Weekly Blog Post #3

Just like in Marxism, class relations play a pivotal role in the show Veronica Mars. In the pilot episode one of Veronica’s very first assertions is that she lives in Neptune, California: “A town with no middle class.”

Veronica plays a unique role in the show because as the narrator she is able to give a middle class perspective on the town with “no middle class.”

As she states the only reason that she was able to go to her school and further live in her town, was the fact that her father was the sheriff.

Yet despite having no middle class, the town still has biker gangs.  Short of the fact that they might be a gang of upper-class biker thugs, the show leaves that fact unexplained.

In the Burton reading, one of the key points is the fact that television can play an important role in determining the values ideologies and morals of the viewing audience. As the reading states, “Television is an agent or carrier of ideology,” (Burton 20). Whether actively or passively, the establishment of right and wrong can sway audiences.

Veronica Mars seems to actively try to blur the ethical lines that exist in viewer’s minds. It seeks to intentionally confuse the watcher’s moral compass. For example, Veronica clearly thinks that it is wrong to tape Wallace to a pole. It is safe to say most viewers would agree.

However, she seems to have no problem with spying or manipulating the emotions of everyone around her. She also has allegiances with the same gang that humiliated Wallace.

When looking at the show through the lens of a Marxist perspective, another thing that is intentionally blended is the role of power and social structure. In her high school, there exists a very clear and deliberate social hierarchy. Veronica seems to operate outside of that hierarchy.

She is one of the few main characters that always seem to have the upper hand. When she has her locker searched by the principal and police, she is still the most dominant person in the situation. She takes the principal off guard by having a picture of him with a heart around it. Even the drug-dog is affected by her sway as he barks and she instantly quiets him.

This is certainly distinct from the “natural power relations in society” that the article talks about (Burton 22). Veronica is an undersized white girl who by “natural power relations,” should not be on top. She is almost domineering and mocking in her treatment to the biker gang who come to her side when she needs help.

Compare Veronica’s fortuitous fate to real life where a character as cheeky as she is would end up either injured or dead (especially in connection to the biker gang).

Yet, at the same time this is part of the appeal of the show, that this small girl is able to subvert being outmanned and outgunned with her charisma and almost cult of personality type appeal.

Burton, Graeme. “Critical Approaches to Television Studies.” Talking Television. London: Arnold, 2000. 20-22. Print.

“Pilot.” Veronica Mars. 22 Sept. 2004. Television.

Veronica Mars Blog

The Burton reading thoroughly discussed several methods of theoretical approaches in relation to critiquing modern day television. The particular method that stood out the most to me in regards to the pilot episode of Veronica Mars was the Marxist approach because it focuses “on economic determinism, class relations and the exercise of power and control within social structures” (Burton 17). I think this particular theoretical approach is a perfect description of the title character Veronica Mars’ struggle to make get through her high school days in one piece as a lower class girl who is constantly picked on by the rich and popular teenagers at her school.

She is often showcased as an outsider who doesn’t quite belong at a high school, which is full of students whose parents are either “millionaires or work for millionaires” (“Pilot”). She lives in a run down, old motel with her father and helps with his business as a private investigator just to make ends meat. This is something that the majority of her peers certainly can’t relate to being that most of them live very sheltered and pampered lifestyles.

The title character is constantly bullied mostly by egotistical male characters such as the local bike gang leader and by her ex boyfriend’s best friend who comes from a very rich and well known family in her town. Her ex boyfriend’s best friend even goes so far as to make fun of her for being molested and not knowing how she lost her own virginity. Another male character who gives Veronica Mars a very hard time is the local policeman. A perfect example of this would be when she went down to the police station to report being raped. The policeman smugly said to go find a “wizard” and “ask for backup” (“Pilot”). All of these examples of males over powering the female character are described in the Marxist theoretical approach. According to Burton “television represents power relations explicitly in, for example, the ways that programmes show men treating women” (17).

It often felt like the title character was all-alone and had no one to run to during all of her hardships. Even though she possessed such an overwhelming amount of strength due to the way she was able to seek revenge on her enemies such as planting a bong in her ex boyfriend’s best friend’s locker to make up for his bullying (“Pilot”), it still appeared as though she longed for the affection of someone such as a boyfriend. It becomes clear as the episode went on that there was definitely a power struggle between class and social structures among the title character who comes from a very low class upbringing and that of her ex boyfriend who comes from a rich and well-respected family life. The two are no longer together and it appears as though they could never rekindle their love due to their contrasting lifestyles. The Veronica Mars character said in this episode “the people you love, let you down” (“Pilot”). This quote is a perfect example of how the Marxist theoretical approach applies to this episode with the “exercise of power and control with in social structures” (Burton 17) because it pin points that often times, not even true love is strong enough to conquer the division amongst classes.

The struggle of class, power and social structure issues are subjects that are most apparent in the Veronica Mars pilot episode. Even though the character is strong and most definitely has the ability to overcome these obstacles, it’s still clear that’s these issues are present and are underlying tones showcased throughout the duration of the episode.

