Page 172 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

IDEOLOGICAL APPROACH

the ideology the American Dream. Through hard work, initiative, and
free enterprise he earns riches and, if not social standing, at least some
form of notoriety within the culture.
However, at some point in the narrative, the gangster typically crosses
a moral line and is punished for his violation of the social order. This
stage of the plot sends the message that individuals must obey the law
and conform to the system.
Despite their moralistic endings, the initial ascension stage of the
narrative is often the most captivating and memorable part of the story.
For instance, in Martin Scorcese’s classic 1990 gangster film Goodfellas,
Ray Liotta’s performance as “rising” mobster Henry Hill is so mesmer-
izing that it overshadows the end of the film, which shows his demise.
The cumulative message can be characterized as follows: “High rollers”
like Ken Lay (CEO of Enron) and Dennis Kozlowski (CEO of Tyco) are
celebrated—as long as they do not get caught.

Plot

Plot conflicts often serve as an arena for competing ideologies. Some
plot conflicts are overtly political, as in the example of Ummah Defense I
discussed earlier. In addition, plot conflicts often pit the conflicting ideolo-
gies of different groups against each other. The conclusion of programs
with plot conflicts resolves these tensions and ambiguities. To illustrate,
the primary conflict is between good and evil in the action/adventure
genre. However, what constitutes good and evil may vary within this
genre. For instance, in a genric program, the good/evil distinction may
be defined by country of origin, ideology, race, gender, or class. (For
further discussion, see Chapter 3.)

Characters

In popular genres, the stock heroes are generally members of the dominant
class. In contrast, members of the working class or lower class appear
in subordinate roles, reflecting their societal role. Indeed, lower-class
characters are hardly visible, as they serve the heroes and heroines.
In many narratives, the triumph of good over evil is dependent on the
characters’ compliance with the values and goals of dominant culture.
For instance, in the Spiderman films, the superhero stands for goodness,
kindness, and fair play. In contrast, the villain of Spiderman, the Green

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