> Obviously, there are going to be different interpretations here because
> you're interpreting the genre of cop shows through a social location/
> subject position that is quite different from that of Paul's. (cf the work
> of cultural studies scholars on various international interpretations of
> Dallas and Cosby; don't have refs right now)
Yeah, but I wasn't really arguing so much about the genre of cop shows, I was arguing about SPECIFIC shows that fall into the category Kelly gets into later:
> And all this nonsense about cop shows and whether they're
> exceptions to the genre rules or not is just plain silliness.
> Firstly, in order for the 'working against' to work in the
> first place, there has to be an understanding of the genre.
Obviously. But how does this make for silliness?
And how does it tell us word one about HOW a particular show chooses to work against the genre?
> This is how irony works and this is how shows that go beyond
> the boundaries of the genre work on us. They play with the
> genre rules, winking at us subtly and not so subtly. In some
> ways this fissure can make us open up and reflect on the genre
> rules. Maybe. I tend to doubt it for the most part.
Well, for the most part, yes. But I was trying to discuss CERTAIN SPECIFIC SHOWS. And of course, they don't always try or succede in doing the things that interest me, but they do often enough to interest me, along with the other things they do.
I was thinking -- silly me -- that we might actually be able to have a half-way intelligent conversation about how some SPECIFIC shows tells us something about the whole process, without expecting that we know it all already before even thinking together about it.
Like I say -- silly me.
> > Another fact I feel sure in is that there are a
> > disproportionate number of cop shows relative to
> > other occupations. I haven't seen any shows based on
> > auto or steelworkers lives. There are very few or
> > none on busdrivers, etc., etc.
>
> Who cares??!! As if this will matter one wit. And what
> about Roseanne? And Grace Under Fire? There are a slew of
> other shows that depict the working class and, indeed, cops
> are working class in TeeVee land. They are considered working
> class in 'not' TeeVee land as well.
Yup! Grace & Roseanne popped into my head the moment I read those words as well. A moment later they were joined by John Larroquette. But then I realized Charles was looking for THE HEROIC WORKING CLASS. I.E. Baywatch.
-- Paul Rosenberg Reason and Democracy rad at gte.net
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