Media Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter: Fan Responses to 'How to Get Away with Murder' Melissa R

Eastern Illinois University

From the SelectedWorks of Melissa R. Ames

2018

Media Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter: Fan Responses to 'How to Get Away with Murder' Melissa R. Ames

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-NC-ND International License.

Available at: https://works.bepress.com/melissa_ames/27/ ADVENTURES IN SHONDALAND

Identity Politics and the Power of Representation

EDITED BY

RACHEL ALICIA GRIFFIN AND MICHAELA D. E. MEYER

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark, New jersey, and London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Griffin, Rachel Alicia, editor. !Meyer, Michaela D.E.1 editor. Title: Adventures in Shondaland: identity politics and the power of representation/ edited by Rachel Alicia Griffin, Michaela D ..E. Meyer. Description: New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2018. Identifiers: LCCN 2018004645j ISBN 9780813596327 (hardback) ) ISBN 9780813596310 (paperback) Subjects: LCSH: R11imes, Shonda-Criticisn1 and interpretation. ! ShondaLand (Firm)-History. IWomen television producers and directors-United States. I African Ainerican television producers and directors. !African American won1en screenwriters. j Television broadcasting-Social aspects-United States. I BISAC: PERFORMING ARTS I Television/ History & Criticism. Classification: LCC PN1992.4.R515 A38 2018 I DDC 791.4502/32·-dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018004645

A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.

No part of this book n1ay be reproduced or utilized in any forn1 or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval systen1, \Vithout written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. 1he only exception to this prohibition is "fair use" as defined by U.S. copyright law.

§The paper used in this publication meets the reguiren1ents of the American National Standard for Information Scienccs~Pennanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI 239.48-1992. www.rutgersuniversitypress.org

Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica Media Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter 215

When Nielson reported which television programs had the most active social nledia tans in 2015, it was not shocking that two of Shondaland's shows-Scandal 11 · MEDIA CRITICISM AND (ABC 2012-2018) and How to Get Away with Murder (ABC 2014-present; also referred to as HTGAWM)--made the top ten list.5 Media critics have analyzed MORALITY POLICING how Rhimes's social media practices1as well as those of her fans, have transformed network television production and consumption.6 While the postnetwork era has ON TWITTER resulted in fragmented and noncollective viewing experiences, Rhimes's three hourprogran1ming block on ABC pro1npted a return to live television watching Fan Responses to How to Get Away and1 more importantly1live television co1nmentary. Capitalizing on the must-see nature ofher"fan-obsessed TV dramas" and the Twitter activism they inspire, with Murder Rhimes has evolved into a "savvy media 1nogul" who has cultivated prime-time

viewing practices wherein viewers, actors1 and producers engage in synchronous MELISSA AMES online dialogue on a weekly basis.7 Eager to replicate Shonda1and's success, now virtually every television program has a hashtag, and networks eagerly promote them. Given Rhimes's revolutionary impact, her shows are ideal for studying the consequences and benefits of active viewing practices. Moreover, considering Rhimes's use of fictional texts to address social justice, studying these viewing practices reveals how they interplay with Shondaland's politicized public pedagogy.

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER'S BRAND OF MORALITY In an alarmist age when tirades about society's eroding ethics are abundant, the media is often a scapegoat for those who fear that cultural values How to (;et Away with Murder forefronts tenuous societal deb-ates concerning the morality and immorality of the U.S. justice system. Mirroring recent headlines are disintegrating. For decades1 from reality television's debauchery to celebrity program1ning's narcissism to fictional drama's excessive violence, television has of peer~pressure incentivized n1urder and child abduction, the show merges real been blamed for contributing to society's so-called 1noral decline.1 Recently, concern world criminality into its fictional narratives and exposes how the legal system fails has expanded from content to include twenty-first century television viewing to achieve justice. This melodrama's complicated1 interlocking plots showcase a practices. Studies argue that binge watching television leads to antisocial dispo slew of sudsy storylines-backstabbing1 betrayal1 blaclanail1 and adultery-that 2 sitions1 depression, and immorality. Likewise, social media is credited for tackle morality in terms of romantic relationships, family power dynan1ics1 edu cational competition, and professional aspirations. Weekly, fans stonn Twitter to creating a generation of narcissists and pro1npting increased levels of depression1 3 interact with the show by live-tweeting their viewing experiences, engaging with jealousy1 and apathy. Television viewing today often entails double screening whercin viewers are not only engaging with the content on television but are also the fictional morality tales1 and deb.ating the real-world ethical implications of comn1enting on that content through social inedia. Forty-three percent of tablet HTGAWM. Interrogating morality is a constant thread running throughout and smart phone owners report using their devices while watching television every Shondaland-1nedical ethics are questioned on GreyS Anatomy (ABC 2005- daYi and 95 percent of the conversation occurring on social nledia concerning tele presenti also referred to as GreyS) and Private Practice (ABC 2007-2013); political ethics are challenged on Scandal; and testing legal morality is the heartbeat of vision is taking place on 'fwitter1 inaking it an ideal site to exa1nine what vieivers are doing with their double screens.4 Reading dual-media use data alongside .fI'TGAliVL\.1. Collectively, Shondaland shows function as public pedagogy designed to challenge normativity and prompt social activism.8 Contrary to alarmist rhe alarmist rhetoric about the negative impact technology has on cultural ethics1 one might conclude that this tag team of Twitter and television is bound to destroy toric concerning the detrimental effects of screen-centric lifestyles1 social media hun1anity as we know it. Or not. Unsurprisingly, online television fando111 stud platforms and interactions are functioning pedagogically. Therefore, studying ies indicate that audience engagernent---even with progran1s packed full of scan audience engagement reveals how viewers react to Shondaland's weekly moral dalous storylines-is much more complicated than fear-n1ongering irnplies. ity "lessons." M. AMES 1v1ea1.a 1__nuusrn anu JV1oram:y r-oncmg on 1w1rrer 217

17 How to Get Aivay with Murder features Annalise Keating, a iniddle-aged Afri Twitter is steadily attracting academic analysis. Building upon previous schol canA111erican legal professor, and her five ambitious law studentsi but it is Annal arshipi this study examines how fictional programrning viewers use Twitter as a ise who dra\vs increased audience attention for her peculiar scruples. Critics medium to engage with important societal critiques and situates live~tweeting as often note her "a1nbiguous" morals and "Machiavellian 1noral compass/' which a form of digital activism. By focusing 1 in part1 on tweets responding to Annalise's suggests that she acts in duplicitous and self-serving ways. 9 111e pilot encourages morality, this essay also investigates to what extent live-tweets reflect larger cul such readings by underscoring the moral grey area the characters operate within. tural sentiments c?ncerning gender, sexuality, and identity politics. During Annalise's opening lecture to her students, she says, "1he question I'1n asked most often as a defense attorney is whether I can tell if my clients are inno (S)HE DID A BAD, BAD THING: THE RISE OF THE 10 cent or guilty. And iny answer is always the san1e: I don't care:' ANTIHERO ON TELEVISION Viola l)avis plays Annalise and is often asked to co1nn1ent on her character's ethics; she says, "1 think we're all morally questionable ... I think that we ... act Television scholars have long suggested that television programming reflect.s soci 18 on nature and not on morals. I [find] her to be a realistic protagonist. I find her to etal values. If television acts as a cultural mirror, the rapid rise of the antihero be very human, as we all are, in that we have grey areas:' 11 Peter Nowalki the show's on the small screen-a classification that Annalise belongs to-might be seen as creator, argues that Annalise's personalized forn1 of justice is a response to an disconcerting. Alarmists would posit that the increasing nurnber ofshows featur unjust system: "It's not so black and white to her.... Justice is very complicated, ing dark and twistyi morally comprornised antiheroes points toward a weaken and the justice syste1n is much more corrupt than you would think it would be.... ing ethical landscape within U.S. American culture; but this is not likely the case. I think Annalise feels like she's being moral. She's standing up for people who don't The antihero has existed as a character archetype since the early Greek com get stood up for a lot:'12 1hese ethical critiques of the criminal justice system edies and tragedies, and its popularity often resurfaces at distinct points in his are unsurprisingi they align with the social commentary woven throughout tory.19 Hypothesizing the causes behind the recent resurge11ce, Michael notes, "If

