Eleanor Francis Francis 1
MEDC 5310
Carol Richardson
October 17, 2013

An Analysis of the Ideology and Messages About Culture in Prime Time Television
Seven days a week, 24 hours a day there is something to watch on television. There are reality shows, newscasts, news programs, dramas, sitcoms, the list is endless. The Big Bang Theory, The Millers, Law & Order: SVU, and Blue Bloods are all part of the prime time lineup of shows throughout any given week.
The Big Bang Theory, airs on CBS and was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. It is the story of two brilliant physicists that work at CalTech in Pasadena, CA. Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper are co-workers, best friends and roommates. Sheldon is “regimented, deeply eccentric, and non-conventional” in his thinking which is a consistent hardship on the relationship between these two friends (“Plot Summary”). They are friends with colleagues Howard Wolowitz, a mechanical engineer, and Rajesh Koothrappali, an Indian immigrant who works as an astrophysicist. The foursome are “self-professed nerds, [with] little or no luck with popular women” (“Plot Summary”). A neighbor, Penny, is of average mind but compared to this brilliant squad she’s made to seem of less than average intelligence. Leonard’s goal is to get Penny to be his girlfriend. Immediately following Big Bang is The Millers created by Greg Garcia and starring Will Arnett. Arnett plays the part of Nathan, a single reporter who has divorced his wife, a secret he’s kept from his parents for several months. His parents pay a visit only to find out about their son’s divorce. After a very brief sadness, Nathan’s parents decide
Francis 2 they want a divorce too. Nathan’s mother moves in with him derailing any plans he has of living the single life. Law & Order: SVU is a drama that peeks into the dark side of the New York underworld as detectives of this special unit investigate sex crimes while trying to keep some normalcy in their own lives. The show, in its 15th season, was written by Brian Barienbruch and airs on NBC. Blue Bloods airs on CBS and was created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess. Filmed on location in New York City the show is a story of a multigenerational family of cops to include the city’s police commissioner, his two sons, his retired father, and his daughter, an Assistant District Attorney. One son works the street beat in the blue uniform, the other is a detective. Dominant culture is generally defined as a group whose members are in the majority or who wield more power than other groups. In the United States this dominance is “white, middle-class, protestant people of northern European descent. There are more white people in this country than African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, or Native Americans and there are more middle-class people than rich or poor people” (“Hierarchy”). As in real life, the dominant culture is well represented in primetime television with most of the major characters portrayed as white, working middle-class people with an occasional sprinkling of shows reflecting subcultures to include African-Americans, Latinos or Hispanics, and Asian-Americans. While each primetime television program has a different storyline, there are some major consistencies among the dominant culture including determining one’s role in society, reconnection and/or disconnection of the functional family unit and the drama that comes with it, sex or at least the implication of it, and violence.

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The Big Bang Theory is one of few shows that revolve around a subculture of what the dominant culture refers to as nerds. Merriam-Webster defines nerd as “a person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, etc.; a person who is very interested in technical subjects, computers, etc.” (“Nerd”). Another definition makes further reference to nerd as “a person of any race … who may be viewed as out of step with popular culture …” (“What is”). Combine these two definitions and you have Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj. Weekly they portray the stereotypical nerds. Silverblatt defines a stereotype as “oversimplified conception of a person, group, or event. [The] stereotype is an associative process; the ideas [about nerds in the show] are based on a shared understanding about a group” (481). Nerds are viewed as extremely smart about all things technology, not so funny, not able to get a girl, and not socially accepted due to their less than normal humor as demonstrated by Sheldon weekly on Big Bang. He’s the most stereotypical of them all, yet the most popular of the characters. Sheldon is described as “narcissistic, socially awkward, childish, hurtful, naive, irascible, selfish, rude, and irrepressible. He is also extremely popular with viewers and even loveable … It is no coincidence that Sheldon has become one of TV’s most popular characters and has helped [the show] grow from a middling, predictable comedy to television’s best multi-camera sitcom … ” (Dehnart). The other characters in the show are made more likeable because of Sheldon’s inability to maintain relationships. They do all the work of keeping his friendship (Sullivan). According to creator Chuck Lorre the characters were never written as nerds. They were created as men with “extraordinary minds, great minds, yet ill-equipped to deal with the mundane world that everyone takes for granted. Nerds diminishes them …” Lorre says. (Lorre).
