Impact of Television in US Society
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Television is a pervasive element in American society today and is seen as having a great deal of influence, especially over the young. Numerous concerns have been raised over the influence of television and the impact it has on American social values. That impact is often negative, though perhaps not intended to be so. Television from its beginning has presented itself as a reflection of American society rather than a means of shaping it, yet critics charge that television does shape values and often does so by negating the social values considered most acceptable by society at large. The excuse for doing so is that the fact that people watch shows that they are not offended by the values seen on television. However, many people are offended and have challenged television to promote values beneficial to society rather than those that could damage society. Television undercuts American values in many ways, three important areas evident today involve cultural distortions, political distortions, and the blurring of news and entertainment to create a false image of reality. The issue was raised recently in a speech by Bob Dole during his run for the presidency when he blamed Hollywood and television for corrupting family values. His argument was seconded by critics such as Michael Medved, arguing "that widespread disenchantment about the destructive messages of today's movies, television, and music has resulted in diminished audiences for popular culture
. . .
hildren, for children's programming (Comstock, 1991, 26).
The Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1977) found that minorities and women were underrepresented on television: "When they do appear they are frequently seen in token or stereotyped roles" (Commission on Civil Rights, 1977, 3). In the 1950s, says the Commission, women had particular roles as homemakers:
Television households were always spotless and smoothly managed, but the women who maintained them usually looked as though they spent most of their time in the beauty parlor. Women were rarely portrayed outside the home or family situation. When they ventured into the occupational world their roles were stereotyped (Commission on Civil Rights, 1977, 8).
A National Organization for Women report in 1972 found that women in whatever role on television "were portrayed as dependent, unintelligent, submissive creatures who were adjuncts of men" (Commission on Civil Rights, 1977, 12). Portrayals of women in occupational roles were infrequent and were restricted to relatively few occupations, and women were also rarely depicted as working wives (Commission on Civil Rights, 1977, 13).
Women have always been more frequently portrayed in comedy roles
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2515
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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