Investigating Veronica Mars The Noir and Teen Clash in Neptune, California by Kim Johansen Østby Master’s Thesis in Media Studies Department of Media and Communication University of Oslo Spring 2010 “[…] why is Veronica Mars so good? It bears little resemblance to life as I know it, but I can't take my eyes off the damn thing.” (Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly, 01/02-2007) I Abstract What happens when you combine the long tradition of film noir and the contemporary television teen drama? Through genre analysis, this thesis explores how the television show Veronica Mars (2004-2007) mixes noir and teen drama and how this creates a dark vision of society and teen life. Through four chapters I investigate key points of the show, such as the narration and aesthetics, the representation of the noir universe through the show’s depiction of social class inequalities and an incapacitated criminal justice system, the show’s exploration of teen drama themes and how this is affected by noir and finally, an analysis of the main characters and how they relate to this hybrid universe. Noir and teen elements pulsate throughout the entire show. Together they create a tense, paranoid and mysterious atmosphere and allow the show to repeatedly explore dark themes and plots that do not commonly appear in teen dramas. The teen private investigator protagonist Veronica must tackle mysteries ranging everywhere from disappearances, blackmail, scams and theft, to situations where she must deceive the FBI, confront and battle a serial rapist and solve the mass murder of her fellow classmates, all while making her way through high school and college. II III Acknowledgements Writing this thesis has been a long, frustrating, enjoyable and enriching ride. Here it is, the academic journey of Neptune, California and I hope that the reader finds it entertaining and fascinating. Though I am responsible for most of the work, I would not have been able to complete this thesis without the help of these amazing people: First of all, I would like to give a huge thanks to my fantastic supervisor Liv Hausken. She has been very supportive and shown faith in my project. Hausken has provided me with lots of her time, extremely helpful and constructive comments and criticism, as well as allowing me to constantly challenge myself. Thank you so much! I would also like to thank Signe Brandsæter at Universitetsbiblioteket (UiO) for helping me discover useful literature for this thesis. A very special thanks goes to my best friend Kennet Alexsander Grav for excellent proofreading of this thesis, but most of all for always being there for me, for always putting up with me and for making my world a much better place. I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Thanks to Kjetil Thøgersen and Thomas Jansen for being who you are and for always sharing the ups and downs of life with me. Jan Erik Ramstad has provided me with incredible moral support and technical help during my work on this thesis. Much obliged! A final shout-out goes to Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell and rest of the Veronica Mars cast and crew for creating and participating in this immensely fascinating television show. You have given me countless hours of fun, excitement and hard work, and I hope this thesis is a worthy recognition of all the mayhem you created in Neptune. Sarpsborg May 2010 Kim Johansen Østby IV V Table of Contents Abstract ..………………...…………………………………………………… II Acknowledgements …….…………………………………………………… .IV Introduction: Murder Casts a Long Shadow ………..……………………………………… 1 About Veronica Mars ………………………………………………………………...1 The Research Question ................................................................................................2 Methodology and Theory .............................................................................................3 Introducing Noir …………………………………………………..………………….5 Introducing Teen ..........................................................................................................6 The Academic Relevance …………………………………………………………….8 Chapter 1: Mars Noir Aesthetics – Narration and Style ...……………………………...11 Teen Heroic Melodrama and Crime Stories ……………………………………....12 The Noir Storytelling in Veronica Mars ……...……………………………………16 A Link to the Past and the Mysterious Present …………………………………...18 Flashbacks – Memories of Lost Times ……………………………………..19 Dream States – Hallucinatory Investigations ……………………………...20 The Snarky Voice of Reason and Investigation …………….……………………..21 The Importance of Music in Veronica Mars ………………………………………24 Popular Culture in the Teen Mind ………………………………………………...28 Neptune Noir City: Neon, Darkness and Sunshine ……………………………….29 Chiaroscuro and Colors of the Mind ………………………………………………34 Chapter Conclusion …………………………………………………………………43 VI Chapter 2: Torn by Class and Lawless? Social War, Crimes and Mysteries ………….45 Home Is Where the Teen Is – Teen Drama, Small Town ………………………...46 Labyrinthine Dystopia ……………………………………………………………...48 The Inescapable Town Without a Middle Class? …………………..