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Seven seasons after its debut Big Bang has become increasingly popular among the league of “extraordinary minds” and even more popular among viewers of the dominant culture as well. This season’s opener “proved it is the biggest entertainment show on broadcast television, and, in Season 7, shows no signs of slowing down. The hour long [2013-2014 season] premier of the comedy juggernaut was its biggest ever, drawing a 5.6 rating in adults 18 [to] 49 – up 17% from … last year … “ (Andreeva). Some 18 million people tuned in to watch the nerds as they set out on yet another adventure to “unravel the universe and connect to a woman” (Lorre). The Big Bang Theory has become a vehicle by which many viewers can experience and learn about the world of nerds and how they function or dysfunction in the world around them (Baran 211). “People feel a way of identifying with a character who’s somewhat at sea with the world and trying to figure it out” (Lorre). Sex is a recurring theme in the show. Howard, the aerospace engineer friend dresses funny and loudly, and before his recent marriage, “[was] always horny, and [did] things like getting his penis caught in a pair of robotic hands.’ Raj, until this past season, was only able to speak to women when he was drunk. The show frequently drops hints that he is bisexual (Sullivan). Sheldon befriends Amy, “a female genius who isn’t an ice queen …; she’s as sheltered and emotionally stunted as Sheldon but with a much stronger desire to break out of her shell” (Sullivan). Leonard can’t seem to find the right girl either. The addition of Howard’s wife and Amy, along with neighbor Penny has helped gender balance the show and boost the show’s ratings to its highest levels. While the act of sex is not seen regularly on the show there are references to it with use of words like coitus. According to a Los Angeles Parents Television
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Council “mention of nonmarital sex outnumbered references to marital sex by nearly 3 to 1, while scenes depicting or implying nonmarital sex overwhelmed those of marital sex by nearly 4 to 1” (“Study”). The Big Bang Theory is about a subculture, yet is representative of the dominant culture. It’s about “creating a comfort zone for oneself without letting it become a prison” (Sullivan). Those who make life easier by following society’s unwritten rules can identify with the show’s characters, but perhaps with more flexibility. Leonard explains it best – ‘ “If a person doesn’t have a sense of achievement in their real life, it’s easy to lose themselves in a virtual world where they can get a false sense of accomplishment’ “ (Sullivan). George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory is the idea that a person who watches a lot of television tend to take on the attitudes of those on television (Chandler). The Millers in contrast is a show about the disconnection and reconnection of a family. There are two grown children. The daughter is married, has a home and seemingly normal happy life. Son Nathan has divorced his wife without his parents’ knowledge. The parents pay a visit only to find out about the divorce and that their son is happy about it. Having wanted a divorce for many years, dad takes this opportunity to give up on his marriage of 43 years. He ends up moving to his daughter’s house, mom stays with the now single Nathan. The adjustment for the 43-year married couple is difficult at best, particularly for dad. He has relied on his wife for many years to help him with simple everyday tasks like operating a coffee maker. The fact that you can’t put aluminum into a microwave is something that she has reminded him of daily for the past several years. Consequently he burns out his daughter’s microwave because he
Francis 6 thought that only applied to the one at his house. This “stock character” appears frequently in sitcoms and is easily recognizable by the viewing audience. “Stock characters” often mirror cultural stereotypes (Silverblatt 149). Dad’s character is one of a man who has been married most of his adult life, even before the age of technology and can’t seem to function on his own. He ends up calling his wife several times a day to learn to do some of the everyday tasks that most people who choose to be a little independent, even while married, take for granted. The average marriage in the United States lasts 8.8 years. Nathan’s marriage lasted only three years, less than average, while his parents were married for over 40 years, going far beyond the statistic. “People who divorce often do so in eager anticipation of reclaiming their lost independence, forgotten autonomy and an identity lost during the course of the marriage” (Rosen). Dad thinks that because his son proclaims his happiness as a divorce, that he too can be happy as a divorce. His response when asked where he was going with a suitcase and without his wife – “God forbid that we set a bad example and show them that divorce is an option. Well apparently it is an option! [Nathan] gets divorced after three years just because he wants to be happy?!?! Guess what?!?! I wanna be happy” (“Pilot”). So off he goes to reclaim his independence.
