TV’s War on Crime
and on Terror
(and a Football Game)
February 3rd Tutorial
Tuesday Tutorials: 05 (2:30pm) and 10 (3:30pm)
mtozer13@schulich.yorku.ca
Agenda
 Superbowl
 Chapter 18
 Exam Review
 If time, TV Reader Review
Superbowl
 Patriots won
 Pregame
 Obama
 Soldiers life-stories
 Fighter Jets
 National Anthem (soldiers)
 Estimated 114.4 million viewers
 Relate it to Chapter 18 TV reader
 Top Ads from Superbowl
Superbowl – what did you see?
TV Reader Review

Cop/Crime Shows
 Went from film to TV genre, became popular in the 1970s

Factors
1. US Federal Government attempt to make policing a profession rather than a job
2. Social and economic crisis of the 70s characterized by rising crime and North
American anxiety
 Neo-liberalism – transformed North American political landscape

CSI – one of the most popular TV series in the last 10 years
 Combines elements of the police procedural with the scientific detective story
 Show police as members of families cops are ‘just like us’
TV Reader Review

The image of war presented by the media obscures it’s reality, war is constructed by TV
networks as entertainment to attract a mass audience into the ad flow.

Since 9/11 the commercial TV news has done a poor job of offering a critical perspective of
why the attacks happened

War in Iraq and Afghanistan were heavily promoted by TV news networks.

After 9/11, military goals were supported by action adventure TV dramas like 24

Also cleverly incorporates elements of the conspiracy genre by representing sinister US
business and state elite working hand in hand with terrorists behind the public’s back to
enrich themselves
TV Reader Review: Ch. 9

CSI, successful show, often in top 10 rating, (first episode premiered on CBS to 17.3
million viewers)

Understand how CSI circulates images and offers meanings that assert moral authority of
the police and science
Television Crime Drama

Television circulates the cultural images through which we understand aspects of our
social world ranging from out own identities to our concepts of right and wrong.

Since the beginning of TV, Crime Drama has been a prevalent genre.

Today police are hero’s and lawyers are villains who impede their quest for justice.

Producers want to attract large audiences and tend to offer programs that reflect cultural
beliefs and sentiments about crime shared by audiences

CSI provides an interpretative framework for understanding the moral authority of the
police and of science
TV Reader Review: Ch. 9
The Television Crime Genre:
CSI: Episode 202 – The Team treats me like a family.

Emphasis on violent crime -72% of crimes depicted during CSI’s first season were violent, 64%
involved murder.

Murder is crime genre staple

Murder is emotional hook, entails the loss of life and symbolizes threat to the social order.

Emotional hooks are constructed around personal involvement narratives.
 Crime as a threat to ourselves, to our families and fundamental moral values.

Creates characters we can identify with.

CSI female characters have same duties and abilities as male counterparts, intelligence is as
important as physical strength.

Story tensions and disagreements reflect “police family” dimensions, characters are respectful of
each other and at end, agree to continue discussion over a beer after work

Police family resonate with the audience because it normalizes the characters who are like our
own families.
TV Reader Review: Ch. 9
CSI

CSI’s Forensic Science rehabilitates science by making it appear to stand for the truth and
proves who the criminal is.

CSI has long been characterized by a sense of realism

CSI privileges the accuracy of physical evidence, which solves the case.

Science provides the police and the audience with an understanding of the crime and the
criminal.

CSI has complicated plots, but right and wrong usually portrayed as straightforward
matters
TV Reader Review: Ch. 15
9/11 disruptions

After the attacks of September 11, traditional forms of entertainment had to reinvent their place in
U.S. life and culture.

Nonstop commercial free coverage, lasted for full week on major networks, contributed to feeling
of estrangement

Industry leaders unsure what audiences wanted

had to balance their own public image as discriminating custodians or culture with the
changes of public taste


Movies pulled, shows cancelled, big events post-posted (Emmy Awards)
Light entertainment and "diversions" of all kinds also didn't feel right. Humorists Dave
Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and Jon Stewart met late-night audiences with dead
seriousness.

