth Law & Order (NBC)
underlined the strength of “cop culture as pop culture,” because those
series offer a special form of escapism: “control, a clean resolution in an
untidy world, from crime to incarceration in 60 minutes.” 52
The structure of the gangster genre conveys mixed ideological mes-
sages, as reflected in the rise and fall of the hero. Films such as The
Public Enemy (1931) and The Roaring Twenties (1939) spotlight the
spectacular early success of a gangster, played by Jimmy Cagney. Even
though this antihero is breaking the law, in many respects he epitomizes

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