The Walking Dead: Dead City takes an opposite position on the idea that masculinity rules. As we

all know, masculinity in the world of The Walking Dead could mean violence or dominance. The

character Dama, who was making the decisions for the Burazi, used masculine tactics but mainly

operated within a mental, mind-game component throughout the series. Her leadership style

differed from Negan and the Croat’s kind of leadership. Dama’s style of authority came from

influence, intelligence, and a socially controlled nature. These elements fall outside of typical

masculine features. Using Dama as the main antagonist in the narrative allows the media to align

with its medium by fulfilling the audience’s expectations.

The writers set up the character Dama in the storyline as somewhat of a strategic politician. This

is highlighted in season one, in the last episode, where she finally meets Negan and, within their

conversation, gives him the opportunity to return to a leadership role. In the midst of the long

dialogue, Dama discusses with Negan how she has positioned herself in a comfortable space with

Maggie Rhee’s son, and this approach differs greatly from a masculine approach. In the next

episode, season 2, episode 1, Dama uses Negan’s specialty to her advantage to get what she wants

from the Burazi. In a masculine approach, you would see threats being made so that cooperation

is possible. In Dama’s approach, she tells Negan to use his influence to convince members of the

Burazi that they want to do this. This shows that The Walking Dead: Dead City conveys a style of

leadership that differs from the world’s favoritism toward masculinity.

To further the difference between Dama’s way of leadership and a masculine style of leadership

in the world of The Walking Dead: Dead City, it is clear when comparing her style to Negan and

the Croat, who also possess leadership roles within the text. Referring back to the narrative

analysis, Negan is shown in scenes throughout Dead City as lethal and willing to display gruesome

killings to get his point across. For example, in the middle of my narrative analysis, I explained

how Negan takes out a man on a balcony to show dominance over others who were trying to attack

him and Maggie Rhee. Dominance is a form of masculinity that Dama does not display in her

leadership wholeheartedly. Written at the end of the narrative analysis post, the Croat is shown

experiencing leadership qualities that the audience had not seen before the spinoff began. This type

of leadership from the Croat is approached with masculinity within the narration. An example of

the Croat’s leadership style is shown in season one, episode five, where he fills a room with

methane gas, which ends up knocking out his own people and nearly incapacitating Negan, the

person he was trying to make a point to at that time.

The media compares to its medium by allowing the expectations of the audience to be fulfilled.

When watching an action-filled thriller series, the natural feeling a viewer wants is the death of

the most evil person within the text. In The Walking Dead: Dead City, there are no likable features

of the character Dama at all. This means that if anything were to happen to her in the narration, a

natural feeling of relief would occur for the viewer. In season 2, episode 5, the writers display this

by showing a scene where it seems as if Dama had died in a fire that went out of control. Thisscene happens at the end of the episode. It also allows the audience to feel at ease because they

know it would remove an obstacle from Maggie Rhee.