Sept 15, news anchors said” it was national duty for them to return to normal everyday TV
schedule”

Television industry had lost approx. $320 million in advertising revenue in the week following
attacks
TV Reader Review: Ch. 15
After 9/11

TV’s transition back to normal consumer entertainment was enacted largely through rerunning historical movies and TV series that ran through a number of genres – these were
both familiar and familiarizing tales of “American Experience”

What did this “familiar” provide? Can bring about a sense of national belonging and
community

Historical documentaries helped return things (society) back to the way the were pre-9/11
– part of “repurposing”

The West Wing was in difficult position, it derives its “quality” appeal from its “timely
relevance” and realism (set in White House universe – similar to House of Cards)

Bush Administration spoke of essential goodness of American people and that they were
victims of pure outside evil
TV Reader Review: Ch. 15
After 9/11

Media portraits of heroism were mainly of men

Daytime talk shows and nighttime news were filled with melodramatic tales of women’s
“suffering” that depict women as the oral victims of Islamic extremism

Bush used the theme of “suffering” in first televised address before congress saying
women in Afghanistan are not allowed to go to school – also spoke of the threat that
terrorism posed on American freedom – this was powerful emotional ploy through which he
connected his own war plan to a sense of moral righteousness and virtue (he also never
spoke of these women before that day)

CNN aired Beneath the Veil that depicts abuses of Afghanis women. It was rerun so many
times, it became a sort of daily ritual

Event TV and Celebrity Citizenship became extremely important in enabling sense of
national identity, America: A Tribute to Hero’s and the Emmy’s used as a platform
TV Reader Review: Ch. 15
Media After 9/11

it is likely that many viewers really did know that all the newfound patriotism was really just
a public performance staged by cameras.

During the America: A Tribute to Heroes, celebrities were gathered around Willie Nelson to
sing the national anthem, but it appeared as if they did not know the words of the anthem.
Seen squinting at teleprompters trying to read lyrics

Within a month post 9/11, irony was back in vogue, especially on late-night TV, but
increasingly also on entertainment programs.
Osama Bin Laden Meets South Park Kids
 Mimics the way in which news coverage of the war seems to make people increasingly incapable of
knowing what’s going on – South Park character underscores this when he says “I’m confused”

9/11 did provoke counter-narratives and political dialogues. Made people aware of new
prospects for communication in a rapidly changing media environment. Internet made this
more easily accessible.
TV Reader Review: Ch. 16
Interrogating 24: Making Sense of US Counter-Terrorism in the Global War on Terrorism
 Criticized for it’s depiction of torture and interrogation
 Focuses explicitly on the dangers posed to the US by terrorists.
 Narratives produced by 24 work together to normalize the existence of a terrorist threat and causes
the heroes to do whatever it takes to take them down.

Example of MIMENET?
Themes of 24
 In the world of 24 LA is a very dangerous place
 Car bombs, chemical attacks, hostage takings – all the result of terrorism
 Threats involve weapons of mass destruction
 Violent death is possible any time in any place
 Same way that Bush said today’s terrorists can strike at any place, any time and with any weapon
 Threat of terrorism is immediate, throughout every moment of the series are ticking clocks, counting
the minutes left until the execution, reactors explode or missiles hit LA
TV Reader Review: Ch. 18
Some Notes on Televised Team Sports in America

Sports entertainment has long served the economic goals of the American colleges

After Yale hired a professional coach and won over Harvard for first time, US college sports
were divorced from the educational mission for which they were founded and primarily used
as a source of additional revenue and public promotion

College sports one of most important forms of entertainment in US

In the US and Canada, they were not only shaped by the imperatives of capitalism, but also to
instilling capitalist values in players

Popularity of college football built up largely from newspaper industry and later Radio
TV Reader Review: Ch. 18
Some Notes on Televised Team Sports in America

College football first broadcasting in 1922

The rising popularity of professional hockey among working class spectators and businessmen team owners
lead to creation of NHL in 1917


Radio broadcasting of hockey began in 1933
In late 1936, CBC was founded and became the national carrier of the Hockey Night in Canada show.

