Presentation Dissertation Merel van Ommen 'Viewers' Routes Towards Moral Evaluations of Morally Ambivalent Drama Series'.

1. Viewers’ Routes Towards Moral Evaluation of Morally
Ambiguous Characters
Merel Elizabeth van Ommen

2. “Stories are things that structure life.” (Campbell, 1990)

3. We live by stories that make clear-cut distinctions between “good” and “evil”…
• Every violation of the moral order is rectified by the actions of the hero (Lane, 2001)
• Functions to uphold the moral order (Grabe, 2002; Klapper, 1960)
• Genres that ritualize morality, such as: Disney-fairytales, whodunits, romantic comedy’s etc.
versus

4. …and stories that articulate much less clear-cut moral messages
• “Do both good and bad things” (Krakowiak & Oliver, 2012,
p.117) and have inner moral deliberations about their
motivations and behavior.
• “Often behave in immoral ways” (Krakowiak & Tsay-Vogel,
2015)
• However, this immoral behavior is frequently alleviated by
redeeming qualities that set them apart from villains
(Krakowiak & Tsay-Vogel, 2015).
Morally ambivalent characters (MACs)

5. …and stories that articulate much less clear-cut moral messages
• “Character creates plot” (Egri, 1960)
• Moral dilemmas stay unresolved (Dant, 2005)
• Character’s moral attitude towards their inner conflict
develop over time (Bordwell & Thompson, 2008)
MACs’ inner conflicts create a narrative of endless &
deepening moral predicaments

6. House M.D.
Foreman: "Isn’t treating patients why we became
doctors?”
House: "No, treating illnesses is why we became
doctors, treating patients is what makes most
doctors miserable."

7. How do medical students and physicians come to moral judgments about MACs in
House M.D?
What role does the alluring, yet morally ambivalent story play?
What role does viewer’s own (professional) experiences and beliefs play?

8. Moral evaluation differ according to the degree of "professional" experience
R: (..) Well I don’t think people…doctors
would actually do that. If they did I think
they would have to appear in front of a
disciplinary committee.
(Second year student, female, 19 years)
R: In that situation I would act in a similar
fashion, but that is because you are on a
journey with that patient, you’ve built a
bond. And if it becomes clear that it is a
horrible situation without a solution - which
is exactly what he says [dr. Powell]. (…)
(Physician, female, 36 years)

9. Four case-study’s, one theory
The Sopranos Dexter Gossip Girl

10. Take-aways of my dissertation
1. Shared moral judgment process based in the narrative:
viewers can eventually be “socialized” in the series.
2. Personal moral decision-making shifts with experience.
3. Using both narrative and personal frames creates a safe, yet
challenging ethical playground.

11. Everything changes, therefore moral knowledge is also fluid
Media experiencesDaily encounters