Fictionalizing Ferguson in Prime-Time Dramas

Abstract

Chapter Seven narrows its focus to one particular year of programming that featured storylines about police brutality, inequity within the criminal justice system, and the #Black Lives Matter movement that has risen to speak out against both. Drawing upon trauma theory, this essay analyzes special episodes of CBS's The Good Wife (2009-2016) and ABC's Scandal (2010-2018) -- which have been referred to by media critics as each program's respective "Ferguson episode" -- and the first season of ABC's American Crime (2015-2017), a gritty crime anthology/mini-series which unflinchingly tackled racial conflict in its debut year. While there are reasons to be wary of attempts to fictionalize current race relations, this chapter ultimately argues that series that include thoughtful, complex storylines, and televisual aesthetics that underscore the social commentary contained with the program, may allow these issues not just to be understood, but felt.