Page 173 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 6

Goblin, is a cruel and sadistic villain. At the conclusion of Spiderman,
the hero prevails, even though his sense of fair play puts him at a dis-
advantage against his ruthless adversary. In the final battle, the Green
Goblin temporarily reverts back to his alter ego, Norman Osborn, and
begs Spiderman to help him control his “mental problem.” This is actually
a ploy by the Green Goblin, and Spiderman narrowly avoids a hurtling
spear that impales the Green Goblin fatally in the chest. Thus, in the ac-
tion/adventure genre, as exemplified by this film, the victory of the hero
is, in fact, a victory for the dominant culture that he represents.

Inter-genre Approach

An inter-genre approach can be employed to identify cumulative ideo-
logical messages that transcend genre. Tracing ideological messages
that appear across genres can reveal the depth and breadth of a particular
ideology. Examples of cumulative inter-genre messages include:

The Preeminence of “The System”

A number of genres absolve individuals of responsibility for their be-
havior. Environment reality shows like Survivor and Big Brother put
people in positions in which they profit at the expense of others; the rules
dictate that each week someone is eliminated. Significantly, the person
who represents the system (in this case, the jovial MC) is completely
removed from any personal accountability for what befalls the “losers.”
Journalist Virginia Heffernan observes:

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game” has become a refrain of reality
shows, an imperative so categorical that it admits no response. Shouted
from the window of a reality mansion, or out the window of a reality
limousine, it means something like—and paraphrase is murder—“Don’t
blame me because I’m better than you; it’s the system that’s unfair.” 53

In like fashion, the system reigns supreme in contemporary crime dra-
mas. In the past, television crime dramas featured “lone wolf” detectives
solving cases on their own. Indeed, in the Dirty Harry detective films
(see chapter 2) Harry Callihan (Clint Eastwood) faced two adversaries:
criminals and the bureaucrats who put procedural obstacles in his way.
But unlike the older generation of detective shows, contemporary

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