Television And Film Analysis

Television and film has become a reflection of western society and its culture through the influences and demands of the audience. More specifically, television had become a medium where viewers get to escape reality; it is a representation, a cartoon, and a caricature of westernized culture. We have allowed television throughout the years to become the main depiction of what we value and idealize as a collective group. Conversations and opinions on social topics like race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation are stimulated by content created from past and present television shows. And in return, society influences television content on these same issues. This symbiotic relationship is a quintessential example of a reflection looking …show more content…
Gender, in relation to race, is a social construct and strongly adheres to traditional depictions within film and television. More specifically, gender roles are hard habits to break when dealing with the culture of television when the majority of audiences expect nothing more. In the beginning, typical character tropes consisted of a mother who takes care of the home, food, and children; the father who made the money, provided for the family, made the decisions, and disciplined the children; the daughters who were displayed as whining, sensitive, materialistic, boy-crazy, triflers, and then the sons who are the rough-housing, obnoxious, dirty, annoyances who also had the potential to be great just like his father is his set his mind to it. Justin Mittell clearly states this observation by noticing, “American culture gender norms are shaped by an underlying ideology of patriarchy that privileges male and masculine identity over female and feminine norm.” (Mittell 330). These stereotypes carried into western society by creating strict gender expectations detrimental to the growth of young girls and boys because these influences force them to act and think within the confines of these presumptions. Fortunately, some audiences chose to repel these ideas and influence the media and demand more representation of the reality breaking social barriers. Television shows like Full House questioned the nuclear family and tore it down by creating a single dad caring for three daughter with the assistance of two other men. The Cosby Show broke two societal assumptions by writing a black woman as the most intelligent, competent, strong, loving, elegant, opinionated, successful businesswoman and lawyer. Game of Thrones depicting their female ensemble cast as three-dimensional and different every time. Each character showed