OK, so let’s talk about the mythic character of news. Because I’m up way too early on a Saturday morning.
Elizabeth Bird and Robert Dardenne wrote about the narrative qualities of news as repeating story, noting that while news teaches us things, it often teaches us more about the overarching values of our society than it does about the specifics. Certain narratives get played out over and over again–the school shooter, the missing girl, the corrupt politician, the actor/actress in rehab. These stories are our modern myths, told in a way we can easily understand and glean the lessons from without them needing to be stated overtly.
So: what can we apply from this to today’s media coverage? Once a narrative is decided upon, it is hardly ever deviated from in the coverage. Barack Obama is “likable,” “charismatic,” but “low on substance.” Hillary Clinton is “smart,” “experienced,” but not “likable.” Furthermore, “Latinos don’t like Obama,” “Men don’t vote for Clinton,” and ohmigod what will the white men do?
Obama is Prince Charming, of course. He’s the one to sweep us off on his (white) horse and save the day. He’s good-looking and suave and nothing is ever said about his brains or accomplishments, because it is enough that he is Prince Charming. This becomes slightly problematic, though, because Prince Charming is usually white. Keep an eye on this to see if the Prince Charming narrative gets successfully swapped for one of the dangerous Other from outside of society, (oh, I hear Patti Smith in my head) though, if he makes it to the general to face off against the Aging (white) Hero.
Hillary Clinton is, simply by virtue of being the older woman, the wicked witch. There’s no place in our fairy tales for an older woman who isn’t evil. So it becomes quite acceptable for Chris Matthews to overtly compare Clinton to a witch on national TV, because that’s what older women are, right? She is also the Queen, trying to retain/regain her throne which has been threatened by her younger, more charismatic competition. Everyone watches to see if the Queen is going to turn into the witch, if Clinton will “go negative.” Unfortunately, by going negative she creates a more negative impression of herself.
John McCain, like I mentioned above, is the Aging Hero, the Old Wise man who’s seen it all and done some things he’s not proud of, but is still Principled and Good. He’s the Old Soldier, and of course, the Father and Grandfather. It’s hard for everyone to rebel against the Father, and it will be interesting to see how the generational split plays in a general election between Obama and McCain. Clinton/McCain will not be generational, but gendered, and that will be a huge mess. The Wicked Queen trying to steal the throne from the Old King.
(By the way, it’ll be interesting to see if this McCain affair? stuff plays out in his favor with male voters. Read The Wimp Factor for lots of interesting analysis of gendered politics and how Bill Clinton’s affairs tended to actually re-virilize his image among male voters who were generally put off by his having a strong, smart wife. Of course, McCain does all right with those voters–it’s the super-conservatives who are put off by him, and they may be put off by the scent of sexual misconduct, though he’s already divorced…)
Of course, I can’t go there without mentioning Mike Huckabee, The Country Preacher. He’s that guy who pops up in stories to exorcise demons, ward off vampires, baptize babies, etc. He’s ‘folksy’ and ‘conservative’ but still ‘likable.’ And, of course, he’s Southern, which invites its own group of wholly American myths.
These are stories we all know, and this is what makes them hard to shake. Despite the news’s tendency to over-individualize almost every story and completely ignore the larger social issues behind, say, a tale of a husband who killed his pregnant wife, or a kid who goes ballistic at his high school/college/shopping mall, or yet another politician who cheats on his wife/harasses young boys/gets arrested in an airport bathroom, there is a deep desire for continuing narrative hardwired in us, and it shows up in these mythic stories that characters get stuck into, despite evidence to the contrary.