Overcoming Fear Culture and Fear Itself

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Such story lines are anything but an anomaly. Law & Order (nearly two decades’ worth), the CSI franchise, Dateline’s disturbing “reality” program To Catch a Predator, and more: All exploit our imaginations on behalf of the very worst and least likely possibilities. That we can enjoy these shows as entertainment suggests the degree to which fear has become just another part of life. In the U.K., Furedi says, networks now broadcast public service announcements after frightening programs, providing a hotline for viewers to call if they’ve been disturbed.

The intention may be honorable, but the implication is unmistakable: What you see on TV should scare you. (And if you’re not scared, there’s probably something wrong with you.)

To consider only what the media dish up, however, neglects the impact of our changing roles as media consumers. Increasingly, we seek out news from specialized sources—and this balkanization directly affects the sorts of things we fear. “Not all media agree with one another, and a diversity of panics breaks out among different media audiences,” Skeptical Inquirer’s Erich Goode wrote in December.

Right-wing talk radio shows, for example, battle lefty networks like Air America, each championing the correct fears for its constituency of listeners. What media people choose to consume has come to say as much about their identities as the causes they champion, the candidates they support, and the lives they lead. In this way, the things people learn to fear have become a form of identity.

“If I could ask you ‘How do you feel about terrorism?’ I can pretty much guess the rest of your political views based on [your answer],” Gardner says.

In a telling preelection episode of Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart, reporter John Oliver dove into the crowds at campaign rallies for then–­Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. With total aplomb, citizens at each rally expressed their fear, even terror, as to what would happen if their candidate’s opponent were to be elected. Oliver’s conclusion? “There’s no red America, no blue America. There’s just one scared shitless America.”

While the report was meant to elicit a laugh, it also underscores how canned fears tell important stories about who people are. It would be a mistake, though, to presume as Oliver humorously suggests that this fear is somehow unifying. Contemporary fears may be held in common, but they still circle back to the self. Remember Joe the Plumber? At the heart of his query sat the self-centered meme of the 2008 campaign season: What can you do for me? Or, translated into appropriately fearful rhetoric: What will this candidate do to me?

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