Shondaland that debunks the myth that we are living in a postidentity society we consider the 21st century so far-9/11 terrorist attacks1 the Iraq War, Enron, wherein equality has been achieved. Hurricane Katrina, the economic recession, Hurricane Sandy1 the Newtown While Rhimes is certainly not alone in combating insinuations that the United shootings, the Boston Marathon attacks~there's been a steady stream of terri ble events to shake our faith in humanit-y."2 °Counterintuitively in dark times audi States is postidentity and, particularly1 postracial1 she has been garnering increased 1 1 media attention amid diversity debates in Hollywood.13 Two events that reig ences iminerse themselves in even darker narratives. Thus, the e'arly twenty-first nited this conversation were Davis's becoming the first African American to win century is an era of television drama filled with antiheroes like Tony Soprano (The Best Actress in 2015 for her HTGAWM role and the massive outcry that followed Sopranos, HBO 1999-2007 ), Walter White (Breaking Bad, AMC 2008-2013), the 2016 announcement-for the second year in a row-of an all~white slate Dexter Morgan (Dexter) CBS 2006-2013),JackBauer (241 Fox 2001-2010), Don 14 of Oscar norninees. During her 2016 Producers Guild's Norman Lear Award Draper (Mad Men, AMC 2007-2015) 1 and Gregory House (House M.D., Fox for Achievement in Television acceptance speech, Rhimes told the audience 2004-2012) who relieve us from real-world evils by transporting us into ethically 1 21 tongue-in-cheek, "I co1npletely deserve this ... I have against the oddsi coura con1promised fictional worlds. As this list of prominent a11tiheroes reveals, they 22 geously pioneered the art of writing for people of color as if they were human often share a defining feature that fosters popularity: masculinity. However, the heings." 15 She then more seriously explained that her practices should not be televisual tides have been turning with female antiheros like UnREAL's (Lifetime revolutionary in the twenty-first century: "I created the content that I wanted to 2015-present) Rachel Goldberg, l'{urse Jackie's (Showtime 2009-2015) Jackie Peyton, see and I created what I know is normal ... The respect of this award does mean Weeds's ( Showtime 2005-2012) Nancy Botwin, IheAmericans's (FX2013-present) the world. It just makes rne a little bit sad. First of alli strong women and three Elizabeth Jennings1 and flomeland's (Showtime 2011-present) Carrie Mathison dimensional people of color is somethingNonnan [Lear Jwas doing40-something who suggest that won1en, like men1 can be "morally bereft and relatable at the 23 16 same time:' years ago. So how con1e it has to be done all over again ?" 111is speech under~ scores Rhirnes's commitment to equality and her belief that representation can Part of the appeal of watching characters who trangress morality is seeing pedagogically function in service to greater equity. ourselves (or our potential selves) in such characters and glimpsing a "relatable 24 To study how Rhirnes's "lessons" are received by massive audiences, this chap version of a good self that has gone bad:' 'Ihe typical antihero fonnula includes ter analyzes the live~tweeting practices of HTGAWM fans. Hosting over five a backstory that al1ows us to forgive, or at least explain1 the character's transgres hundred million users generating approximately 340 million tweets a day, sions, which in turn, make these characters palatable. Annalise's backstory aligns .,IU NL rllV\L.>

with this expectation; her past is scripted with childhood trau1na and spousal 111ese gendered power dynamics are evident with female characters in leader 35 abuse. Viewers also gain pleasure froin the cognitive dissonance created by ship roles, often "portrayed as icy, heartless, manipulative1 and vindictive." The conflicted characters who are not purely good or evil. Steward notes this phenotn question is: are audiences reading these female characters as critiquing this dou

enon in his analysis of Nurse Jackie's antihero: "Jackie is an adulterous, drug-sniffing, ble standard or reinforcing it? In response1 I argue that Shondaland's female char do1nineering, devious super nurse, who at times, also displays the unwavering acters critique gendered double standards. Additionally, Scandal's Olivia and inoral compass of a burning Catholic saint ... [W]e see her juggle such contra HTGAWM's Annalise importantly complicate the double standard as black female dictions as giving free 111edical care to cash strapped patients while also robbing antiheroes; they are not deemed unlikable solely for failing to fit the traditional an epileptic of their Oxy-Contin stash during a seizure:'25 Alongside internal con mold of white femininity but also because of their moral transgressions. Inter flicts, the antihero's sinful side also lures us in. 1hese storylines tap into our scari estingly, media criticism suggests that Annalise is more co1nmonly deen1ed est fantasies~the ones lurking, often unacknowledged, within the human psyche unlikable and receives harsher criticisms, while Olivia is often forgiven because and "provide a sense of catharsis."26 her determination to do good-to wear "the white hat"-usually prompts her The cathartic relationship between antiheroes and viewers contextualizes the transgressions. 36 Critics assert that the absence of the white hat trope on 37 large fan following of HTGAWM's Frank Delfino1 Annalise's assistant and ethi HTGAWM might account for the harsher criticism directed at.Annalise. Nowalk

cally unbound fixer. Charlie Weber1 the actor who plays Frank, calls him "a hit man confirn1s that Annalise was meant to stand in contradistinction to Olivia:

with a heart of gold" but clarifies that he does not consider hitn an antihero1 rather "Olivia believes in the White Hat1 and there's no hat for Annalisei there's reality he's a cold-blooded killer who "enjoys it"27 Despite drowning a student, stuffing and justice. I don't think she thinks there is justice; it's kind of whoever plays a corpse into a suitcase, and sending someone innocent to jail, fans do not react the gan1e the best."38 Annalise "does not offer a compelling justification for her as harshly to his in1n1orality as they do to Annalise's. 1he differing reactions these behavior ... her job is to get her client off-not get her client off because she is tw-o characters draw arguably stems from the double standards that exist for 1nale innocent or because the legal system requires perfection fron1 the defense and versus fernale characters and are further complicated by the black/white racial prosecution in order to promote the best sense of justice:'39 Due to her conten dyna1nic in theAnnalise/Frankpairing.28 One might ask: would Frank be beloved tious antihero status, Annalise makes for a fascinating case study of fans' Twitter as a "hit man with a heart of gold" if he was of color? The latter half ofI-i'TGAWM's reactions to co1nplex fictional characters embroiled in ethical dileinmas. second season features flashbacks to explain how both characters arrived at their respective compron1ised ethics. Interestingly, the scenes devoted to Frank's down TWITTER AS MORALITY POLICE? AN ANALYSIS fall cast Annalise as the catalyst for his initial moral lapse. 1his narrative conjures OF LIVE-TWEETING PRACTICES up the fen1ale ten1ptress trope and problematically presents a black woman as the force that corrupted a white inan.29 Although individual storylines depict Frank's 10 study live HTGAWM tweets through the lens of inoralityi I focus on tweets immorality trumping Annalise's, their backstories highlight how moral superior that "critiqued" the show to answer these research questions: ity is often granted by default to white inen. While devious male characters are easily labeled as antiheroes and are often 1. Do the majority of live-tweets focus on portrayals of the justice system or melo popular, similar female characters are typically described as '"off-putting' and drai:natic subplots?

