Genre convention inspiration from 'The Mentalist'

Genre convention inspiration from 'The Mentalist'

By Connor Taylor

In The Mentalist their are many characters throughout, all of which subvert and conform to different conventions in their genre being Drama and Mystery.

One major part of 'The Mentalist' is that the chief detective whole is in charge of the main team is a woman, which subverts common media images as people in authoritarian positions are usually male as they are considered more dominant.

However media in this specific genre of police investigation drama has started to adapt by having a female character as the dominant character in 21st century.

To add to this the main character who is male is not very masculine and dominant, throughout this is shown with him being non violent, which subverts media conventions as male characters are usually dominant and facing danger and being drawn to it.

Also the main female protagonist 'Teresa' has also a few male/masculine attributes. For example she is not afraid of violence or confrontation, she has a more masculine walk/stroll pattern which is not too feminine and she in many scenes is very authoritarian and dominant to others whether above or below her status in the CBI.

However 'The Mentalist' is also very conforming to genre conventions of detective drama's, such as that they nearly always have a 'damsel in distress' who is saved by the protagonists, however sometimes it is 'Teresa' the female chief detective who saves 'Patrick' the consultant which subverts media images as the female is saving the male and he also has a much inferior status in the CBI.

To conclude I found 'The Mentalist' to be very inspiring, especially specifically about the narrative and how much of it is subverting common media images but however still was able to support itself and become likable and popular.