…….……….51 The Criminal Injustice System ……………………………………………………..62 Chapter Conclusion …………………………………………………………………70 Chapter 3: The Teen Noir Melodrama …………………………………………………..71 The Teen Drama and The WB ………...…………………………………………...72 Teen Male Melodrama, Family and Noir ………………………………………….74 Romance and Relationships – Reflexivity Versus Action ………………………...80 The Duality of Sexuality ……………………………………………………………86 Compelling and Dangerous – Sex and Sexual Terror …………………….87 If You’re Out, You’re Definitely Not In …………………………………...92 Chapter Conclusion …………………………………………………………………96 Chapter 4: P.I.s, Friends, Victims and Psychos: The Denizens of Neptune …………...97 The Teens Are Revolting! …………………………………………………………..98 The Actantial Model ……………………………………………………………….101 The Private Investigators – Upholders of Justice ………………………………..103 Friends of the Detective – Victims of Mischance ………………………………...111 “Frenemies” - Troublemakers Extraordinaire …………………………………..115 Chapter Conclusion ………………………………………………………………..121 Conclusion: Case Closed? ………………………………………………………………...123 Summary of Key Points …………………………………………………………...123 Thesis Contribution ………..………………………………………………………125 Closing Comments …………………………………………………………………126 VII List of References …………………………………………………………...127 VIII IX Introduction Murder Casts a Long Shadow… Veronica: A girl, a teenager, and a private detective - I'm a triple threat. Barely fits on my business card. (3x18 “I Know What You‟ll Do Next Summer) Veronica Mars came my way in late 2007. It was an extremely gripping show and I watched the entire first season over the course of one weekend. Veronica Mars tells the story of a teenage girl living in a very corrupt California town, Neptune. After her best friend is found murdered, Veronica is ostracized in school and her father is made the laughing stock of the town. Veronica is drugged and raped at a party. Her father opens a private investigator‟s office and hires Veronica as his assistant. Initially helping him out, she starts her own side- business of helping those less fortunate in school. Then she finds evidence that blows the supposedly-solved murder case of her best friend Lilly wide open. Her journey to uncover the truth leads her on deceitful journey, exploring themes ranging everywhere from e-mail scams and dog-theft rings to kidnapping, rape, child molestations and mass murder. However, solving her friend‟s murder is only the beginning. While exploring these mysteries, the show also uses a variety of storytelling tools, such as flashbacks, dreams, voiceover narration, strange coloring and dark scenes. This is more than just a teen drama. This is noir. About Veronica Mars Veronica Mars (2004-2007) is a television show explicitly constructed to be both a noir private investigation story and a teen melodrama. The show was critically acclaimed, but canceled after three seasons due to low ratings. This has deemed it the status of a cult television show. The show is primarily a mystery show where each episode is centered on at least one particular mystery. In a majority of the cases, the episodic mysteries are solved in the same episode in which they appear. Each season also has a larger mystery which is not solved until the season finale (except season three which has smaller mysteries instead). Thus the show mixes concepts from both the “series” and the “serial”. I would like to discuss what this means. Media researcher Audun Engelstad explains that the series consists of closed episodes and that the events in each episode revolve around the same group of people, while secondary characters and opponents are switched out on an episodic basis. The serial, according to Engelstad, is continuing and involves plots where the characters and the 1 setting/environment go through changes while the storyline culminates in a conclusion in the final episode (Engelstad 2004: 14-15). Veronica Mars is also an ensemble drama, a type of narrative used much in television and particularly in the teen drama genre. Engelstad explains: The ensemble-oriented drama has a slower progression than the stories that build up around a dominating protagonist. This slowness results from the ensemble drama presenting several parallel storylines, where some are working as an obstacle for the main riddle. Therefore the main feature of the major plotline is given less attention. Ensemble stories provide a type of dramaturgical approach which is especially suited for television. The attention can be divided between several characters and side stories, and in doing that the focus