Page 94 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

During the 2005 season of the dramatic series West Wing, an ongoing
storyline focused on a senior aide to the president of the United States
facing indictment for leaking classified secrets to the media, and a jour-
nalist being jailed for refusing to reveal the source’s identity. This plot
paralleled the real-life CIA leak investigation that led to the indictment
of the vice president’s chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, and the
imprisonment of Judith Miller, a reporter for the New York Times. Execu-
tive producer John Wells explained, “We got interested in the idea of,
what is the responsibility inside the White House for taking individual
responsibility for leaking? How does leaking work? Why do people do
it?” In fact, the climax of the West Wing storyline was timed to coin-
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cide with the actual announcement of indictments in October by special
prosecutor Peter Fitzgerald.

Character

Historical events may also influence the character development of popular
genres. To illustrate, in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, DC comics pro-
duced a new line of comics, In the Line of Duty. Instead of a superhero
or sophisticated James Bond, the comics featured everyday heroes such
as firefighters and police officers.
In addition, several dramatic series featured characters who were
“average guys”—the types who served so heroically in the aftermath
of the attack. These heroes had all been wounded—either physically or
emotionally—by the 9/11 attack. In the TV drama CSI: New York, Mac
Taylor (Gary Sinise) is a character whose wife had been killed during the
terrorist attack. Consequently, his character is emotionally withdrawn,
which TV critic David Kronke describes as “Sinise’s bottled quietude;
he barely speaks above a whispered monotone.” 25
Rescue Me (2004) is the story of a character who also has been af-
fected by this historical event. Firefighter Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) is
emotionally traumatized, a result of losing his partner while they fought
to contain the fires ignited when the planes crashed into the Twin Tow-
ers. In the series, Gavin has become an alcoholic and has lost custody
of his children. Periodically in the show, he has hallucinations of his
dead partner. Within the context of the program, these character flaws
make Gavin’s efforts to serve the people of the city of New York even
more admirable.
Examining the evolution of genric stock characters can signal corre-

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