'obnoxious"' or1 1nore com1nonly1 they get tagged with the all-too-popular "unlik 2. Do live-tweets reflect the research on gendered ethics1 especially in terms of able."30 Countless critics have addressed the gendered "double-standard of lik fe1nale antiheroes or "unlikable" characters? ability" that results in "infinitely n1ore obstacles faced by leading ladies inaking 3. How do live-tweets engage with RJ1i1nes's public pedagogy and demonstrate 31 morally questionable choices." For exa1nplei antiheroes like Girls's (HBO 2012- that live-tweeting fictional television programs is a form of digital activism? 2017) Hannah }Iorvath, Orange is the New Black's (Netflix 2013-present) Piper

Chapman, and Nashville's (ABC 2012-2018) Juliette Barnes have been criticized "fwitter data was collected from September 24 through Nove1nber 191 20151 span 32 for being "annoying1 selfish and entitled:' lt seems that when we are faced with ning nine weeks from the season 2 pre1niere of HTGAWM until its inid-season "won1en who act in a way we're used to seeing only n1ale characters act/' it's "alien hiatus. Live-tweets associated with #HowToGetAwayWithMurder were scraped

ating" and we unfairly brand them as "unlikable rather than well-crafted and coin (i.e. 1 collected) weekly using NodeXL-a program that gathers all tweets asso plex."33 Female characters-like their real-world counterparts-are punished for ciated with a specific hashtag and transfers them to Excel 40 Tb narrow the data pool, 34 projecting masculine-coded traits like ambition1 aggressioni or strength. I focused on tweets posted from 8:00 P.M. EST to 9:01 P.M. EST during the one-hour 220 M_ AMES Media Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter 221

original broadcast of the progra1n, which aired silnultaneously in the Eastern TABLE 1 Sample Tweets Critiquing Portrayal ofJustice System and Central thne zones. rll1e data pool was further reduced to 181439 tweets by lhn

iting analysis to English content and original posts (i.e. 1 retweets and replies were Twitter User Timestamp Tweet not included). Trillrnermaidxxx Crazy how they really be breaking the 41 The data was then coded to highlight "critiquing" tv,ieets. The critiquing laws as lawyers though ®®®@ smh tweets were sorted into two large categories based on the following criteria: (1) #HowToGetAwayWithMurder small scale critiques, which includes subcategories such as personal opinions and rt1959 Everybody is a criminal on this show.

criticisms concerning characters1 actors, show creators1 writing1 plot1 and so 0111 #howtogetawaywithmurder and (2) large scale critiques, which includes subcategories engaging with law or pentylu If Nate is convicted just shows how justice related storylines and/ or the social co1nmentary en1bedded into such fucked up the justice system is storylines. The tweets included in the analysis below were selected from this #HowToGetAwayWithMurder narrowed data set because they were representative of the posts or sentiments Kenda!lkuban 10/15/2015 9:29 #HowT oGetAwayWithMurder when the appearing most frequently on the feed. 42 lawyers are worse criminals than the criminals they defend .. OMG. Do the Majority of Live-Twee ts Focus on Portrayals of the justice System or on the Melodramatic Subplots? Since HTGAWM is a legal drama, I expected that many critiques would focus on TABLE 2 Sample Media Criticism Tweets Focusing on Annalise's its depiction of the justice syste1n and the illegal actions of the central cast of Costuming

lawyers. While this was present {see table 1) 1 this focus was rather minimal. Twitter Handle Time stamp Tweet

I anticipated that Annalisei as the main characteri would often be of interest, ~~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~ but expected a priznary focus on her co1npromised professional ethics-especially azsahd __ 10/8/2015 9:56 I'm sick of Analeese's wigs.Just sick and tired. #HowToGetAwayWithMurder since the cliffhanger between seasons 1 and 2 predicted that she would be involved in yet another tnurder cover~up. While Annalise was the character most often trendingtopic_o The authenticity with the head tie lo\ targeted, her personal rather than professional actions were commonly highlighted. #HowToGetAwayWithMurder Wilgafney 11/12/201510:01 Shonda teaching folk how we twist Out of 181439 tweets, Annalise was directly rnentioned in 2 1463 and indirectly ref erenced in many more, making mentions of her account for approxi1natcly our hair! Can't we have any secrets? #HowT oGetAwayWithMurder 13.36 percent of #HowToGetAwayWithMurder.43 Annalise's personal actions were #HTGAWM n·DatMurda critiqued in nu1nerous tweets that framed her as a skilled liari bully, or two-tiining romantic player. By comparison, her professional ethics were mentioned only

occasionally. On Septeinber 25, 2015 1 @dawniebgood87 wrote, ''Annalise plays

dirty just like the justice syste1n" and on October 151 20151 a dispute between Con negative tweets focused on Annalise's drinking. On October 81 2015, Vale Vaz nor and Annalise over how to handle evidence that incriminated a client sparked (@valeria13201422) wrote, "she is pissy drunk:' Even more tweets focused on her adulterous relationshipwith•Nate; on October 15, 2015, Maria Nkata {@CrackHead online debate. Rachel Rornanczuk (@RachelER22) wrote1 after Annalise sided with protecting the client while Connor actively worked toward the client's con Je1ni) posted, "'What kind of woman sleeps with a man who's wife is dying?' 1he viction, "I'm with Connor. Annalise only cares about money and winning:' Annalise kind who doesn't give a F@&$$:' Some even attended to Annalise's posi~ Annalise was inore often the topic of superficial critiques focused on various tion of privilege. On October 8, 2015,@_therealmarni wrote, ''.Annalise walks like progra1nrning aspects ranging from costuming and acting to characterization she owns a cotton gin," which associates Annalise with slavery but complicates and plot (see table 2). 'Il1e tweets pertaining to Annalise's appearance could be her empowered, intersectional positionality by comparing her to a slave owner. disregarded as just one-off opinions about trivial elements such as costun1ing. Users also praised her for behavior they viewed as positive. When Annalise However, often these comments attended to her stylized racialization, indicating refused to commit euthanasia when asked to by Nate's dying wife, on Octo that viewers were picking up on the program's attention to race. The most fre ber r6, 2015, Hajarah Marnman Nassi (@Hajmannas) posted, "Proud of you quent comrnents, though, critiqued Annalise's personality and actions. Many Annalise, really thought she was gonna help Nate's wife, glad she didn't." 222 M. AMES Media Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter 22]

The fact that hveets 1nore often engaged with superficial aspects rather than underlying storylines suggests that HTC;AWM's melodra1natic stylistics and over TABLE 3 Sample Tweets Discussing Frank's Moral Transgressions arching plot often overshadow its episodic focus on legal cases. These findings and Sex Appeal -··"--"--""""""'--·-..... --.··----··----"-----···--·------support ilawden's critique of HTGAWM's employ1nent of legal motifs: "1be Twitter Handle Timestamp Tweet actual courtroo1n drama is n1ostly ... used as a device to show off the talents of purplehearts44 1 He's a shady, shady man. But God, Frank 44 the law school students:' She argues that other legal dran1as1 such as The Good is hot #HowToGetAwayWithMurder