The first TV broadcast in North America was on NBCs experimental station

Limitations of technology prevented full-field coverage of team sporting events until the use of multiple
cameras, invention of video tape and development of satellite transmission

In addition to TV changing the economics of the team sports industries in significant ways, it has
also changed the way the games are played (TV timeouts)

Televised sporting events are multi-billion dollar industry (TV contracts)

Super bowl biggest American sporting event – advertisers will spend millions of dollars on 30 second
ad-spot. Almost bigger than the game itself

Apple Superbowl Ad
Domestic Violence Ad
TV Reader Review: Ch. 18
TV sports as a popular genre and ideological form

TV sport combines news and public service programming with spectacle and epic drama - Also
entails elements of myth and ritual

Endless array of statistical data that sports broadcaster provide gives the audience a feeling of being
part of the conversation

Outcome of games are always uncertain – makes sports popular

Sports can stimulate feelings of pride as well as hostility

Television sports also partakes in the culture of celebrity – stardom serves as a product
differentiation for owners

Also offers a certain model of “masculinity”

Sports stars can embody the dominate values of society: patriarchy, profit and empire
Summary:
TV Reader Review: Ch. 18

Over last 60 years, TV has had a big impact on development of team sports in North America

Televised sport has greatly increased its share of programming among differ types of TV shows
available.

It is a multi-billion dollar benefit to the professional leagues in North American and to college football
and basketball in the US.

It provides ideal platform for the celebration of the consumer society and the sales effort required by
modern corporate capitalism. (Capitalism is an economic system in which trade, industries, and
the means of production are largely or entirely privately owned and operated for profit.)

The presence of TV has also changed the game themselves, which have had to adapt themselves
to the interruptions that advertising requires.

A truly symbolic relationship has developed between commercial and corporate TV broadcasting on
the one hand and a number of spectator-based professional team sports in North America on the
other.
Exam

The format of the exam has not changed. Movies shown in class could definitely (and
probably will) be on the exam.

The additional notes and links to other movie clips are supplementary information to
(hopefully) help solidify some of the ideas presented in that weeks topic. They also
tend to be referenced in the readings.

For example, although we did not watch Full Metal Jacket, it was mentioned in the
readings, and demonstrates one way Hollywood reacted to The Vietnam War (antiwar, from the perspective of soldiers), and differs from the significance of Heart's and
Minds (multi-perspective).

In short, focus you study efforts on the readings and how they relate to and/or are
exemplified by the films/programs watch in class.

Look for major themes, look at syllabus and headings for that weeks class. Joe may
create 1-2 questions per week, to total 5-10, so just be aware of this.
Exam – What Joe mentioned
1. Spy narratives and their relationship to The Cold War
2. Hollywood’s response to the Vietnam war, How Hearts and Minds contrasts typical
films about Vietnam war
1. The General representation of Vietnam War (I think this hints to the importance of the war
being televised)
2. Look at Ryan and Kellner in Film Reader
3. America’s resistance to Public Broadcasting (commercial broadcasters resentment
and fear), and the long fight for Public broadcasting services
4. Representation of African Americans in television. Racism that occurred in American
cinema and Television programs. Color Adjustment.
5. Sports and Politics – Not Just a Game. We watched Superbowl, what was shown?
6. CSI and other crime shows – the importance of these shows.
7. TV War on terror (24) and TV Reader 9,15,16
Some Review Questions
1.
What is the relationship between The Cold War, Espionage Narratives and television
programs such as I Spy and Mission impossible?
2.
What was the Vast Wasteland, and what did broadcasters do as a result?
3.
Discuss the relationship of the Televised Vietnam War on American television and cinema.
4.
How did Hollywood react to the Vietnam War, and discuss the significance of Peter
Davis's Hearts and Minds?
5.
Discuss the significance of the Public Broadcasting Act, the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, and the Public Broadcasting Service. Explain the importance of public
broadcasted shows such as Sesame Street and Eyes on the Prize.
6.
Discuss the importance of the televised Civil Rights Movement, and the impact it had for
African American’s in television? What is the significance of Color Adjustment and, what is
it critiquing?
7.
Discuss the significance of Televised team sports, and how it relates to Not Just a Game,
and the Super bowl. How does televised team sports relate to politics?
Some Review Questions
1.

