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Television and culture Essay
Television effect on society
Television effect on society
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Television can be considered a cultural forum. By cultural forum, this means issues and points of view can be discussed openly and almost without punishment. These issues can vary anywhere from male dominance in the household, to wars, to racism, to political jabs and still be covered under freedom of speech. Television can hold a wide variety of opinions which may offend, but for the most part due so to prove a point.
In the All in the Family episode we watched in class, it is no secret that Archie Bunker is racist. In fact, in the episode we viewed, there is a racial argument between Archie and the George Jefferson. Through this show, the writer’s can convey thoughts, theories, and opinions about the current state of the world without having to feel penali...
Not only educational shows accomplish these goals, but fictional television programs can often incorporate information that requires viewers to grapple with a topic using logical reasoning and a global consciousness. In addition, not to diminish the importance of reading, television reaches those who may never pick up a book or who might struggle with reading problems, enabling a broader spectrum of people to interact with cognitive topics. Veith has committed the error of making generalizations about two forms of media when, in truth, the situation varies depending on quality and content. However, what follows these statements is not just fallacious, but
Both Archie Bunker (All in the Family) and George Jefferson (The Jefferson’s) are opinionated bigots incapable of substantiating their arguments. In Archie’s case, his bumbling buffoon antics support the stereotypical working-class intell...
George Jefferson character was referred to as Archie Bunker; he was a person that was a stubborn and an intolerant person. “According to, “The Jefferson,” it was one of three programs of the period to feature African Americans in leading roles; Louise
their culture. Television over the years has molded the minds of its viewers – young and
With improvements to broadcasting technologies and greater access by more families, television was now in more homes in the 1960’s, bringing news, advertising, and family comedy shows to the nation. Moreover, the influence on social aspects of people’s live was apparent when it came to depicting women and their gender roles through acting. Consequently, television played another role regarding social dynamics thus, showing the realities of civil rights and the horrors of war. Additionally, television brought the political candidates to the forefront and had a strong influence on the American people’s political ideologies, as the first ever presidential debate aired on television. Finally, television aided the economy by waging advertising campaigns that convinced consumers to purchase their products. Coupled with consumer’s extra income contributing to a strong economy, despite the slightly high unemployment rates. As can be seen, television played a key role in the social, political, and economic culture in the 1950’s and
Imagine a world in which presidential debates were not televised, and a person would have to read the newspaper to get all their political news. Just how different would our country be today? Television has a huge effect on American politics. It is often the main source from which people derive their reasoning and opinions from. There is a plethora of news television channels to choose from and gather information from. These channels often run all times of the day. Keeping American citizens up to date on all developing news. Television properly helps U.S citizens vet and get to know the candidate, as well as the candidate's plan.
The Effect of Television In The Age of Missing Information Bill McKibben, in his book The Age of Missing Information, explores the impact of television on modern cultures both in America and around the world. In the book McKibben carries out an experiment; he watches the entire television broadcast of 93 separate cable channels for one entire day. In all McKibben viewed 24 hours of programming from 93 separate cable stations, that is more than 2,200 hours of television. His purpose in this formidable undertaking was to determine how much actual information that was relevant to real life he could glean from a day of television broadcasting. McKibben also spent a day camping alone on a mountain near his home.
...ing our views, but as for children, TV is one of the key things that shape their minds.
There are many movies and television shows that reflect American culture. A show or movie must address some current societal problem or trend in order to truly reflect American life; murder, rape, racism, and, on a less serious note, parties, shopping, and sports are topics that deserve serious consideration by the public and the media. The show Beverly Hills 90210 attempts to be an accurate portrayal of the life of a typical well-off American teenager growing up in the 80's and 90's. The producers of the show attempt to integrate many real life situations in to the show. By doing this they are suggesting to the audience, which happens to be geared toward teenagers and young adults, that what the characters do in the show is the ideal way to deal with these types of situations. Many aspects of American culture are represented on the television show Beverly Hills 90210, or just 90210 as it is commonly referred to. During the first year or so of Beverly Hills 90210 it dealt with the subject of murder/homicide. One of David's best friends was playing with a gun that he had acquired during a summer vacation to the mid-West. The friend shot himself by accident; what followed was a time of mourning for David and a recollection of many fond memories of the times they shared together. This episode's tragedy brought the characters in the show closer together. Many innocent children, and sometimes adults, are killed accidentally playing with guns, or by drive-by shootings. This is a major problem in the United States and the show is trying to get the message out that it is not a safe thing to do. It also raises the question as to why access of guns is so readily available to anyone. Every night on the news, someone can see many incidents in which there are suffering resulting from guns. Furthermore, the availability of guns makes the public scared. Children have images of adults using guns for hunting or game. In the adolescents' mind it appears that guns are not a bad item to own, when in reality guns are extremely dangerous weapons. Beverly Hills 90210 makes a strong attempt to impress upon its viewers that these accidents can be precautions. The show sends a message to the younger generation, which are becoming more and more violent, to stay away from things that result in violence like...