The Millers is a show that reflects “popular culture”, i.e., the show “connotes acceptance, approval, and shared values among large numbers of people” (Silverblatt 94, 95). Divorce has become an accepted practice in the United States as evidenced by the 8.8 year marriage average length. The show can be regarded as a “text, reflecting the attitudes, values, and behaviors that define a culture.” The divorce rate soared for a period after the 1969 signing of the “No-Fault
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Divorce” law by former President Ronald Regan (Wilcox). In the last 20 years there has been a decline in the rate of divorce. The United States has the fifth highest divorce rate in the world with 3.4 divorcing of every 1,000 people (“Divorce Rate”).
Arnett, who plays the show’s main character, is himself a two-time divorcé who through the media literacy function of “expression … informs the listener of [his] frame of mind” (Silverblatt 32). ‘ “Last fall, from August till January, were the most difficult six months of my life,‘ ” says Arnett. “ ‘I had a lot going on, on all fronts. And it was incredibly tough and demanding … [One year later he] “couldn’t be happier’ ” (qtd. in Lynch). He has lived the role he plays and his attitude is reflected through Nathan’s happiness at being divorced. Arnett says. “ ‘I wasn’t trying to draw attention to [my previous divorces] in any way. But it was in the script. Maybe part of me subconsciously identified with it … ‘ “ (qtd. in Lynch).
The situation comedy does not exclude the mention of sex during its 30 minute debut. Nathan reminds his dad that he’s been married for 43 years and can’t just walk out on it. Dad exclaims that it’s only been 33 years since there had been no sex between he and his wife for the last 10 years. The conversation continues when mom reminds him that on a recent birthday she watched him masturbate, even though he was “doing it” wrong. Mom went on to state that the fact that she was watching him in the bathroom counted as marital relations (“Pilot”). This information is shared in front of their grown son who finds it to be “too much information” and more than he can handle. Adolescent viewers have a “limited grasp of explicit story material [which] impairs their ability to interpret media content [and make wise choices]” (Silverblatt
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138) They are particularly “at risk [while viewing these scenes] because the cognitive skills that allow them to critically analyze messages from the media and to make decisions based on possible future outcomes are not fully developed” (Gruber and Grube).
Additionally there are constant references to flatulence. There are two scenes in the show’s pilot where mom passes gas, once at a singles party with all of Nathan’s friends and a prospective date. This humor diverts the audience from the more disgusting thought of gas and the smell of it. Mom retorts when asked if she had “farted. (pause for effect) Yes … Oh relax. It’s a fart. Some people think they’re funny” (“Pilot”). Perfectly timed humorous comments made about gas may make the audience feel comfortable and break down traditional barriers of shame about passing gas in public (Silverblatt 32, 33).
Particularly interesting is the show’s opening scene on a neighborhood street where a young boy is being punished by wearing a sandwich board that reads “I Have A Filthy Mouth.” When Nathan asks if he’s learned his lesson the little boy replied, “Shut up you a…before I wrap your [expletive] around your [expletive] …” (“Pilot”). George Gerbner’s “Cultivation Theory” is the notion that television has the power to shape attitudes of viewers more than behaviors (Chandler). Children viewing this episode may adopt the attitude that it is acceptable behavior to have a filthy mouth and to disrespect adults. Viewers who watch this type of programming heavily will likely be influenced by the television world (Chandler). The Millers is also a clear reflection of the U.S. dominant culture with only one African-American starring as a Nathan’s camera man and friend who encourages him to embrace his new found singleness. No other races were introduced into the show.
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Law and Order: SVU is a show whose storylines are ripped from headlines of real news. This episode tells the tale of three raped women, all with the same brutal story and the same generic description: young black male. The rapist leaves no evidence. Rough sketches of a young black male wearing a hoodie are posted throughout the city and the team frisks everyone who fits the profile. Eventually a gunshot leads them to Jolene Castille (played by Cybill Shepherd), a fired gun and a wounded body at her feet: Mehcad, a young black teenager” (“American Tragedy”). Introducing Paula Deen meets Trayvon Martin on a New York City street.
