Page 83 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 4

genres, even if the events are not explicitly mentioned in the programs.
For instance, various episodes of the sitcom Friends included indirect
references to the events of 9/11. Characters would sometimes wear caps
reading “N.Y.F.D.” or “N.Y.P.D.” In addition, “I Love New York” stickers
and an American flag decorated the characters’ apartments.
Moreover, the study of genre can add to our understanding of histori-
cal events. Historical genres and biographies provide information about
significant events and figures. To illustrate, the British reality program
The Autopsy (BBC Channel 4) shows actual autopsies on the air. How-
ever shocking, this series is actually a continuation of public autopsies,
which were popular forms of public entertainment in sixteenth-century
Britain. British physicians were accorded the right to dissect in 1565; in
fact, dissections were sometimes ordered by judges to add to a criminal’s
punishment. When placed within a historical context, this series reflects
people’s longstanding fascination with violence, gore, and death.
However, popular genres may also distort historical events for dramatic
purposes. Docudramas routinely alter historical events for dramatic em-
phasis. As an example, Braveheart (1995) starred Mel Gibson as William
Wallace, the thirteenth-century Scottish patriot who lead the resistance
against British rule. However, historian George MacDonald Fraser finds
the film to be an inaccurate portrait of the period:

Braveheart commits as many historical errors as can well be contained
in 170 minutes. . . . It gives a misleading picture of the man and his back-
ground, distorts history shamelessly and often risibly, and presents the
knightly hero as an unkempt peasant. A footnote to the film admits that
‘certain incidents portrayed have been dramatised’; it would have been
fairer to say that they have been thoroughly misrepresented. 3

According to Fraser, the film contains the following historical inac-
curacies:

• It features a love affair between Wallace and Isabella, daughter-in-
law of Edward I. In fact, she was an infant at the time.
• It depicts Edward II as a significant figure during this time period.
In actuality, he was only thirteen years old when the events of the
movie unfolded.
• It operates on the premise that Scotland had endured one hundred
years of brutal occupation by England. However, the countries actu-
ally had been at peace for most of the previous century.

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