Theoretical Perspectives: Television

Sitcoms are an American staple, a fantastic pastime, and an in-depth look into current family values and standards. The United States Census Bureau defines the family as two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing in the same housing unit. This definition works well as a marker of internal family status, but it is a very limited definition of a family. Sociologists commonly extend the definition of family to include persons who provide one another with intimacy, emotional support, and love as it is a better representation of the families we have seen in the past few decades. Two beloved sitcoms, Friends and New Girl, each center around the lives of six main characters and how they form family in the late 90s and the

Television has been criticized as “a vast cultural wasteland”. Tv is supposed to be something that people use for fun and entertainment not a way to get away from your problems. Now with that being said this quote is trying to say that tv is useless. I think the reason that some people think that tv is useless is because of shows like SpongeBob and family guy. Sponge bob is a very popular kids show that has been around for years but doesn’t benefit the people watching it in anyway. In fact, watching a cartoon like SpongeBob can damaged the mind of many people and children with the stupidity that’s done on the show. Then you have a show like family guy where the things done can be called stupid but at the same time the things done are realistic but the only problem with a show like that is that it’s very inappropriate for kids to watch because of all the inappropriate behavior and violence that that is shown in a show like that. Another problem with tv isn’t the tv it’s the people. The shows are there to watch and to enjoy but it’s up to the person to watch it or the parent to allow their child to watch that. I don’t think that tv is a vast cultural wasteland because there are many different thins to see and watch and learn you just have to watch the right shows and use the right channels. Sometimes watching tv can even be fundamental.

Society is viewed in various ways and studied using differing approaching by sociologists. The three main approaches are the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the interactionist perspective. The functionalist perspective focuses on the manner in which the elements of society are organized in order to sustain stability. This perspective views the individual as an element of society that socializes solely to carry out societal functions. Social order is preserved through solidarity and collaboration, while social change is viewed as foreseeable and enhancing.

Deviance is a behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction (Ferris & Stein 154). The television Jane The Virgin embodies this sociological theory and is intended for an audience of young and older adults. Types of deviance that is featured is that Jane Villanueva who has hopes of being a teacher and author goes to the doctors for a routine physical examination. However, while there she accidentally gets artificially inseminated. The intended specimen was intended for a patient in the next room, the situation becomes even more shocking. In fact, the donor is Jane’s boss Rafael Solano whom she had a crush on a few years prior.

The Television is often the centerpiece of typical American house. TVs are now a representative the American dream. TVs are even used to measure finical wellbeing. Huge flat screen TVs symbolize success, while smaller TVs represent modesty. People crowd around the TV to watch the big game, to catch up on the news and keep up with pop culture. Is there something wrong with this so-called wonder device known as the Television? Marie Winn, author of book Unplugging the plug-in drug, argues this point in the chapter “The Trouble with Television” claiming that the television negatively affects families and specifically children. Marie Winn is an author and journalist who is known for her write ups on wildlife and television. The book was published in 1987 and describes eight ways in which the television is damaging. Winn makes it a point not to argue against the content of television, but rather how the television effects family relationships and is a detriment to children’s development. While I agree with some of Winn’s, overall, I disagree with her assessment of television. The points that Winn made that I disagree with include, TV allows kids to grow up less civilized, TV keeps family from doing other things, TV makes children less resourceful, TV has a negative effect on children’s school achievement and TV has a negative effect on children’s physical fitness.

As I mentioned in my first media assignment Reality television shows are unconventional, but have been become the most popular shows on the television in our society. Nowadays the media wants reflects how families really are in society. There are different kinds of families with different diversity. From a very young age, the media influence us and put an image or a perception in our mind of a family. Over the years, the idealized version of a family has changed.as we have noticed family dynamics have changed over time from strictly patriarchal to more of egalitarian.Millions of people in our society now days believe that more Tv programs bring out more violent. Some people believe that it could be because of poor parenting or the way media is showing poor parenting on television to new generations. I think that’s undeniable. I think the show called “The Brady Bunch” was a great example of good parenting. I choose to analyze the show called “the Brady Bunch” this is a situational comedy show which began in the late 1960s . this is a man name mike brandy and his wife carol. Both of them are widowed and have children from their previous marriage. This show is about a family and how they all live together. This show takes a look at the socio-cultural perspective in a marriage and two parents raising children in one household. For a show which was shown on television the long time ago is very surprising because it brings the issues

