Timeless or Timeliness? Examining Ideology in NBC’s Timeless A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In the Department of Communication of the College of Arts and Sciences by Sarah A. Willis Bachelor of Science, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo June 2012 Committee chair: Eric Jenkins, Ph.D. Committee members: Omotayo Banjo, Ph.D., Stephen Depoe, Ph.D. Abstract In this study, the researcher examines ideology of gender and race by performing a close textual analysis of NBC’s time-travel television drama, Timeless. This case study is guided by the general question, “To what extent does Timeless advance existing dominant ideologies through its representations of gender and race?” Overall, the study finds that Timeless somewhat advances existing dominant ideology by portraying gender and race according to negotiated frameworks. In other words, Timeless perpetuates dominant-hegemonic ideology in some ways and pushes back on this ideology in others. Additionally, Timeless does this by using both existing and new techniques. An example of one of these new techniques is a new concept called “caveatic postmodern nostalgia,” which refers to a type of postmodern nostalgia in which characters celebrate or are excited for the past, but include a critical caveat with the celebration. The celebration is then privileged over the critical caveat. The implications of these findings are discussed. ii iii Acknowledgments There are many people that contributed to the success of this project that I would like to thank here. First, thank you to my advisor, Dr. Eric Jenkins, for his sincere support, encouragement, advice, and thoughtful feedback throughout this project and my overall time as a graduate student. Second, thank you to my committee, Dr. Omotayo Banjo and Dr. Stephen Depoe, for their insightful feedback and sincere support. Third, thank you to the wonderful faculty in the Graduate School, who have prepared me to complete a project like this and pursue advanced study in the future. Fourth, thank you to Dr. Michael Sharp for his support and encouragement throughout this project. Finally, thank you to my fellow graduate students and friends for the emotional support they provided throughout this process. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 2: Literature and Methods…………………………………………........ 7 Chapter 3: Introduction to Findings…………………………………………….. 22 Chapter 4: Representations of Women in Timeless…………………………...... 29 Chapter 5: Representations of Race in Timeless………………………………... 46 Chapter 6: Conclusion…………………………………………………………... 72 References………………………………………………………………………. 87 v List of Figures Figure 1: Television codes (Fiske, 1990/2004)……………………………………. 8 Figure 2: Representations of race and gender (women) on Timeless……………… 28 vi Chapter 1: Introduction What is it about the past that is so intriguing? Historical figures and topics have long been a subject in entertainment media such as theatre, television, and movies. The past few years in America are no exception. For example, the 2016 Broadway hit musical Hamilton tells the story of Alexander Hamilton during the birth of the United States. The 2016 film Hidden Figures portrays the role of African American women at NASA in the 1960s. Situational comedies The Goldbergs (2013-present) and Fresh Off The Boat (2015-present) offer memoirs of childhood in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. Timeless (2016-present) is another television show that features historical content. Timeless is an hour-long fictional time travel drama series that follows the present-day adventures of Lucy (a historian), Wyatt (a Delta-force soldier), and Rufus (a scientist) as they seek to preserve history by stopping Garcia Flynn (a rogue NSA asset), who has gained control of a time machine. Season 1 aired Mondays from October 2016 through February 2017 at 10:00pm on NBC and was also available for streaming on NBC.com and the online streaming service, Hulu. The show features a racially diverse cast and plotlines that represent gender and race throughout history. In each episode, Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus follow Garcia Flynn back to a different point in time and meet historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Josephine Baker, and Chieftess Nonhelema. Over the course of these time travel missions, Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus discover that the United States has been engineered by the secret society, Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse is quickly established as the primary villain of the series, and Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus question if they are fighting on the right side of things by working against Garcia Flynn. Timeless and the other television shows I mentioned are all sites for the discursive construction of history and are key sites of ideology. Specifically, they are examples of 1 Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs; Althusser, 1970/2004), or instruments that subtly advance ideology. In the study that follows, I examine ideology of gender and race by doing a case study of NBC’s Timeless. In this chapter, I explain the rationale for studying Timeless, its connection to ideology, and describe the general purpose and findings of this study. Rationale It makes sense to analyze Timeless for several reasons. First, the show’s general narrative arc and casting choices seem to seek to address salient concerns of today such as equality across genders and races. Second, the show has received high profile attention, including a feature at the Smithsonian’s and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ second annual History Film Forum in March 2017. There, the show’s creators (Shawn Ryan and Eric Kripke), main stars (those who play Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus), and a Georgetown University history scholar (Brian Taylor) engaged in a moderated discussion panel titled, “Timeless: (Re)Creating American History.” The History Film Forum states in the panel description that the show provide[s] a gateway for conversation around the impact of race, gender and politics throughout the centuries on America. Through the storytelling of the series, “Timeless” has ignited in its fans a curiosity and passion for history, making it feel exciting, current and relevant, while providing families with a show they can watch, discuss and enjoy together. (History Film Forum, para. 1) This framing of the show as providing an educational opportunity for conversations about gender, race, and politics, as well as the show’s high profile attention by a historical institution, raises the stakes of Timeless’s representations. Third, Timeless has developed a strong fan following. After a series cancellation announcement, fan outcry led to a reversal of the decision and a network renewal within the course of a day. 2 Finally, and perhaps most importantly, as a television show, Timeless is a key site of ideology and an example of an Ideological State Apparatus (ISA; Althusser, 1970/2004). Ideology has been the subject of much scholarship, and has been a slippery concept with conceptualizations involving ‘False consciousness’ or a ‘mystified subject’ resulting in criticism. However, there are two different yet complementary definitions of ideology that seem to best explain the concept. First, there is a more neutral, Gramscian definition provided by Stuart Hall (1991/1996), who defines ideology as, “the mental frameworks - the languages, the concepts, categories, imagery of thought, and the systems of representation - which different classes and social groups deploy in order to make sense of, define, figure out and render intelligible the way society works” (p. 26). Second, there is a more negative, Marxist definition provided by Jorge Larrain (1991/1996) who explains that, for Marx, ideology is a distortion or inversion of reality. Further, “The role of ideology is to help reproduce that contradictory world in the interest of the ruling class…[it] results in the masking and reproduction of those very contradictions and forms of oppression” (Larrain, 1991/1996, p. 55). Larrain (1991/1996) argues that these two conceptualizations of ideology are complementary and necessary. The more neutral, Gramscian definition enables us to ask what makes ideology feel ‘truthful’ and what makes it appealing to those who are not served by it, while the more negative, Marxist definition enables us to ask what contradictions are masked by ideology. Both definitions consider ideology to exist materially; that is, ideology constitutes and is constituted by material situations and practices (such as the production and watching of television programs like Timeless, for example). Ideology operates through culture and social norms: what seems ‘obvious’ or ‘True’ are actually ideological effects (Althusser, 1970/2004; Fiske, 1987/2004). Fiske (1987/2004) explains that social norms are ideologically slanted to serve the interests of a certain social group 3 or groups while other social groups (whose interests are sometimes in direct opposition to such norms) simultaneously tend to accept these norms as natural. Social groups can be categorized according to many different axes of division such as class, race, gender, age, nation, political loyalties, and more (Fiske, 1987/2004). Different groups relate to each other in terms of power that is constantly contested and struggled over. Fiske (1987/2004) defines this power as, “the power to get one’s class or group interest served by the social structure as a whole” (pp. 1268- 1269). Fiske (1987/2004)