Perhaps the most important factor to think of when looking at a documentary is how things have changed since it was made. In the 2005 documentary "Class Dismissed" several intellectuals try to define class and break it down into three basic categories of economic, political and cultural factors that define a person's status in society. TV has a different and more instinctive definition... taste in beer. So have things changed since 2005? The short answer is, the issue of class division has become even more critical as the middle class in the US is shrinking and the working class wages have not risen to reflect productivity. Corporate profits are staggering and the purchasing power of the working class is hugely depressed. But we always have TV. This documentary concerns itself primarily with the working class and its representation in television programming. Classic examples like the "Honeymooners," "Good Times," "The Jeffersons" and contemporary to its time shows like "George Lopez," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "King of Queens" all show images of working class families and their struggles to make ends meet. It is this relationship to the American dream that defines that struggle. Each father figure or breadwinner in the series is primarily concerned with the basics in life. it isn't until the late nineties that we see representations of families that are more aligned with the middle class in these domestic sit-coms. These are families that have achieved that next step in the American dream. In The Cosby Show for example his family is already well established with two professional jobs and all of the fine appointments in their homes. All of their basics have been provided for and the content of the show then switches to lifestyle instead of food clothing and shelter as was the main focus of a show like "Good times." So what does the representation of the American Dream have to do with the actual real-world pursuit of it? Turns out, quite a bit. As narrator Ed Asner states in the film, "As TV evolved as a commercially sponsored medium, advertisers began to play an increasingly important role in creating programs. Their impact went far beyond on screen sponsorship to having a hand in the actual production, including script writing and hiring of talent. Due to their power and influence, advertisers were able to redefine the meaning of the American Dream, from the search for a better life to the pursuit of a consumer lifestyle." Understanding representation only comes through understanding the economics of the medium. TV is a commercial enterprise, quite literally. It is a medium driven by advertising and commercials and needs to reflect the values that make the commercial machine expand. It's here the ideology of the market seeps into the shows. In their article Rethinking Popular Culture, authors Marshall and Sensoy ask, "How can teachers resist the pedagogies and corporate interests of popular culture and media in which the social world is simplified in ways that limit our understandings of complex social histories, identities, and structural inequities?" TV has it's own answer to that. Stereotypes. Stereotypes are the norm in TV because the characters are generally undeveloped and don't change. Perhaps because of the episodic nature of tv shows or laziness on the part of the writers. Class then becomes less about the true markers of social status and more about the trappings of low culture. As stated in the film, "You know being working class seems kind of like a lifestyle choice where people like pink flamingos and tacky furniture in their house, and don’t have much taste." Indeed class divisions become obscured by TV shows redefining class as a choice or taste for the tacky as opposed to the real forces that dictate class and that is earning power, influence and education. Perhaps the main criticism that I have of this documentary is one of their omission of other kinds of representations of family life in mass culture. This documentary takes a very small sliver of the types of TV shows that were available from the inception of television to 2005. The multitude of representations of white family life give a very wide array of experiences. Some lowbrow, some high brow but more than not, lots of white diversity in representation. The problem with speaking about black representation and minority representation in television is the representations are so limited. When there are few examples of black families on TV the importance of what could be seen as a light-hearted show takes on an added level of meaning and complexity because it stands as an iconic representation instead of a nuanced one or just another version of the black experience. So between 2005 and 2015 what has changed? According to a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences, "middle-age, working-class white Americans are the only group in the country whose health and mortality rates are worsening."1 According to pollster Mark Pellman, "The distinction is, these blue-collar whites see opportunities for people like them shrinking, whereas the African Americans [and Hispanics] feel there are a set of long-term opportunities that are opening to them that were previously closed on the basis of race or ethnicity." It's a fascinating analysis and it begs the question, has representation in the media contributed to the misery, fear and anxiety of the viewer? - Gregory Golda ________________________________________________________________________ For more on the study please see How Delusional Nostalgia Is Killing the White Working Class Leave a Reply. |
AuthorGregory J. Golda started Media Matrix in 2015 ArchivesCategories |