Wife (CBS 2009-2016 ) 1 more effectively use their legal storylines "to look at the #HTGAWM 45 complexities ... politics1 and moral ambiguities" involved in practicing law. 1his jesusgarda. 90 let's all be honest with ourselves. suggests that HGTAWM's scripting as a hybrid where legal drama ineets prime Frank is a bad person. He does time soap opera undercuts its potential to spark reflection on legal injustice. bad things. But we still love him. #HowT oGetwayWithMurder #HTGAWM Do Live-Tweets Reflect the Research on Gendered Ethics, Especially ang_be!ita Frank is so sketchy. But ugh, so fine. in Terms of Female Antiheroes or "Unlikable" Characters? #HowT oGetAwayWithMurder #HTGAWM Analyzing how Annalise figures into stnall scale critiques of I-ITGAWM reveals that some reactions to her characterization align with research on the reception of female antiheroes. Although not as regularly as anticipated, the dreaded buzzword of unlikable was associated with her character. On October i, 2015 1 @laurentluvsfenty black femininity. It also indicates that the harsh critiques targeted at Annalise are 49 called Annalise "strangely unlikable" andi on October 17, 2015 1 T. ]. Newton presumably coming from female viewers. (@tnewton92) asked, "Has there ever been such an UNLIKABLE lead on television However, contrary to fen1ale antiheroes research, Annalise's character also before? Annalise is a truly horrible person." Still others posted tweets critiguing received audience support. Many tweets focused on the disloyalty of her law stu Annalise alongside Scandal's Oliviai labeling them both as unlikable black female dents and their lack of appreciation for her extreme efforts to save them. On Octa~ 46 characters. ber i5 1 20151 B. Addison tweeted, "Like Annalise is giving her aII to everybody Consistent with aforementioned scholarship on the gendered double standard, trying to protect them all the while being called a killer." More t~lling are the posts

Twitter data also revealed that viewers more willingly accept (and even embrace) which praised her transgressions1 specifically those that could be interpreted Frank's unethical behavior rather than Annalise's (see table 3). Most interesting as caretaking atten1pts. 1hat "1notherly" acts motivate forgiving a black wo1nan's was viewers' willingness to forgive Frank's extren1e transgressions siinply because moral lapses is problematic but not surprising. 'Iln1s far on HTGAWM, Annalise they.found him physically attractive. 1his aligns with research docu1nenting that is not a biological mother. Season 2 provides a backstory wherein she was preg characters with lighter skin are often perceived as being inore attractive and nant and miscarried, a narrative inclusion that will likely help justify impending friendly than characters with darker skin1 suggesting that Frank's white male iden transgressions. Presently Annalise's motherly acts include mentoring and protect tity factors heavily into why his wrongdoings are so easily forgiven.47 Skin tone ing adult protCgCs, and tweets often comment on her pseudo-parental role. On differentials also illuminate underlying dyna1nics of why and how light-skinned October 29, 2015,Joan Bushur (@joanbushur) posted, ''.Asher's back in the fold. Olivia is deemed more likable than dark-skinned Annalise. 48 Let n1orn1na.Annalise fix everything." The following weeki on November 51 2015i In comparison, Annalise faced a range of criticis1ns for her moral 1nissteps hvo others sin1ilarly ntlted her protective inotherly role. @alisahelene referred to and not one of them was forgiven based on her personal appearance or sex her as "Man1a bear Annalise" and criticized the students for not respecting her appeal. Althoughi unlike Franki she had never co111n1itted 111urder, Annalise while @n1usicmonetradio posted, "omg! "fl1ey've all been talking back to Annal was more often called "terrible" or "evil." On Septen1ber 241 2015i Nakia Morton ise this season. I never talk back to my mom." (@NGlvIBeauty) calledher"the devil:' Meanwhile, users celebrated Frank's irnmo The inclusion of this surrogate in other plot device aligns with scholarship con rality. On Nove1nber i9, 2015i Marco Montalvan (@desperategossip) tweeted, cerning how the ma1nmy caricature lingers in twenty-first-century popular cul