Every family is different and the same in their own way. Everyone functions with different roles and plays a part in how it functions on the day to day. While some people don’t put much thought into it, Dr. Murray Bowen has. ‘Dr. Murray Bowen suggests that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as part of their family.’ (GenoPro) Eight concepts are

The ideal image of ‘nuclear family’ used to be described as a male husband, a female wife and their kids; however, in few decades, the term family has become diverse without any blood-related relationships. Because of this recent change of family values, it is easy to find that present television shows also reflect the new concept of family and influence the recognition of the viewers at the same time. Among many TV programs such as ‘Simpsons’, ‘F is for family’ and ‘How I met your mother’, ‘Modern Family’ is a representative show dealing with modern family types and values. It is a domestic TV sitcom of ABC, featuring the lives of three different types of fictional families. Apart from the humorous stories, it becomes very popular because of suggesting that friendly characters are easy to relate to real life. It shows innovative aspects of family structures including a gay couple with an adopted baby and an interracial marriage between a divorced old man with a much younger woman. In addition, its form is a fake documentary about when family members agree to participate in interviews for a documentary, but they don’t actually realize how much they are revealing their lives themselves. Also, the main theme of the show is "But that 's the thing about family: no matter how badly you behave, hopefully they 'll forgive" (Modern Family Synopsis, 2011). The show has a favourable notice in media field because it handles social issues through its characters showing racial,

In today’s modern society, there is no more “normal” families. Normal can no longer be defined because what we use to see as a typical family of a mom, dad, and kids is not the kind of family that most kids are being raised in. Today we have a variety of functioning families such as two same sex parents, and minority families. According to our textbook, how a particular family functions will depend on several variables. Starting with the culture in which the family originated from, the subgroup of that culture, the individual characteristics of family members, how the family adapts to stress, and how the family functions within their culture.

We have taken the time to interview a family and really get to know their lives. In this paper we explain their functioning as a whole and as individuals. We used the M family to further our understanding of a family assessment.

Change is inevitable, and history has shown us that change in family status has been both positive and negative. Historically, the flux in family diversity can be traced back for centuries, and we see many different practices that have had successes and failures amongst families in the United States. Over the last six decades, the image of the ideal American family has changed, as well as the political and economic status of women. The development of relative economic power for women has led to a change in family structure. The evolution of families can be seen in the media and television shows, and the contrast between shows in the mid 20th century and now, is shell shocking. As new developments in human society continue to grow, family

History of television and its influence on people lives. How did television revolutionize the world?

What do we really mean by television? The way we watch television has drastically changed over the last fifteen years due to new technologies such as digital television and services providing on-demand access. These drastic changes have had a huge effect on viewers and have “allowed online streaming platforms to dominate and revolutionize the way the audience consumes” (Aliloupour) media, ultimately allowing the viewer to be in total control of how, when and where they want their content. The idea of only being able to watch television on a television set is now a thing of the past. Due to technology, the audience now has a vast variety of options on how they can access content. By using scholarly articles, research in new media and Internet sites I will be analyzing current television and where the future of television will be heading.

Over the last forty to fifty years, television has been a major topic of discussion. Specifically, many debate societal benefits to television watching. One widely accepted opinion is that watching TV makes people dumber. People have referred to it with terms like the “idiot box” and do not feel that watching TV has any benefit at all. They feel that it is a waste of time and people need to spend their hours more wisely. Others are of the opinion that TV is actually has societal benefits. From this perspective, they claim that the development of the structure of the programs now requires one to intellectually participate in watching television. Essentially, the argument is whether TV is a beneficial societal force or is it simply a

Television, a telecommunication medium some may not survive without. Today’s generation may refer to television as a technological norm; delusional of a world where television was non-existent. Notably, television unites the nation through local or world events, politics, education, and entertainment. Philo Farnsworth, “Father of Television,” invented the television; the electronic transmission of fixed or mobile images. Furthermore, Farnsworth’s invention influenced a new form of media. Young Farnsworth’s scientific, technological imagination as well as, competitive battle with a major-league corporation, RCA, enticed the growth of one of the most popular media mediums; television.