Critique of Popular Culture - Special Problems | ADED 5880, Study notes of Conflictology

Download Critique of Popular Culture - Special Problems | ADED 5880 and more Study notes Conflictology in PDF only on Docsity! Mark Remabcz Critique of Popular Culture ADED 5880 The television show Friends sells itself as a weekly sitcom that tells the ongoing story of six young people as they navigate the world of young adulthood. Since its debut in 1994 the show has been one of the highest rated programs on television. Its stars are each compensated about $750,000 per half-hour episode. The show is especially appealing to the 18-34 year old demographic group that advertisers so covet. On the surface Friends appears rather benign, it rarely tackles controversial subject matter and the show is rated TV-PG, meaning parents are cautioned about viewing by young children, but in general the show is appropriate for those thirteen and older. The basic outline of the show revolves around six main characters, three men and three women, and their life experiences as “friends” (hence the name of the show) in New York City. The show takes place in three main settings an apartment of two of the men, an apartment of two of the women and a coffee shop, were all the “friends” regularly gather to discuss their daily lives. The settings for the show say a lot about the topics the show highlights in its weekly storylines. Few of the episodes would be considered “thought provoking” or “deep”, most involve storylines that can be neatly wrapped up in about twenty-six minutes i.e. moving furniture or obnoxious neighbors. The characters in the show all appear to live quite comfortably, and lack of money, while sometimes alluded to in jokes, never seems to affect the way the characters conduct their day-to-day lives. Of the characters in the show only a couple have “careers” the rest float from job to job, with little thought to long-term plans. Regardless of their occupation each of the characters seems to have plenty of free time and enough money to wear the latest clothing styles and live in nice apartments. From a pedagological standpoint the message being sent is one of life being fun, and no matter your occupation the “good life” is easy to achieve. Working with young college students I see this attitude continuously, students have unreal expectations and believe their own lives should mirror those they see on television. They fail to see the direct correlation between their vocation and their ability to afford material things. They assume a college degree is their ticket to wealth and happiness. They completely underestimate how much money things actually cost and how much they need to earn to afford all the luxuries they envision. A show like Friends reinforces the idea that high paying jobs abound and one does not need a specific plan for a career, the desire to live well is enough. From a racial perspective, Friends is lily white. The show has no characters of color, it appears no attempt is even made to be racially diverse. Not only are none of the main characters people of color, but the secondary characters are all white as well. The show paints New York City as a predominately white community, void of diversity, an idea that is clearly untrue. This perspective is not unique to Friends a majority of the shows on primetime television are monochromatic. Young white people are sold on the idea they are “normal” and that the world they live in is “white”, dominated by white ideals and values. A show like Friends truly marginalizes those of color. Racial issues not only don’t exist but neither do the people central to those issues. The show itself not only extols “whiteness” but the advertisements aired during the show are squarely aimed at a young, affluent, white audience. Because there is no overt hostility towards people of