Villains, Victims and Heroes: Melodrama, Media, and September 11

  1. Elisabeth Anker

Article first published online: 10 JAN 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb02656.x

Issue

Journal of Communication

Journal of Communication

Volume 55, Issue 1, pages 22–37, March 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

Anker, E. (2005), Villains, Victims and Heroes: Melodrama, Media, and September 11. Journal of Communication, 55: 22–37. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb02656.x

Author Information

  1. Elisabeth Anker (MA, University of California, Berkeley) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science with a Designated Emphasis in Film Studies at the University of California, Berkeley

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 10 JAN 2006
  2. Article first published online: 10 JAN 2006

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Keywords:

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Melodrama is not merely a type of film or literary genre, but a pervasive cultural mode that structures the presentation of political discourse and national identity in contemporary America. This article examines the media coverage of September 11, 2001, and how it produced a specific American collective identity through a melodramatic plotline. The September 11 news coverage illustrates how the United States became signified as a morally powerful victim ensnared in a position that required it to transform victimization into heroic retributive action. The article concludes by probing the dangerous ramifications of a national melodramatic identity for American politics and democratic citizenship.

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