Page 85 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 4

documentaries are blossoming like never before. There’s a real interest
in documentaries of all sorts.” 6
In like fashion, historical events can account for a genre’s loss of
popularity. For instance, shortly after the events of 9/11, reality shows
suffered a brief decline in the ratings. Two new series, The Amazing
Race (CBS) and Love Cruise (Fox), suffered from low ratings. Even
highly successful series such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC)
and Survivor (CBS) suffered slumps. During the 2001 season, the audi-
ence for Survivor had shrunk to about 22 million, 8 million fewer than
the preceding year. In January 2002 ABC canceled The Mole and aban-
7
doned plans to introduce another new series, The Runner. Media critic
Bill Carter points out that “the very notion of ‘reality’ programming
may seem contrived to viewers when compared with the tragedy and
American attacks in Afghanistan.” 8
In this post-9/11 environment, audiences preferred the comforting
worldview of sitcoms. Jeff Zucker, president of NBC entertainment,
explained, “After Sept. 11 there was a rush to familiar faces and famil-
iar friends, programs where you knew the characters and cared about
them. That’s why shows like ‘Frasier’ and ‘Raymond’ and ‘Friends’ have
prospered.” 9
Phil Rosenthal, creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, added, “Why
we’re doing so well is that there’s a renewed sense of family in the coun-
try, we’re realizing how fragile life is and we’re not taking our families
for granted—whether they’re conventional or unconventional families,
whether they’re a family of friends or co-workers.” 10

Tracing the History of a Genre

Examining the development of a genre places current versions into a
broader context. For example, TV news satires like The Daily Show have
a long tradition in America. The television era has produced a steady
supply of news spoofs like Not Necessarily the News and That Was the
Week That Was in the 1960s and Weekend Update on Saturday Night
Live beginning in 1975.
In addition, tracing the evolution of a genre over time can provide in-
sight into shifts in culture. To illustrate, quiz shows originated on the radio
during the 1930s as elitist programming and were designed to enlighten
their listeners and heighten the public’s appreciation of intellectual pur-
suits and achievements. For instance, on the hit show Information Please

70