At its head was Archie Bunker a racist. While some felt that Archie's use of racial slurs amounted to prejudice most saw the series as an important move toward realism particularly in terms of race relations on television.The Bunkers' next door neighbors were a black family whose characters were later featured in a popular spin-off series.
The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.
Up until recently television has been the most prominent medium of entertainment and information in our lives. Nothing could beat Saturday morning cartoons, the six o'clock news and zoning out from the world by the distractions of prime time sitcoms. It is all of these things and more that formed television into what was thought to be the ultimate entertainment medium, that is, up until now. Television in the twenty-first century is not the television our parents watched or in fact what we watched as children. Today’s generation are no longer satisfied with the traditional television experience. Today’s audience no longer has to follow the network’s predetermined schedule nor is television the one dimensional experience it used to be. Viewers no longer need to schedule a fixed time in order to gather information or watch their favourite show (Smith 5). They can record it with the push of the DVR (Digital Video Recording) button or watch it on a device and obtain background information via the Internet. In addition, viewers now have the opportunity to interact with, share, and produce their own material from their favourite show (5). In order to not lose the authenticity of television, media theorists have created transmedia. This new twist on television gives the user more control and more involvement than ever before. The concept has been termed as transmedia storytelling. The online journal Infoline defines transmedia storytelling in its January 2014 issue as “social, mobile, accessible and re-playable.” Originally coined in the 1990’s it was not until 2003 when Henry Jenkins, a professor of communications at the University of Southern California, wrote his article “Transmedia Storytelling” that the term began being ...
Television is a vital source from which most Americans receive information. News and media delegates on television have abused theirs powers over society through the airing of appealing news shows that misinform the public. Through literary research and experimentation, it has been proven that people's perception of reality has been altered by the information they receive from such programs. Manipulation, misinterpretation, word arrangement, picture placement and timing are all factors and tricks that play a major role in the case. Research, experimentation, and actual media coverage has pinpointed actual methods used for deceptive advertising. Television influences society in many ways. People are easily swayed to accept a belief that they may not normally have unless expressed on television, since many people think that everything they hear on television is true. This, however, is not always the case. It has been observed that over the past twenty to thirty years, normal social behavior, even actual life roles of men and women and media, regulatory policies have all been altered (Browne 1998). Media has changed with time, along with quality and respectability. Many Americans receive and accept false information that is merely used as an attention grabber that better the show's ratings and popularity. Many magazines and Journal reviews have periodically discussed the "muckraking" that many tabloid shows rely on to draw in their viewers. This involves sensationalizing a story to make it more interesting, therefore increasing the interest of the audience. "Along the way, all sorts of scandalous substance and goofy tricks appear, but not much mystery in the logic," (Garnson 1997). People often know that these shows aim to deceive them, but still accept the information as truth. Many times, people have strong opinions on certain topics. Yet, when they are exposed to the other side of the argument, they may be likely to agree with the opposite view. As Leon Festinger said, "If I chose to do it (or say it), I must believe in it," (Myers 1997). This is an example of Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, which pertains to acting contrary to our beliefs. Television influences many people to change their original beliefs. It has the viewers think that the majority of other people hold the contrary idea. Once these views are presented, people have the option to hol...
Media is used by dominant powers to spread their ideological beliefs and to help maintain social control. Althusser (1971) explains that, as an ideological state apparatus, media doesn’t use pressure as a way to bind society together under one dominant ideology, but instead uses the will of the people to make them accept the dominant ideology. However, media is also used as a way for people to challenge the dominant ideology. Newspapers, for example, will have articles that openly criticise and oppose the dominant ideology for what it is, whilst at the same time providing perspectives and opinions on different ideologies (such as feminism) that society can believe in. Although these alternate ideological perspectives exist, they are usually overlooked and only ever reach small audiences. Ideology can also help us understand the media because of the way in which it distributes ideology. A lot of different types of media, such as film and TV; reflect different ideologies, though we are not always aware that they are doing so. An example of this would be action/adventure films, which shows that using force or violence to solve problems is acceptable and reflects upon certain ideologies. This helps us to understand the media because the ideology that is reflected in these films is capable of reaching big audiences through the use of TV and film, thus allowing for it to become a more common belief within
...net availability and television shows watched. Censorship has a great deal to do with drugs, societal values, or violence. But people also need to know the difference between right and wrong, and knowing how to behave correctly is what affects society. Seeing someone shoot someone else on television is not going to make me go out and kill someone. But, being brought up thinking that the only way to get ahead in life is to steal or kill people then a person may do those types of things, and that is media influence. There are certain key elements in the media that help maintain the entertainment alive and add to the excitement to movies and other programs. However, pornographic material, extremely graphic violence, and shows that give ideas to people that would encourage them to engage in actions that are harmful to themselves or other people should be censored.