Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent Through American Popular Culture
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
University of Kentucky UKnowledge American Popular Culture American Studies 2-4-2010 Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture Timothy M. Dale Wisconsin–Green Bay Joseph J. Foy University of Wisconsin, Waukesha Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Dale, Timothy M. and Foy, Joseph J., "Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture" (2010). American Popular Culture. 10. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_american_popular_culture/10 Dale/Foy-Homer Simpson Marches_Dale/Foy-Hmer Simpson Marches 12/10/09 10:56 AM Page 1 Continued from front flap POLITICAL SCIENCE/POPULAR CULTURE Dale and Homer Simpson Marches on Washington Foy Dissent through American Popular Culture including gender, race, religion, class, the H H Edited by Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy environment, and sexual orientation. Kate o Mulgrew, who played Captain Janeway in Star o HHoommeerr m m The Simpsons consistently questions what is Trek: Voyager, offers her own story in the book’s culturally acceptable, going against the grain of foreword, describing the societal pressures of being e e popular culture by showcasing controversial issues the first female captain in the Star Trek franchise. r r like homosexuality, animal rights, the war on Simpson Simpson terror, and religion. This subtle form of political In today’s fragmented society, audiences are met S g area S re is a growin analysis is entertaining and great for television daily with thousands of messages competing for “Popular cultu tatus i s i their attention. Homer Simpson Marches on ly given its ratings, but it also can be an effective means of cial m interest, espe m Washington offers an entertaining and insightful of this rapidly changing opinions and attitudes on a large scale. U.S. export in look at how popular culture can break through as a major To consider another example, what does Star Trek on p Marches on imps p Marches on d. Homer S the clutter and bring about profound changes. obalizing worl teach viewers about feminist politics? Do comedy gl s is a useful s on Washington programs like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and ches o Mar o Timothy M. Dale, assistant professor of political ting work.” Saturday Night Live advance democracy in ways eres n and int n the mainstream news media cannot? Can horror science in the Department of Social Change and erguson, et F gar Washington Development at the University of Wisconsin– —Mar Washington films contribute to a contemporary understanding M ue M iversity–Purd of environmentalism? Green Bay, is coauthor of Political Thinking, Indiana Un Edited by Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy Political Theory, and Civil Society. ianapolis Ind a ity a Univers Foreword by Kate Mulgrew Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent r Joseph J. Foy, assistant professor of political r through American Popular Culture explores how c science at the University of Wisconsin–Waukesha, c popular culture influences political agendas, h frames audience perceptions, and changes values is the editor of Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: h e and ideals on both the individual and collective American Politics through Popular Culture. e levels. Editors Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy s s have assembled a top-notch team of scholars from o o DISS the fields of political science, history, women’s n E n NT and minority studies, film and media studies, communication, music, and philosophy to W TH W ROUGH investigate the full spectrum of popular culture in a democratic society. a a AMERICAN s s Homer Simpson Marches on Washington examines h television shows such as Star Trek: The Next h POPULA R Generation, The X-Files, All in the Family, The i i n n View, and The Colbert Report, as well as movies Jacket design by Richard Rossiter CULTUR g E and popular music, demonstrating how covert White House photo © Meppu / iStockphoto g Sky and cloud art © Milorad Zaric / iStockphoto t political and social messages affect the cultural t conversation in America. The contributing authors o o investigate a wide range of controversial topics, n n 90000 The University Press of Kentucky Continued on back flap 9780813125800 Kentucky Homer Simpson Marches on Washington This page intentionally left blank. Homer Simpson Marches on Washington Dissent through American Popular Culture Edited by Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy Foreword by Kate Mulgrew THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Copyright © 2010 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Homer Simpson marches on Washington : dissent through American popular culture / edited by Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy ; foreword by Kate Mulgrew. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8131-2580-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Popular culture—Political aspects—United States. 2. Conformity—United States. 3. Social change—United States. I. Dale, Tim M. II. Foy, Joseph J. E169.12.H663 2010 306.0973—dc22 2009044736 This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. Manufactured in the United States of America. Member of the Association of American University Presses CONTENTS Foreword vii Kate Mulgrew Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Tuning in to Democratic Dissent: Oppositional Messaging in Popular Culture 1 Joseph J. Foy Part 1. Popular Culture as Public Space 1. The Revolution Is Being Televised: The Case for Popular Culture as Public Sphere 21 Timothy M. Dale 2. The Daily Show and the Politics of Truth 37 Jamie Warner 3. Mr. Smith Goes to the Movies: Images of Dissent in American Cinema 59 Beth Wielde Heidelberg and David Schultz 4. The Truth Is Still Out There: The X-Files and 9/11 75 Paul A. Cantor Part 2. Popular Culture and Oppositional Narratives 5. Unpacking the House: Images of Heroism against the Regulatory State 99 Sara R. Jordan and Phillip W. Gray 6. “I Learned Prison Is a Bad Place to Be”: 25th Hour and Reimagining Incarceration 111 Peter Caster 7. Riveted to Rosie: O’Donnell’s Queer Politics and Controversial Antics on ABC’s The View 125 Katherine Lehman 8. “Gabbin’ about God”: Religion, Secularity, and Satire on The Simpsons 141 Matthew Henry 9. It Came from Planet Earth: Eco-Horror and the Politics of Postenvironmentalism in The Happening 167 Joseph J. Foy Part 3. Popular Culture and the Dynamics of Dissent and Social Change 10. Raising the Red Flag: Culture, Labor, and the Left, 1880–1920 191 Jeffrey A. Johnson 11. Iraq Is Arabic for Vietnam: The Evolution of Protest Songs in Popular Music from Vietnam to Iraq 203 Jerry Rodnitzky 12. Hip-Hop and Representin’: Power, Voice, and Identity 219 Tanji Gilliam 13. “Things in This Country Are Gonna Change Pretty Fast”: Dissent, Mobilization, and the Politics of Jericho 241 Isabel Pinedo 14. It’s Not Funny ’Cause It’s True: The Mainstream Media’s Response to Media Satire in the Bush Years 257 Carl Bergetz 15. Gender, the Final Frontier: Revisiting Star Trek: The Next Generation 277 Diana M. A. Relke List of Contributors 295 Index 299 FOREWORD The Influence of Captain Janeway Kate Mulgrew One Thursday afternoon, the phone rang. I picked it up and an unfamiliar voice said, “Captain Janeway, I just wanted to be the first to welcome you aboard. Shooting starts Monday at the crack of dawn. Get some rest. You’re going to need it.” This voice belonged to the mastermind behind the Star Trek franchise, Rick Berman, and though we would occasionally lock horns over the next seven years, it was essentially a love affair. He knew how to work, and so did I. At no point during the entire run of the series did either of us admit defeat. It was a matter of pride, a matter of two type As in silent competition, the confidence of experience pitted against the confidence of conviction. Most important, it was the first time in the history of this mul- tibillion-dollar franchise that a woman had been voted into the captain’s seat. Both Paramount and Star Trek stood to lose vast sums of money if I failed to attract their most devoted demographic: young men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five—you know, the guys in charge of the remote control (and the mortgage and the bank account). For the brand- new network labeled UPN, Star Trek: Voyager was its flagship show, and I was the first female captain to walk onto the bridge of a starship and issue the signature command, “Engage.” I was also the first captain to have more than seven hairdos within a season, a corset sewn into my space suit, and a bra that resembled an alien species. I was puffed and shorn and stuffed and lit and scrutinized by every executive on the lot.