Works Cited

“Pilot.” Veronica Mars. 22 Sept. 2004. Television/UPN. 22 Jan 2011.

Burton, Graeme. “Critical Approaches to Television Studies.” Talking Television. London: Arnold, 2000. 13-40. Print. 22 Jan 2011.

Week 4 Schedule

Week 4 (January 24-30)

Monday
Class Activity:
Critical Approaches to Television/Applying Critical Approaches to
Television
Assignments:
Mittell – “Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television” (e-reserve)

Wednesday
Class Activity:
Screening – Carnivale
Assignments:
Blog post
Folk – “Slights and Slants: Visual Representation in Carnivale” (online)

Friday
Class Activity:
Discuss Essay One questions/drafts
Assignments:
Mills – “The New Jokes” (e-reserve)
Essay One due Monday, 11:59 pm (via email)

Blog 3: Marxists Views on Veronica Mars

In the pilot episode of Veronica Mars, a couple of scenes depicted the separation between classes based on the socio-economic status of the person. As a way to criticize the dramatic series, I will take the Marxist approach because of the division of people due to their economic background.

During lunch in the courtyard, Veronica explained “there is no middle class in Neptune, California” (Veronica Mars 2004). She also provided a narrative of a popular group of people at school, some of whom she was very close to. She illustrated them as spoiled brats, who possessed the glories of life because of the occupations of their parents. Duncan Kane’s dad was the prestigious Doctor J. Kane, while Logan Echolls’s parents were politicians (Veronica Mars 2004). Their luxuries such as money, designer clothes, sport cars, and expensive accessories were a way to display their socio-economic status. Veronica also mentions that she was once a part of that social elite when her family held a high reputation within the Neptune Beach when her dad was the head sheriff. However, the homicide of Lilly Kane and Mr. Mars’s escapade on tracking the wrong murderer left him socially blocked out of town when he thought the killer was J. Kane. Veronica, too, was banished in a sense when her father wasn’t the head sheriff anymore. Of course Lilly’s death had an impact on her social standing with the popular crowd, however, I think her father’s position, her alcoholic mother’s disappearance, and lack of money also left her to be banned. In the show, one can see that she has transitioned her status because of her family’s tinted reputation as she befriended the most dangerous and grotesque group–the latino biker gang. Throughout the episode, the show hinted that the people that ran the high school were the rich, popular kids and the biker gang–two extremes of the social scale.

The point that I’m trying to make is that this show is exemplifies the Marxist theory because it heavily relies on “the exercise of power and control within social structures…Television does partly exemplify the idea that society is driven by the interests of capital and by economic forces” (Burton 16). Obviously, this is true as the rich are in power of the high school and their world revolves around purchasing power. He also states that television portrays certain classes pertaining to their stereotypical depictions (17) such as Logan, Duncan, and Lilly being a young, white, attractive and rich crowd; or with the gang being dirty, resented, and intimidating. Burton adds, “Television represents the power relations explicitly…and is a way of exercising power over large sections of society” (17). This is more or less true because of these visual icons/ symbols which provide us with these stereotypes of society.

There is another side to Veronica Mars in which commercial television indirectly advertises the power of consumerism and the capitalist system. By televising the accessories, clothes, and cars on the show, it can inevitably market the goods to the consumerist population. With more need in purchasing these commodities, this can help the economy grow by creating more jobs while also making more money.

Burton, Graeme. “Critical Approaches to Television Studies.” Talking Television. London: Arnold, 2000. 13-40. Print.

“Pilot.” Veronica Mars. 22 Sept. 2004. Television.

Blog 3: Veronica Mars Marxist Approach

Blog 3: Veronica Mars Marxist Approach

The twentieth century was marked with the rise of Marxist views of society as well as the development of media that represented these Marxists view of society, primarily, through television (Burton 16). In our Burton reading this week, we had the opportunity to learn about the variety of theoretical approaches that can be applied to television studies. Personally, the pilot episode of Veronica Mars truly exemplifies determinism and Marxism from start to finish. Off the get go, we see that economic determinism, class relations, and the exercise of control and power are the main drivers for the plot and character development in this show. At the same time, we see all these three elements come into play as they have a focus on social structures; this is the theoretical approach of Marxism.

The episode begins with first-person narration from the protagonist, Veronica Mars. Veronica sets the audience in Neptune, California, a town in which the middle class does not exist. She attends Neptune High where the stereotype is that if you attend that high school “either your parents are rich or your parents work for the rich” (“Pilot”). Veronica’s high school is a parallel to the entire Neptune as she even mentions that Neptune high is like the rest of the town, from the people to the stereotypes, and the occurrences – it is a place that is driven by the “interests of capital” and economic forces – both which are descriptive of Marxism (Burton 16).

