Melodramatic media

Media and its Melodramatic

AspectsBy Nicholas Lal

Presentation Objectives

• Present two instances unrelated to the September 11th attacks that were depicted by the media using the melodramatic story telling methods depicted by Elizabeth Anker

• Present two instances using the melodramatic themes used in chapter seven of Linda William’s book Playing the Race Card

• Present two instances where Melodramatic journalism is justified

Elizabeth Anker: Villains, Victims, and Heroes• Melodrama is a mode to discuss political discourse• Enumerates five aspects of melodramatic themes in the

media depiction of the September 11th attacks:• a)Virtue by suffering is amplified by heroism• b)Roles are given to villains, victims, and saviors• c)Depicting a story of good vs evil• d)Suspense is shown before conflict is resolved• e)Images and story telling methods have clear emotional

legibility• Anker explores these themes through the melodramatic lens

of Fox News's coverage that combined telling a story that not only presented facts but in addition argued an emotional narrative for the American People to follow

Anker Example 1: WWI Recruiting

Posters• WWI recruiting posters would use depictions of

Germans as villains, citizens as victims, and men who enlist as heroes in a melodramatic method to create emotional demand for military service.

Anker Example 1: WWI Recruiting

Posters• Similar to Anker’s narrative of using media

imagery to make an emotional appeal for the virtue of the hero/victims (America) and the treachery of the villains (Al-Quada), these poster’s primary form of argument is emotional. There are unrealistic depictions of the German enemy, or appealing to women and children in distress. In the third and final poster in the previous slide, the caption reads “Daddy what did YOU do in the great war?” which argues that men should join the military as to not be cowards.

Anker Example 2: McCarthyism

• The term “McCarthyism” was coined during 1950 during when Joseph McCarthy was serving as a senator in Wisconsin due to the senator’s anti-communist activity

• The American way of life was a portrayed as a victim to American communist infiltrators

• Thousands were imprisoned or lost their jobs due to ties to communism

• In his famous Wheeling Speech, McCarthy actually takes out a supposed list of known Communists in the State Department amplifying the fear of communism by depicting Communism as an ideology infiltrating America

Anker Example 2: McCarthyism

• The primary melodramatic comparison to the melodrama discussed in Anker’s 9/11 piece is the relationship between McCarthyism and the post 9/11 creation of the PATRIOT act as well as the Bush Doctrine. The PATRIOT act similarly to McCarthyism on a domestic scale bolstered domestic spying programs on suspected enemies (terrorist and communists respectively.) The Bush Doctrine on an international scale mirrors America’s fight against communism, in that America would now take action to stop what was deemed the enemy threat all around the world. Both show the effects that melodramatic influence can have.

Anker Example 2: McCarthyism

An Anti-Communist Poster that would be associated with McCarthyisim

Linda Williams: Trials of Black vs. White

• There is a theme of Black Suffering at the hands of a white force

• A video of Rodney King being beaten by the LAPD creates sympathy for King although he was initially

• In a jury there Is ”Demeanor Evidence” where there are “perceptions of Characteristic”-267

• During the OJ Simpson trial, Simpson had “betrayed” the notion of an upwardly mobile African American who endorsed products and that the nation could get behind

Williams Example 1:Russia Imprisons “Pussy

Riot”)• Pussy Riot is a feminist rock band in Russia that promotes

LGBT rights and condemns Russian policies that discriminate against women

• Pussy Riot performed a number of “guerilla” performances in public spaces promoting their cause

• When the band conducted an impromptu performance at an Orthodox church, they were arrested for “hooliganism”

• The arrest became a media phenomena with Amnesty International calling the band “prisoners of conscience

• The trial had the notion of being more about ideology than the crime like the trial of OJ; Williams cited Jeff Rosen who said on the OJ trial that it “transcended facts.”

Williams Example 2:George Zimmerman

Trial• Neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman

followed African American teenager Travon Martin, got into an some sort of altercation with Martin and then allegedly shot and killed Martin using self defense citing Florida’s controversial stand your ground law.

• The trial received national attention with a majority of the gun rights activist community “rooting” for Zimmerman and the majority of the African American community “rooting” for justice

• While the trial discussed the facts of the case there were underlying societal notions of guns rights but chiefly race in America where the societal notion about the assumptions that Americans make concerning it’s African American teenagers.

Justified Melodrama: The Filibuster

• After President Barack Obama was elected, the use of the filibuster, traditionally used as a speech tactic to stall legislation by giving a lengthy speech was used by congressional Republicans to essentially raise the vote requirement for a bill to pass from 51 to 60. In addition the filibuster has been used to stall the proceedings in congress when making appointments for cabinet level positions.

• The political workings and motivations behind the use of the filibuster are complex and the filibuster is just one tool out of many for politicians to use however its current use is a detriment to political efficiency as well as society and therefore should be framed in a melodramatic manner to win the hearts and minds of Americans in opposition to its current practice.

Justified Melodrama:Venezuelan Protests

• Young protestors have taken to the streets in Venezuela with peaceful protests over president Nicolás Maduro and his government over a 51% inflation rate.

• The government has responded with tear gas, riot police, and armed militias accusing the protestors of terror

• Maduro’s primary political opponent Leopoldo López who has verbally supported the protests has been charged with murder and terrorism

• Melodramatic Media would be justified to bring attention of this issue and the plight of the protestors to the western world.

Venezuelan Protest Video

Citations• "Posters: World War I Posters." - Background and Scope - Prints &

Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

• The Cold War Museum. "SENATOR JOSEPH MCCARTHY, MCCARTHYISM, AND THE WITCH HUNT." Cold War Museum. Cold War Museum, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

• The Guardian. "Pussy Riot Members Demand Release of Anti-government Protesters in Russia." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 07 Feb. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

• Botelho, Greg, Grace Wong, Graham Winch, Amanda Sloane, Jonathan Anker, Anna Lanfreschi, Mariano Castillo, Chelsea J. Carter, John Couwels, and Mayra Cuevas. "George Zimmerman Found Not Guilty of Murder in Trayvon Martin's Death." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

• U.S. Senate: Reference Home Glossary Filibuster." U.S. Senate: Reference Home Glossary Filibuster. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

• "Protests Continue in Venezuela amid Growing Anger." USA Today. Gannett, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.