"Frank1 you are the MVP." Reactions to these two characters signal society's ture.50 It also begs the question: would Annalise's acts be read as generously if they forgiveness of bad behavior enacted by men rather than wo1nen and white people were done on behalf ofher own biological children, or are they only forgiven because rather than people of color. 1his data also suggests that a large subset oflive-tweeting they are done in service to nonfamily members? This underscores that notions of viewers are heterosexual women who find white 1nasculinity inore appealing than nurturing are particularly troubling at the intersections of gender and race. V\!hile 224 M_ AMES Media Lriticism and Morality Policing on Twitter 225 white women and women of color are received si1nilarly as antiheroes, race plays a 56 1\1.ichaela to keep their 1nurder defendant, Caleb Hapstall1in line. When Michaela multiplicative role in how their moral slippage is framed and perceived. That view~ is at a lossi Annalise asksi "What's the matter? Don't know how to use your 57 ers are 1nore willing to accept illegality frorn fe1nale characters when they were boobs?" Like most of her hard-hitting punchlines, this line echoed across Twit viewed as "1notherly" also aligns with research on gendered ethics. Gilligan theo ter when users quoted it. On October 15, 2015, Derek St.John (@Dieter117) called rized the social construction of gendered 1norality1 clahning that 1nen operate it the "best line of the night." When Michaela befriends Caleb rather than seduc according to "an ethics of rights" whereas women operate according to "an ethics of ing himi Annalise barks: "I told you to use your boobsi not your heart."58 Againi responsibility."51 Gilligan's concept of fe1nale 1norality "emphasizes attachment viewers appreciated the line. On October 81 2015 1 Mary Bushur (@joanbushur) and the urge to care" as the driving force underlying right versus wrong decisionsi quoted the line addingi "Love Mikaela and Annalise together." While 1nultiple while male morality aligns with traditional notions of justice including "co1n1nit viewers compared Annalise to a pimp, not all did so critically as evidenced by Paris ment to rules valuesi and principles."52 While few HTGAWM characters-1nale 1 Hodges's tweet (@brownxsuga) on October 15, 20151 "lmao annalise pimping or female-operate according to GilliganS 1nasculine definition of morality1 that Makayla." Annalise's behavior conforms to this feminized definition is interesting. Since Weeks after this episodei some were still expressing their corrective outrage; inany of her illegal acts are comn1itted to protect her protCgCsi this contributes to on Noven1ber 121 2015i @msmjfan14 posted, "Michaela is MORE than her boobs her positive reception a1nongviewers who judge her actions as justified. Annalise." 'This tweet aligns with criticisms concerning sexual or romantic story Ultimatelyi tweets suggest that reactions to Annalise are quite idiosyncratic lines undermining female characters1 particularly strong female characters like 59 and, even though she is harshly criticizedi many embrace her actions regardless Annalise. !(eating notes that storylines that involve female protagonists using of whether they are protectivei caring acts. A subset of viewers gain pleasure from their femininity and sex appeal ultimately undermine the character's intellect1ability, her "bad" behavior. Her most quoted lines of dialogue were almost always harsh 60 and success. Shondaland's other blackfe1nale powerhouse1 Olivia, has received even shocking-con1ments directed at her legal team1 and users celebrated these critiques of this nature. Many claim that the romantic story arc focused on Oliv n1oments where she perforn1ed the role of"the bitch:' At times1Annalise embraces ia's on-again-off-again rotnantic relationship with President Fitzgerald Grant the title for herself. In season 2's "I Want You to Die1" Annalise told her adversary} undercuts her strength and respectability. Rising to her defense Gallager writes: 1 prosecutor Emily Sinclairi "You're n1essing with the wrong bitch."53 Twitter then erupted with a series ofhveets quoting this dialoguei@pentylu quoted the phrase, While Olivia ls by no means a role model for young women, she is much n1ore adding the exclamatory approval of"yeeeeeessss" afterward. nuanced, complex, and three dimensional than most black female characters Embracing.Annalise for being a self-described bitch is quite interesting. In some that have risen to her level of popularity. Scandal's success is a testament to the ways Annalise does not actually fulfill the typical role that the bitch plays in fic fact that female characters can be imperfect and still be popular. In fact, imperfect tional narratives. This role serves as "the embodiinent of female evil: the foil for characters are much better vessels for representation. Audiences are ready for female 54 literature's icons of morality and the scourge of the male hero:' First1Annalise characters that evoke contradictory e1notions and encourage critical reflection.61 really is not a foil for anyone. Second, to varying degrees, almost all of the fen1ale characters could be classified as bitches. Furtheri HTGAWMlacks any traditional This same argument easily applies to Annalise. The ways viewers embrace her sug heroesi male or fe1nalei to thwart. Quite sitnply1 Annalise is not completely evil gest that audiences desire more complicated portrayals of women who do not fit or virtuous1 moral or immoral. This suggests that Shondaland has created a easily into outdat~d 1 unrealistic gendered archetypes. more co1nplicated1 nuanced portrayal ofwo1nen who are forced to (or choose to) embody the paradoxical elements of constructed caricatures like the bitch.55 How Do Live-Tweets Engage with Rhimes's Public Pedagogy There wasi however1 one particular storyline that prompted 1nixed reactions and Demonstrate That Live-Tweeting Fictional Television Programs concerning Annalise's so-called bad behavior, specifically her use of sexuality as Is a Form of Digital Activism? a ineans of power. In HTGAWM's piloti Annalise sleeps with Nate1 a police offi As evident so far, of the two classifications of critiques-small scale criticisins cer1 in order to win a case which sets the precedent that she is willing to use sex focused on the show versus large scale criticisms engaging with societal issues as a means to an end. Throughout season 21 the pilot prompted hveets about her the n1ajority of the critiquing posts focused on rather trivial content. However, potential motivations whenever she has sex with son1eone. This prior history also when particular n1oments pointedly drew attention to a societal issue1large scale influenced how so1ne viewers reacted to her mentoring Michaela Pratt to use her criticisms predominantly surfaced. 1bis commonly occurred when Rhimes's ped sex appeal to control clients. In the episode "Skanks Get Shanked;' Annalise orders agogical social commentary manifested as character dialogue. In this instance} 226 M. AMES Media Critlcism and Morality Policing on Twitter the 1nost frequent tweeting practice was quoting, wherein the poster would hveet Her storylines on sexuality garnered significant commentary, although analysis the line of dialogue containing the social. critique. While this practice can logi does not indicate that these lessons were always well received. 111e October 8, cally be read as embracing or pro1noting the critique, quoting dialogue is ambig 2015, episode, "It's Called the Octopus," involved the legal tean1 representing the 64 uous. While son1e tweets provided additional comn1entary along with the quote owner of an elite sex dub. ' Many tweets posted on this date celebrated Shonda that revealed their opinion on the dialogue or their purpose for citing it, the major land addressing sex shaming and queer sexual practices. @kpringer tweeted} ity silnply tweeted the actual dialogue as a standalone post free of explanation. "hella sex shame~y episode tonight," Candace Nicole Werts (@candacenwerts) While this lack of context could stem from the character limits i1nposed by the posted, "Sex fetish, yes!" and Monet Sutton (@MusicMonetRadio) wrotei n1edium, it could also reveal our tendency to allow quotes to stand in place of mak "People shouldn't be ashamed of their sexuality. They shouldn't be ashamed of ing bold, potentially controversial statements. Fil1is practice is particularly preva liking sex:' However1 others resisted the episode's message. Micah Ouroboros lent on social media where it is more acceptable to circulate a meme or quote fron1 (@micahouroboros) hveeted, "That's not sex positive. That's f-ing trashy and son1eone else concerning a controversial topic rather than to make a direct state- dirty. There's a difference," and Inda Lauryn (@indascorner) wrote, "Sex parties 1nent of one's own stance. Paradoxicallyi this allows posters to showcase their opin tho? 1hat's nasty." Viewers also tweeted appreciation for the attention given ion fro1n a distance. to topics such as sexual violence and transgender identity. On October 22 2015 1 1 In tenns of quoting practices, the co1nedic undertone of many circulated quotes (tDAverageCockram tweeted, "Viola Davis dropping some real talk on America's further complicates their reading. Since some of the quotes were delivered as rape culture," and on October 11 2015, after "She's Dying" @Pretentious USA wrotei punchlines, the tweets could be read as celebrating their humor or their cultural "Wow! What a great PSA/promo at the end of episode for sexual assault." Simi critique. The inability to determine authorial intent is another limitation of ana~ larly, on October 291 2015, @EDubb_ 41yfe wrotei "Glad and surprised that Shonda lyzing 'fwitter data, as is the difficulty in detennining tone. On September 251 20151 inserted a transgender centered mini-storyline into the season:' Dianne Carusell (@diannecarusell) wrote, "Another Black lawyer and a Black Connor and Oliver's (i.e., Coliver's) san1e-sex relationship also generated judge-I feel so e1npowered:' This post could be read as a straightforward state numerous tweets. Their romantic relationship was well received, with n1ost ment of, perhaps, an Afi:ican American viewer celebrating the racially diverse cast. mentions of Coliver being positive, such as Ashley Graham (@Shleekins)'s Howeveri this post could also be read as a sarcastic critique of diverse representationi September 24i 2015, post: "I <3 Conner and Oliver so much!!!" li:owever, the perhaps indicating that the user feels it is cliche or ineffective. Although my inter~ storyline related to Oliver's HN diagnosis, and Connor's decision to take PrEP pretation n1ay be incorrecti Carusell's profile picture visually indicates that she is a (pre-exposure prophylaxis, a drug for people at high risk for being exposed

\Vhite wo1nan1 which raises speculation concerning the intent of her hveet. This to HN) to continue thelr sexual relationship sparked diverse reactions (see exa1nple demonstrates the difficulty of interpreting n1eaning fro1n uncontextual table 4 ). Looking critically at the lovefest that Coliver sparks online also reveals ized comments written within the constraining 140-character lin1it. This makes troubling cultural values. The many tweets praising Connor for staying with proclaiming the purpose of an individual tweet difficult; yet1 analyzing trends Oliver after his diagnosis conjure up white savior ideology an1id their inter~ within Twitter posts collectively provides more reliable insight into the crossroads of racial relationship and a n1an of color being scripted as the partner who con Shondaland's fictional morality lessons and real-\vurld cultural values. tracts HN.65 Quoting practices suggest that llhin1es's public pedagogy is not completely Although Coliver's storyline prompted much Twitter activitfi it paled in com overshadowed by Hl~GAWM's melodramatic soap opera nature. Highly quoted parison to the seas.on 2 reveal that Annalise had a former female lover.66 The mo1nents of dialogue involved season 2's critiques of white privilege. One of the scene that revealed her layered identities as a bisexual dark-skinned black woman tnost quoted lines stemmed from "It's Time to Move On": "White folks always prompted the most tweets of the entire data pool (see table 5). 1he six-minute bring up race when it suits themi never when it n1atters."62 Another popularly scene recounting Annalise's history with fellow attorney Eve Rothlow includes a tweeted line circulated weeks later during "Meet Bonnie": ''.Add your whiteness kiss that helped skyrocket #HowToGetAwayWithMurder to 1,206 tweets (account 63 on top of that1 the police are trained to believe you:' Both prompted supportive ing for 20.78 percent of the episode's tweets). 1hese posts represent a range of comments on Twitter. On October 221 20151 @refinedsmarts tweetedi "preaching reactions from explicitly homophobic to implicitly homophobic to sex positive about white rnale privilege, yasss!" and @EDubb_ 41yfe tweeted, "White privi~ to LGBTQA (lesbian, gay, bisexuali transgender, queeri asexual) inclusive. The lege is real y'all. I'1n telling you:' tweets indicate that many embraced Annalise's backstory and applauded Overalli often the highest volu1ne of tweets within an episode's airing aligned I11'GAWM''s inclusivity, but others reacted negatively, revealing that Shondaland's with narrative 11101nents that rnirrored Rhi1nes's pedagogical social commentary. pedagogy on sexual diversity is not always well received. 228 M. AMES Media Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter 229

