By Joseph Paul
WEST LAFAYETTE — A recent survey of fans of political dramas with female leads indicated that viewers who connected with the storyline and characters report an increased interest in political participation.
The survey showed that watching television shows such as “Madam Secretary” (starring Tea Leoni as wife, mother of three and U.S. Secretary of State); “The Good Wife” (starring Julianna Margulies as the wife the governor of Illinois who served a prison term for corruption scandal); and “Scandal” (starring Kerry Washington as a woman trying to move on from her former position as media consultant to the president) had a definite effect on knowledge and opinions and political engagement.
“A lot of times, people think of entertainment television as being just that: purely entertainment,” said Jennifer Hoewe, an assistant professor at Purdue University’s Brian Lamb School of Communication. “But there’s research to show we can get more out of entertainment media than just something fun and relaxing. This study is showing that when we have lead female characters, we can feel like we’re part of the show, we enjoy the characters, and that can actually lead to positive political outcomes.”
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The study was conducted by Hoewe and Lindsey Sherrill, a doctoral candidate at the University of Alabama, involving 218 fans, 70 percent of whom were women, recruited from Reddit and other online fan forums dedicated to the shows. Although many political thrillers and comedies have become popular on television and digital streaming services, the three shows were chosen for their more accurate depictions of women in political leadership.
Respondents were first tested on their emotional investment in a story and their connection to the characters. They were asked to rate how the shows affected them emotionally, how much they related to the characters and how interested and active they were in politics.
Viewers with high levels of emotional investment and connection to the characters reported paying more attention to politics and being more involved in political activities, such as attendance at public meetings, rallies or speeches, circulating petitions for candidates or issues, or contacting public officials.
“The more you watched, the more you felt engaged with the narrative, then the more you felt like those characters were relatable to you,” Hoewe said. “Once those pieces were in place, that led to political interest, efficacy and downstream political participation.”
The three shows included in the study are an exception in primetime TV, which still mostly confines women to roles emphasizing sexuality, beauty and gender-stereotypical occupations, Hoewe said. But the findings are promising since they show that reversing those roles can be beneficial to viewers.
Hoewe’s next step is to assess whether or not political dramas with male lead characters can elicit the same response.
“We’re seeing more shows featuring women in fictional roles in a greater number of contexts,” Hoewe said. “Media depictions of political leadership can illustrate to people generally, not just women, that there is opportunity for people of all genders and colors to participate in politics.”
