Television as an Agent of Socialization

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Television as an Agent of Socialization

I chose the first episode of the very popular television program The Event. I viewed the first episode on Netflix, October 20, 2011. This program originally aired on NBC, September 10, 2010, and is titled “I Haven’t Told You Everything”. This program has a total of twenty two series to date and is classified as an action-adventure drama. After viewing a picture of the main characters with the synopsis of this program, I noticed immediately that this was a male dominated show. The picture shows seven people standing together and merely two of the seven are female. The premise of the story is about a man searching for his missing fiancé. The story line was a prime example of the gender male role of the fearless and virile man and the gender female role of the damsel in distress needing a man to save her.

Although the list of main characters of this show has a total of seven this specific episode only brought to the forefront five in total with two being female and three being male. Every scene in this movie is heavily male oriented. All of the main men characters are playing major roles and are portrayed as men of influence with strong convictions. I was able to recognize the importance of their characters quite easily by their actions and titles in the program.

The president is a man and all of his advisors are men. In one scene where the president was entering a facility he was accompanied by four men and one woman. All of the secret service, military, security and police officers are men. There is a scene where there is a busy airplane control center and seven people are working and only one is a woman. In an additional scene where the president is sitting with his top of...

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...president; however, I was able to find three series to date that depict woman as presidents: President Laura Roslin – Battlestar Galactica, President Allison Taylor – 24, and President Mackenzie Allen – Commander in Chief. Having resilient woman in compelling roles on television is very important and gives young girls the indication that they can possess the American Dream.

Can a woman truly have the American dream? As an American woman viewing women on television I am not convinced that I can reach all my aspirations, even with hard-work and fortitude. I believe I will always be one step behind a man. Although I think this way, it will not deter me from acquiring a higher education. I will continue to encourage my five year old daughter, Breanna, to strive for excellence and reassure her that she is just as entitled to the American dream as anyone else.

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