troubling because Annalise is portrayed as bisexual, different from Eve who is TABLE 4 Sample Tweets Focused on HIV/PrEP Storyline portrayed as a lesbian. Ultimately, Nowalk's "supportive" tweet functions akin to Twitter Handle Time stamp Tweet colorblind rhetoric that erases racial differences in our supposed postidentity era. As an articulation of Shondaland's production outlook that mistakes minimiza~ its!ouismcduff Wait HIV isn't a big deal? #HowToGetAwayWith Murder ... Someone explain tion and erasure of difference for inclusion, alongside casting Eve as a white woman and scripting Coliver's narrative with white savior ideology, critically consider chelsea_rana3 Conner Awesome For Staying With Him Knowing He Has l11V. #BreakTheStigma #HTGAWM ing identity politics exposes how JiTGAWM's creators utilize nonnative charac #HowToGetAwayWithMurder #TG!T Mrn terizations and pairings. mandamari3 Yes PrEP!!! #Awareness #HowToGetAwayWith The juxtaposition of Coliver and Annalise/Eve tweets indicate that a variety Murder of factors influence why the former was better received. Both feature interracial ltsjaniez I love the way how Connor is dealing with couples, yet the former features a white n1an/light-skinned 1nan of color versus this whole HIV situation ... #HTGAWM the latter's white woman/ dark-skinned black woman. Further, that the relation #HowToGetAwayWithMurder #TGIT ship featuring two gay men was more popular highlights the patriarchal prevalence sweetcorn4 !'m sorry bae got AIDS ummm relationship over of gay male relationships when LGBTQA identities are represented in popular cul #HowT oGetAwayWithMurder ture.67 Equally significant is that the white male character's (Connor's) relationship is e1nbraced more so than the black female character's (Annalise's). Illu1ninating the dynamics at play, M.eyer argues that bisexual women of color are a comn1on

plot device1 manipulated so their intersectional "'Otherness' is layered to produce TABLE 5 Sample Reactions to Annalise's Bisexual Storyline a commodifiable image that is both economically profitable and exploitative Twitter Handle Timestamp Tweet through its erasure of difference, and by implication, idcntity."68 Compounding calllngshots __ 9/24/2015 9:48 HELL YEAH Bl REPRESENTATION •HTGAWM multiple "discourses of'Otherness' in one character makes it easier to 'check all the #HowT oGetAwayWithMurder boxes' of identity politics and appease the most number of identity constituents in 69 Shirlzrene 9/24/2015 9:50 Lesbian kiss!!! #HowToGetAwayWithMurder a given audience." Meyer's analysis focuses primarily on secondary charactersj therefore, Annalise's positionality as the protagonist is notable, especially when the jeremy __ chino13 9/24/2015 9:50 Oh ok so Annalise is bi?? Cool #HowToGetAwayWithMurder cast contains other queer characters. Q!.1eering Annalise's character directs atten tion to the racial politics of representing a dark-skinned black woman and the jamie1 32xo 9/24/2015 9:50 This is really awkward ®1¢' lmfao #HowT oGetAwayWithMurder queer politics of bisexuality. Audience responses to Shondaland's pedagogy illus trate a pervasive investrnent in whiteness and patriarchy. Glamazonianash 9/24/2015 9:50 Why is everybody gay on a!! these shows? #HowToGetAwayWithMurder britt~brat62 9/24/2015 9:50 Omg please don't let Annalise sleep with that AND THE PEDAGOGICAL MORALITY woman! #HowToGetAwayWithMurder OF SHONDALAND IS ... ? __ popdhattunechi 9/24/2015 9:51 Yes!!! Fluid sexuality! #HowToGetAwayWithMurder Obviously, Rhimes and her Shondaland team aim to "teach" audiences various ~~~~~ lessons about diversity through casting, scripting, and consciousness-raising nar ratives. Rhimes is completely transparent about doing so; when she received the Twitter enables producers and actors to interact directly with viewers, which 2015 Ally for Equality award at the Human lights Campaign Galai she said, allows for straightforward pedagogical statements. 'Il1e rnorning after the queer "I really hate the word 'diversity,' it suggests ... something unusual about telling reveal, Peter Nowalk, HTGAWM's creator, tweeted, '"Thanks all for watching last stories involvingwo1nen and people of color and LC;BTQcharacters on TV. I have night! And just a tip: It's not a lesbian kiss, it's just a kiss. Love you all" (emphasis a different word: NORMALIZING ... I a1n making the world of television look 70 added). Although Nowalk's tweet appears positive, it actually undermines the sig NORMAL:' Rhin1es's quest to nonnalize television and address social inequalities is nificance of Annalise's bisexuality by 1ninimizing their kiss, and the storyline it complicated by using n1elodramatic narratives to do so, because her lessons are crystalizes, with it is "just" a kiss. Additionally, "It's not a lesbian kiss" is also often delivered through plots featuring scandal, crime, and secrecy and saturated M. AMES Media Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter 231

with malfeasance. When viewers are pro1npted to learn 1noral lessons fro1n viewers of fictional television. Previous scholars claim that live-tweeting purposes immoral characters this creates dissonance that masks the didactic roles these sto are consistent across televisual genres, yet this study suggests this may not be the rylines serve. Further, this data indicates that viewers are not live-tweeting fic case.72 Studying live-tweeting practices across televisual genres will reveal rich tional progran1s~or at least this fictional program-to primarily engage with possibilities for the tag team of Twitter and TV to spark societal reflexivity and, social com1nentary. That lITGAWM's live~tweets did not always align with Shon perhaps someday1 a consistent forn1 of digital activism.73 daland's pedagogical aitns mirrors other research on how audiences often diverge fron1 media texts through Twitter.71 For I1TGAWA1, this means that live-tweeting could distract ti-001 Shondaland's social co1n1nentary. 'While I cannot necessarily NOTES dain1 this occurred, the nutnber of tweets devoted to melodra1natic con11nentary 1. Tim Dant, Television and tlie Moral Imaginary: Society through the Small Screen (London; Pal versus social con1mentary suggests that 1'witter users were more preoccupied grave, 2010 ). 2. Sidneyeve Matrix, "The Netflix Effect: Teens Binge Watching, and On-Demand l)igital by the fictional bad behavior than the real-world bad behavior they were scripted 1 Media Trends," Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures 6, no. t (2014): 119-i38. to highlight. Consequently1 this suggests that live-tweeting fictional television 3. Maria Konnikova, "}Jow Facebook Makes Us Unhappy," New Yorker, September 101 2013, may not constitute an easily recognizable form of digital activism. http:/ /www.newyorker.com/ tech/ elements/how-facebook-makes-us-unhappy. At a glance, H1'GAWM presents a postidentitywonderland of equality for all; 4-. Fabio Giglietto and Donate11a Selva, "Second Screen and Participation: A Content Analy