As Veronica continues narrating her ‘recent’ past we learn that her dad was a Sheriff for the town and that her ex-boyfriend, Duncan Kane, was of an extremely rich family that made “streaming video possible.” The fact that Veronica was dating Duncan allowed her to be part of the popular and rich group, but not anymore. This segment of Neptune High, the rich and popular, look down upon all the others that do not fit the criteria of their clique. Considering, Veronica is not the Sheriff’s daughter anymore does not allow her to continue hanging with that clique as she does not get anymore. Social standing rules society at Neptune High and in the town itself. The predominance of the upper-class ruling and taking control of society represents the power relations associated to Marxism.

A second scene in the Pilot episode of Veronica Mars that exemplifies the exercise of power and control is at the end of the episode. The narrative continues on the plot that Veronica befriends a new student, Wallace, who was duct taped in his underwear on a flag pole because he was a ‘snitch.’ The flashback of his story is critical to the episode as we learn he works at a gas station and that the night prior, a group of bikers had gone into the convenience store and robbed liquor and only paid him a dollar for a pack of gum. Wallace, not knowing what to do, presses the alarm and when the Sheriff comes, he is accused of lying in front of the bikers and he resorts to saying it was a mistake.

In that scene sequence, we meet Paco’s gang and they are the bikers of the town and they also go to Neptune High. Since we know Veronica is an outcast at the high school, she wants to help Wallace and steals the evidence [a security video] so Wallace is left alone. When the Sheriff plays the video, it shows him in a compromising position and Wallace is freed and now has the only evidence of the gang’s robbery. This allows Wallace to be respected by the gang as they do not want to be pushed down by ‘the new kid.’ Here, power relations of Marxism are represented by Veronica, Wallace, and the gang as Veronica does the work but the males dominate the societal space. Furthermore, the gang claims territory and exercises power, even over the rich and popular clique [Logan] (Burton 17). Paco damages Logan’s car as he wants to emphasize his dominance in town. Not only that, but Logan had just damaged Veronica’s car as she placed him in trouble due to a marijuana device found in his locker. When Paco arrived not only does he enforce his dominance as being the lead member of the gang but, to a slight degree, demands respect to Veronica due to their treaty (“Pilot”).

The Pilot episode of Veronica Mars truly exemplifies the gender roles of men and women in society as well as the Marxist roles of economic determinism and power and control over social structures. These scenes represent only a part of the large spectrum of Marxist ideals touched upon in this show and that are expressed in modern society.

Works Cited

“Pilot.” Veronica Mars. 22 Sept. 2004. Television/UPN. 20 Jan 2011.

Burton, Graeme. “Critical Approaches to Television Studies.” Talking Television. London: Arnold, 2000. 13-40. Print. 20 Jan 2011.

Blog 3- Veronica Mars

The Marxist approach to television, being focused on economics, power, and control, can be used in multiple ways when analyzing Veronica Mars (Burton, 16). The show has many sub-plots that directly relate to the power-struggle seen in communities that are founded on class. The community that Veronica lives in is full of millionaires. Multiple times throughout the pilot episode she describes how different characters became rich. In describing her high school, she also points out that only wealthy kids attend that school and live in that community. This separation of class becomes a major theme of the episode as the viewer learns more about Veronica and her family. Furthering this theme is Veronica’s father. After being fired, alienated in the community, and left by his wife, Veronica’s father is left with no money and no way to clear his name. The fact that her father went after one of the wealthiest men in town also becomes a major problem in Veronica’s life. This becomes essential in the episode as Veronica is confronted with her father’s past by the people in the community and the boys at school.

Another example of both separation of class and power-struggles found in this episode is how Veronica is treated following her father’s “fall from power”. Such as with her rape, the new sheriff disrespects her when she goes to report the crime and she is left to deal with it on her own. Veronica essentially loses everything in her old life when her father loses his power and wealth within the community. She loses her home, her mother, her boyfriend, her respect, and eventually her old identity.

One of the best examples in the episode relating to power struggles comes in when Veronica meets Wallace taped to a flag pole. Wallace, seemingly not as rich as most of the kids at the school because he works at a convenience store, has apparently angered the wrong people. Veronica soon finds out that Wallace called the police on some members of the local bike gang. At this point in the episode, the bike gang and the guys at school, such as Logan, hold the power. Wallace and Veronica are continuously tormented throughout the episode by the bike gang and Logan. This occurs up until the power shift that occurs when Veronica and Wallace switch out the security tape. Veronica’s power is shown when the bike gang shows up in her defense when Logan is vandalizing her car. She instructs the leader of the gang to let Logan go because she does not want his apology. She ends the episode having gained some revenge on Logan and the new sheriff who, mentioned previously, had failed to help her following her rape. Wallace also ends the episode holding the power over the bike gang as he retains the only copy of the security tape that could send the gang’s members to jail.

Citations:

Burton, Graeme. “Critical Approaches to Television Studies.” Talking                 Television. London: Arnold, 2000. 13-40. Print.

“Pilot.” Veronica Mars. UPN. 22 Sept. 2004. Television.