Individual Presentation or Panel Title

False Advertising: Israeli Media and the Politics that Govern It

Abstract

Political dramas, such as The West Wing and Borgen, have allowed for politically controversial topics previously shunned to become significant in political discourse within, and beyond, their countries of origin. These dramas can become powerful tools when dealing with censorship challenges provided by the government, especially when citizen discourse and protest is shut down continuously through a government’s power. This research paper will explore this idea further, specifically looking within the Middle-Eastern country of Israel. The potential within Israel for political television dramas to engage ideas that would have otherwise been censored by the media will be investigated through the analysis of Israeli political society. The impact of this on an Israeli political drama and further, the impact of the political drama on civil discourse, will be examined. An Israeli political drama would allow for an increase in civil discourse as it would demonstrate issues obliquely to the public through the mask of fiction, creating an opening shift in Israeli political discussion. The political discourse constructed and directed through popular culture in reaction to the political drama would allow for an increase in acceptance of these controversial topics, pushing political discourse within Israel to increase.

Location

Goodwin Private Dining Room

Start Date

3-5-2014 1:30 PM

End Date

3-5-2014 2:20 PM

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May 3rd, 1:30 PM May 3rd, 2:20 PM

False Advertising: Israeli Media and the Politics that Govern It

Goodwin Private Dining Room

Political dramas, such as The West Wing and Borgen, have allowed for politically controversial topics previously shunned to become significant in political discourse within, and beyond, their countries of origin. These dramas can become powerful tools when dealing with censorship challenges provided by the government, especially when citizen discourse and protest is shut down continuously through a government’s power. This research paper will explore this idea further, specifically looking within the Middle-Eastern country of Israel. The potential within Israel for political television dramas to engage ideas that would have otherwise been censored by the media will be investigated through the analysis of Israeli political society. The impact of this on an Israeli political drama and further, the impact of the political drama on civil discourse, will be examined. An Israeli political drama would allow for an increase in civil discourse as it would demonstrate issues obliquely to the public through the mask of fiction, creating an opening shift in Israeli political discussion. The political discourse constructed and directed through popular culture in reaction to the political drama would allow for an increase in acceptance of these controversial topics, pushing political discourse within Israel to increase.