the cast reflects a diverse multicultural ensemble led by a powerful bisexual black sis on a Full Season Dataset of Tweets," Journal of Communication 651 no. 2 (2014): 260-277. fen1ale protagonist involved in interracial relationships. Shondaland both crafts 5. Scandal was ranked first and HTGAWM was ranked fourth. and shatters this idealization by spinning storylines in ways palatable to nor 6. Anna Everett, "Scandalicious: Scandal, Social Media, and Shonda Rhimes'sAuteristJugger naut," Black Scholar +51 no. 1 (2015): 34-43. mativity. Utilizing Coliver as an example, the storyline inclusively depicts a gay 7. Everett, 34. interracial couple productively coping with an I-IIV diagnosis amid real-world 8. International Centre for Public Pedagogy, "Wekon1e to the International Centre for Pub ignorance and bigotry (e.g., Asher's co1nment that Philadelphia is his favorite lic Pedagogy (ICPUP)," April 14, 2016, https;//wwv.r.uel.ac.uk/icpup/. movie). Moreover, Shondaland punctuates Rhimes's pedagogical intentions 9. Michael Idato, 'Tiowto GetAwaywithMurder: Viola Davis Prefers Moral Ambiguity," Syd ney Morning Herald, February 5 2015 http://www.smh.con1.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio with hard-hitting commentary on identity politics, power dynamics, social 1 1 /how-to-get-away-with-1nurder-viola-davis-prefers-moral-ambiguity-20150202-133tri justice and injustice through characters that parrot Rhhnes's social critiques con .html#ixzz3xzWZ18M:Gi Tirdad Derakshani "Love Is Murderous in 'How to Get Av1ay with veyed through Twitter and public speaking appearances. 1he diverse reactions 1 Murder,"' Philly.com, November 231 20151 http://articles.philly.com/2015-n-23/news/68487289 in response to Rhimes's and Shondaland's public pedagogy indicate that son1e _ 1_peter - nowalk-love-sh on da -rhimes. viewers are particularly receptive and use Twitter to further reinforce or con1- 10. How to Get Away with Murder, "Pilot," season 1, episode 11 directed by Michael Offer, writ ment on these lessons (e.g., by quoting dialogue). However, other viewers resist ten by Peter Nowalk, aired on September 25, 2014, on ABC. these lessons (e.g., by ridiculing or challenging dialogue). 'TI1erefore conflicting 11. Ida to, "How to Get Away with Murder:' 1 12. Idato "H.owto Get Away with Murder:' tweets ultin1ately express the warring sentiinents (and different ideological 1 13. H. Roy Kaplan, The Myth of Post-Racial America: Searchingjor Equality in the Age ofMate ca1nps) that still surround discussions of identity politics, including portrayals of rialism (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011). women of color in lead roles, same-sex relationships, and interracial relationships. " 14. Roxane Gay, "The Oscars and Hollywood's Race Proble1n1 New York Times, Janu