What is the relationship between The Cold War, Espionage Narratives and television
programs such as I Spy and Mission impossible?
Briefly Discuss Cold War (1947-1991): (Could Include)
 Cold War espionage describes the intelligence gathering activities during the Cold
War between the US (CIA) and the Soviet Union (KGB). Because each side was preparing to
fight the other, intelligence on the opposing side's intentions, military, and technology was of
paramount importance. To gather this information, the two relied on a wide variety of military
and civilian agencies.

Discuss Espionage Narratives:
 Espionage Narratives, a genre of stories involving spys and spying as an important context or
plot device, emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between
the major world powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence. It was given new
impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead-up to World-War II, and
continued to develop during the Cold War as potent threats to Western societies.

Stories like Ian Flemming’s James Bond was extremely popular in the United Kingdom.
However, often these characters are depicted as “handsome intelligent man who use skills to
keep democracy safe” and this contradicts real-life spies.
Some Review Questions
1.
What is the relationship between The Cold War, Espionage Narratives and television
programs such as I Spy and Mission impossible?
US intelligence agencies

The US did not have a permanent intelligence agency outside of the military or the domestic
police service until after WWII

The FBI continued to engage in domestic spying while the CIA was charged with foreign
intelligence gathering

During the cold war, the CIA grew into a large bureaucracy that competed against its
counterpart in soviet union vast intelligence community
US Intelligence Agencies:
 First American intelligence organization was the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) in 1882
 1885 Military Intelligence Division (MID)
 1908 American federal government founded the Bureau of Investigation (BOI)
 Later became federal bureau of investigation (FBI) 1935
 Responsible for uncovering existence & actives of German spies in US & other parts of America
 Office of strategic services became central intelligence agency (CIA)
Some Review Questions
1.
What is the relationship between The Cold War, Espionage Narratives and television
programs such as I Spy and Mission impossible?
American Politicians were concerned with how Americans were being presented around the
world, such as in I Spy and Mission Impossible
Spy Narratives of the 1960’s
 In the 60’s comedic spies were introduced while using satire to poke fun at the intelligence
community

“I Spy” starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp were two American spies who travelled the world
disguised as tennis pro and his trainer
Some Review Questions
1.
What is the relationship between The Cold War, Espionage Narratives and television
programs such as I Spy and Mission impossible?
I Spy

The show was notable for a few reasons
1) Its’s use of foreign locations, which added a sense of realism to the shows
2) and the casting of Bill Cosby (first African American to be cast in a leading role in a dramatic
series

Civil rights movement – received praise from NAACP, and others in the states, – pissed off the
right people (southern states)


In some southern cities NBC affiliates refused to air the program, Georgia, Florida, Alabama.

Bill Cosby’s character is what Herman Gray called a civil rights subject. Uses this character to rewrite the racial issues that are happening in the USA and make it look like a tolerant place
The message was that racial conflicts, which were an embarrassment to the US during the Cold
War, were essentially over.
Some Review Questions
1.
What is the relationship between The Cold War, Espionage Narratives and television
programs such as I Spy and Mission impossible?
Mission: Impossible
 Was the longest running and most popular spy show of this period and was quite different from
the other spy programs



Unlike “I Spy” the heroes were hired as mercenaries or hired guns

The team is called the Mission Impossible Force and the government never acknowledged its
assistance publically


Although the show is fictional it insinuates that covert operations teams exist
To avoid offending foreign countries the stories were set in fictional countries
The team leader is assigned an assignment at the beginning of each show assembling a team of
mercenaries
The show became accepted abroad and was distributed to a total of ninety countries
Some Review Questions
4.
How did Hollywood react to the Vietnam War, and discuss the significance of Peter
Davis's Hearts and Minds?