Overall1 this chapter suggests that Twitter discourse cannot provide declara ary 22, 2016, httPs:/ /ww'"1.nytimes.com/2016/ 01/24/ opinion/the-oscars-and-hollY'voods -race-problem.html. tive insight into larger cultural sentiment. Like all 1nedia1 if it acts as a social mir 15. Carita Rizzio, "Shonda Rhimes's Powerful Message on Receiving Her PGA Award: 'I ror1 it is a distorted one at best. 111e performative nature of Twitter posts, along Deserve 'This,'" Vulture, January 14, 10161 http:/ /www.vulture.com/2016/01/shonda-rhin1es-on with character li1nitations and the inability to detennine authorial identity, intent, -pga-award-i-deserve-this.html#. and tone nlake this medium an unreliable predictor of cultural values. Even if user 16. Rizzio. sentiment could be deter1nined by analyzing tweets1 the population that live 17. 1vlichael Zimmer and Nicholas John Proferes, ''A Topology ofTwitter Research: Disciplines, tweets a television show may not accurately represent viewer senti1nents more Methods1 and Ethics," Aslib Journal ofinfonnation Management 66, no. 3 (2014): 250-261. 18. Jennifer Pozner Reality Bites Back: T11e Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV (New York: broadly. '111erefore, future studies to determine how fans receive Rhimes's peda 1 Seal, 2010 ). gogical lessons should partner Twitter analysis with other research methods such 19. Jonathan Michaei "The Rise of the Anti-Hero: Why the Characters in TV and Movies We as interviewing to more fully gauge viewer sentiment. This project also suggests Love Most Are the Ones with Fatal Flaws," Relevant, April 261 2013, http:/ /www.relevan,tmagazine that further study is needed to identify the live-tweeting practices con1mon among .com I culture I tv /rise-anti-hero. 232 M. AMES l Medla Criticism and Morality Policing on Twitter 233 20. Michael. cannot claim to have collected all of the live-tweets connected to this show during the nine 21. Akash Nickolas, "Where Is the Fe1nale TOny Soprano," Atlantic, June 27, 2013, http:/ /www week period but rather collected a subset of them. .theatlantic.con1/ entertainment/ archive I 2013/ 06 I where-is-the-fen1ale-tony-soprano I 41. ~bis stud(s focu~ on "critiquing" posts aligns with studies determining that opinion posts /277270/. ~01n1nat~ ~ocial me~ta. See D. Yvette Wahn and Eun-Kyung Na, "Tweeting about TV: Shaf- 22. Meghan Gallagher, "Scandal's Olivia Pope and the Rise of the Fe1nale Antihero," Artifice, 1ng Telev1s1on '?ew1ng Experiences via Social Media Message Streams," First Monday i6, no. 3 January 5, 2015, http:/ /the-artifice.com/scandal-olivia-pope-female-antihero/. (1011),'. http:/ /journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fn1/ article/view/3368/ 27791 Giglietto and 23. Lauren Duca, ''Anaton1y of the Female Antihero," Huffpost E11tertaimncnt, July 13, 2015, Selva, Second Screen and Participation:' http:/ /www.huffingtonpost.com/ entry I anato1ny-of-the-fen1ale-anti-hero _us_55a3c250 42. 111ere is .much scholarly debate conce1ning the ethics of studying and, specifical!Yi citing e4boecec71bc684a. tweets (see Z1mn1er and Proferesi ''.A Topology of'JWitter Research," 256). I side with scholars who 24. Paula Bern1nan, "Sisters Are Doing It for 'D1emselves: 'D1e Fe1naleAntihero on Television," argue that ''.publicly visible 'TWitter messages are guaranteed to have been published to the inter Broadstreet Review, May 31, 2014, http:/ /www.broadstreetreview.co1n/ cross-cultural/the-fen1ale net at large, and "therefore they are an ethical site of study. See Steven Harrington, Tim Iiigbfield1 -antihero-on-television. and~.xel ~runs1 M;re 111an a Backchannel; Twitter and Television," inA.udience Interactivity and 25. Jason Steward, "Tube Talk: TV's Fe1nale Anti-Heroes: A Trend for the 21st Century's Teen Part1npatwn, ed. Jose Manuel Noguera (Brussels: COST Action TransfonningAudiences, 2012), 12. Years," Critic Studio, July 20, 2ou, http:/ /criticstudio.com/tube-talk/tv<"AiE2%80%99s-female 43. 1hese figures actually underrepresent the number of tweets that focused on Annalise as -an ti-heroes-a-trend-£ or - the-21st-century%E2%8 0%99s-teen-years /. this count only includes correct spellings of her na1ne and on1its indirect references to her. 26. Michael, "1he Rise of the Anti-Hero"; see also Richard K_een1 Monica L. McCoy, and Eliz 44. Jessica Rawden, "How to Get Away with Murder Review: A Frantic Pace and Viola Davis abeth Powell, "Rooting for the Bad Guy: Psychological Perspectives," Studies in Popular Cul Are Reasons to Watch," CinemaBlend, 2015, http://www.cine1nablend.com/television/How-Get ture 34, no. 2 (2012,): 129-148. -Away·With-Murder-Review-Frantic-Pace-Viola-Davis-Reasons-Watch-67487.html. 27. Michele Corriston, "FITGAlVM's Charlie Weber on 1hat Heart-Stopping Finale and Annal 4:. Ra~d;n, "H~w to Get Away with Murder Review"; see also Michaela D. E. Meyer, "The ise's 'Crazy Little Family,"' People Magazine, November 20, 2015, http:/ /-wvvw.people.co111 Good Wifes Fatalistic Ferninistn: Televised Feminist Failures in Work/Life Balance Romance / arti de /how-get-away-murder-charlie-we ber-talks-season-2- fall-· finale. and Feminist Alliances," in Women, Feminism, and Pop Politics: From "Bitch" to "B~dass" and 28. Duca, ''Anatomy of the Female Antihero." Beyond, ed. Karrin Vasby Anderson (New York: Peter Lang, 20 18), 205-222. 29. David 1hornburn and Henry Jenkins, Rethinking Media Cliunge: The Aesthetics of Transi 46. Leon ~arrington (@LeaonBarrington), Twitter, February 14, 2015, http:/ /twitter.con! tion (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2003), 269; Clint Wilson, Felix Gutierrez, and Lena Chao, /LeonBarnngton; Cara Cooper (@caramariecooper), 'IWitter, October 23, 2015, http://twitter Racis1n, Sexism, and the Media: Multicultural Issues in the New Communications Age (London: .com I caran1ariecooper. Sage, 2013). 47. Alicia Edison1 "1he In1pact of the Media on Biracial Identity Fonnation" (master's thesis University of North Texas, 2007 ), 53. ' 30. Michelle Juergen, "Why Critics Can't Handle the Fe1nale Anti-Hero," Mic, January is, 2014 1 http:// m ic .coin/ articles/ 79047 /why-critics-can -t-handle -the -fe1nale -an ti -hero# 4-8. Wilson, Gutierrez1 and Chao, Racism, Sexism, and the Media. .zUNRl4SZo;Jenefer Robinson and Stephanie Ross, "Women, Morality, and Fiction," Hypa 49. This corresponds with sh1dies that found women are as likely to be harassed online by other tia 5, no. 2 (1990): 76-90. women as they are to be harassed by men. See "Women Troll Each Other Online: How Feinales 31, Duca, "Anato1ny of the Female Antihero." Are Just ~s Lik~ly to Be Abused by Their Own Sex as By Men1" Daily Mail, May 14, 2015, http:// 32. Juergen, "Why Critics Can't Handle the Female Anti-£Iero:' www.da1 lymai l .co.uk/news I article-2628755/Wo men ~troll-a nline-How-females-just-likely 33. Juergen. -abused-sex-men.html. 34. Alyssa Rosenberg, "Why We'll Never Have a Female Tony Soprano," Slate, June 27, 2015, ~O. Jennif~r K~walski, "Stereotypes of History: Reconstructing Truth and the Black Mamn1y," http:/ /\vww.slate.co1n/blogs/ xx~factor I 2013 I 06 / 27 /jam es _gandolfini _and_the_ male Transcending Silence (Spring 2009): http://www.albany.edu/womensstudies/journal/2009 _ anti_hero_why_ we _11 _never_have_ a_fen1ale _tony.bltnL /kowalski/kowalski.htrnl. 35. E. Keatingi "Once Upon a Time and the Villainization ofWomen," Artijice,January7, 2015, 51. Robinon and Ross, "Women, Morality," 77. http://the-artifice.co1n /once-upon-a -time-villainizati on-women/. 52. Robinon and Ross, 77. 36. Gallagher, "Scandal's Olivia Pope:' 53. flo~ to Get Away with Murder, "I Want You to Die," season 2, episode 7, directed by Kevin 37. Lesley Goldberg, '"How to Get Away with Murder' Creator Breaks Down Shon

59. Melissa A1nes1 "Sex lJndoes Her: What the Fall Premiers of I-low to Get Away witl1 Mur der, Sca11dal1 & GreyS Anatomy Reveal about the Effects ofSexualizing Strong Female Charac ters," S1nall Screen Scholar, Septe1nber 30, 2014, http:/ /smallscreenscholar.blogspot.co1n/2014 I 09 /sex- undoes-her-what-fall-premiers-of.html. 60. Keating, "Once Upon a Time:' 61. Gallagher, "Scandal's Olivia Pope.~ 62. }low to Get Away with Murder, "It's Tin1e to Move On," season 2, episode t, directed by Bill D'Elia, written by Peter Nowalk, aired on Septe1nber 24, 2015, on ABC.

63. f[ow to Get Away with Murder, "Meet Bonnie," season 21 episode 5, directed by Stephen Cragg, written by Sarah L. 'Thompson, aired on October 22, 2015, on ABC. 64. 1-low to Get Away with Murder, "It's Called the Octopus," season 2, episode 3, directed by John Tedesky, written by Joe Fazzio, aired on October 8, 2015, on ABC. 65. Erica Chito Childs, Fade to Black and W11ite: Interracial Images in Popular Culture (New York: Row1nan & Littlefield, 2009 ). 66. How to Get Away with Murder, '"fin1e to Move On." 67. Brian Moylan, "Most LGBT Characters on US TV Are White and Male, Study Finds,"

Guardian, October 27, 20151 hltps:/ /www.theguardian.co1n/tv-and-radio/2015/ oct/27/1nost -lgbt-characters-on-us-tv-are-white-and-1nale-study-finds. 68. Michaela D. E. Meyer, "'The 'Other'Won1an in Contemporary Television Dra1na: Analyz ing Intersectional Representation on Bones," Sexuality & Cultut'e i9, no. 4 (June 2015): 904. 69. Meyer, 9u. 70. Brennan Willian1, ~Shonda Rhiines Says She Isn't 'l)iversifying' Televis.ion, She's 'Normal izing' It--ril1ere's a Difference," I-Iujfington Post, March 20, 2015, http:/ /www.huffingtonpost .coin/ 2015/ 03/ i6/ shonda-rhimes-diversity-nonnalize-television_n _ 6878842.htn1L 71. Megan Woodand Linda Baughman, "Glee Fandon1 and Twitter: So1nething New, or More of the Same?;' Comnumication Studies 63, no. 3 (July-August 2011.): 340. 72. Wahn and Na, "Tweeting about TV:' 73. I ·want to thank my research assistant T.]. Martin, who helped collect research on con temporary Twitter practices, and Sara Amato, whose work on fe1nale antiheroes influenced this project.