Discuss the Vietnam war (key points gives context)

Hollywood’s Reaction

Significance of Hearts and Minds vs other films
Some Review Questions
4.
How did Hollywood react to the Vietnam War, and discuss the significance of Peter
Davis's Hearts and Minds?

Discuss the Vietnam war (key points gives context)

Very basic: Vietnam War was a war fought between the communist Viet Cong from North Vietnam,
and the democratic South Vietnamese, who the United States was trying to protect from expanding
communist threat.

Only American war that did NOT end in victory

Vietnam war was first televised war

At first public & news was pro-war and behind argument that this was a major conflict of the Cold War,
that America needed to win to stop the spread of Communism.

However, later (due to televised images) realized this was a lie. Led to major loss of public support.
First time that a majority of citizens disagreed with leaders and the reasons for being part of war.

Other reasons that Americans opposed this war include the use of the draft, use of chemical weapons
Some Review Questions
4.
How did Hollywood react to the Vietnam War, and discuss the significance of Peter
Davis's Hearts and Minds?
Hollywood’s Reaction:
•
Before/During the war: Hollywood Avoids Vietnam
•
First war since the invention of film that didn’t capitalize on the publics interest in the
war
• This was despite the nightly news programs showing the war to the public on a
daily basis
•
The only film that did not avoid depicting Vietnam in some way was John Waynes film
The Green Berets (1968) – a film in support of the war – did terrible at box office and
no one followed suit.
After the war: Hollywood reacts
•
Late 1970s-early 80s - After the war, many films appeared with both liberal and
conservative views.
Some Review Questions
4.
How did Hollywood react to the Vietnam War, and discuss the significance of Peter
Davis's Hearts and Minds?
Significance of Hearts and Minds vs other films
•
Hearts and Minds (1974): Rare exception to the way war is portrayed in the USA.
Documentary films became one of few places where radical voices could be heard
during 1970’s. Distributed by Warner Brothers, big budget and won an Oscar.
•
Tells story from multiple perspectives pro-war, anti-war, American and
Vietnamese perspective.
•
Overall message comes across as both, anti-war and respectful of the humanity of
Vietnamese people.
•
Displaces conservative concern for violent revenge or liberal focus on fate of
individual.
Some Review Questions
4.
How did Hollywood react to the Vietnam War, and discuss the significance of Peter
Davis's Hearts and Minds?
Significance of Hearts and Minds vs other films

Apocalypse Now (1979): From Chapter 13: Contradictory film that seems to glorify
military violence but is also anti-war because it shows American violence against
Vietnamese. Loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness (1902).

Full Metal Jacket (1987): From Chapter 13: Offers a powerful anti-war message. It
differs from many Vietnam War films in that it condemns militarism in general as well
as this war specifically, demonstrates the idea that soldiers are brainwashed.
•
What links these films together, (with the exception of Hearts and Minds) both liberal
and conservative, is a narcissistic focus on the effect on Americans, especially the
poor soldiers.
•
Ignores the struggle of the other side, the people of Vietnam or currently Iraq.
Some Review Questions
2. What was the Vast Wasteland, and what did broadcasters do as a result?

The new chairman of the FCC – Newton Minnow expressed his dissatisfaction in an address to the
National Association of Broadcasters in 1961 in which he criticized television broadcasters (the “Big
Three” NBC, CBS, & ABC who were dominating American Networks from 1959-1971) for the
perceived poor quality of their programming.

He began by acknowledging their successful year then expressed his thoughts on their overall product
which was “Watch TV and you will observe a Vast Wasteland, game shows, violence, audience
participation shows, formula comedies about unbelievable families”

Threatened the TV station owners that if they didn’t clean up their act he wouldn’t renew their licenses.

Prevented the sale of a commercial station in NYC to set it aside for an Educational Broadcaster –
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Ordered TV manufacturers to carry both UHF and VHF receivers
in their TV sets.

This was great news for non commercial and T.V advocates

One hour of night time programming was taken away from the networks and given back to the
affiliates

Commercial broadcasters started creating more “tasteful” content such as documentaries. Nightly
news programs went from 15-30 min.