A Georgia born and bred Caucasian woman, Castille shoots the hoodie wearing 16-year old African-American young man because “he was going to rape me,” she says (Barienbruch, Law & Order: SVU). She even comments during the show that if it were a white young man following her she wouldn’t have needed a gun. The character goes on to state that if she were “down home [in Georgia] [she’d] be getting’ a medal” (“American Tragedy”). As it turns out the rapist smelled of oil and gas and continued to rape while an innocent young man dies in the hospital. Castille stands trial, and is found innocent of the charges. This second episode of the 15th season of SVU “[centered] on the nuanced, difficult, and emotionally-fraught subject of racial profiling in America.” Executive producer Warren Leight said that he wasn’t afraid to tackle the complicated issue of racism in this episode. The script, he says, “became a litmus test for everybody here. It was really interesting to see people read that script and have different interpretations about who did what and whether or not they deserved prison for it … fascinating” (Nguyen). There were no comments available from the cast and crew regarding this
Francis 10 controversial script. A common theme in critical studies is that content production generally “reinforces the status quo and undermines useful efforts to effect constructive social change … Stories about social movements usually imply problems with the status quo” (Baran 214). Racism is still very present in the United States.
As viewers watch SVU they may interpret its content using the hegemonic model and the reception theory. “In the hegemonic model the audience assumes a passive role in the communications process. The plot of the show establishes the accepted point of view of the narrative”, i.e., young black men following old white women must be rapists or out to somehow harm them (Silverblatt 58). Production elements such as lighting during the scene where the boy followed the woman puts him in a dark shadowy space with her space being lighter and brighter so as to make him appear to be a villain. The reception theory “posits that the audience assumes an active role in negotiating, or interpreting the information they receive through mass media, filtered through their particular experiences and backgrounds” (Silverblatt 58). Subcultures, using this model theory, would react differently to the message in this episode based on their experiences (Silverblatt 58). Blacks and non-prejudiced whites may find the episode a reminder that racism is alive and well in this country. Reminders of the recent Zimmerman verdict of “not guilty” come to mind as well. Conversely, prejudiced people may find that the shooter is justified in her actions because she was being followed by a black boy that she thought would harm her. With the wounds of the Zimmerman-Martin case still open, for some viewers this episode would only serve to pour salt on the wounds of unpunished, unjustified racism in the “land of the free and the home of the brave” (Key). This episode would certainly strike a
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“responsive chord in [members] of the [viewing] audience” and allow them to identify with the content (Silveblatt 421). The show sets viewers up to believe that young black men’s lives are unimportant in this country and that violence is often an effective end to a situation. This prejudice reaction acts as a “reductive principle that interferes with people’s ability to appreciate the unique characteristics of individuals” (Silverblatt 101). Additionally, one might come away with the idea that acts of violence perpetrated against black men go unpunished and are justified.
The last primetime show is Blue Bloods, also filmed in New York. The Friday episode explores the world of terrorism and drugs, street crime, deceit in government and the police force, passion, and family. The show opens with a murder in broad daylight in a city park. A father is gunned down in front of his 13-year old son. Detective Reagan, son of the Police Commissioner, and his partner arrive on the scene and question the teen. He gives the detectives details about the suspect – Hispanic with tattoos. He recalls that his father pushed him out of harm’s way. A couple of stereotypes have shown in just the first few minutes. All of the characters up to now are Caucasian, but the suspect is Hispanic … and has tattoos. To further the stereotype the suspect is found to be a police confidential informant and is working with Homeland Securities on a possibly emerging terrorist plot. The commissioner is ordered to back off the murder investigation of the “collateral damage”, but he encourages the detective to continue the investigation. The ideology here is the crimes that are committed should be investigated and punished to the full extent the law allows. Viewers’ attitudes about government and its lack of care for the majority of U.S. residents, especially at this time, may be confirmed. Yet another subplot, terrorism, emerges as “the bigger picture” (“To Protect and Serve”). The
Francis 12 audience may also be influenced by racial prejudices and stereotypical thinking. The origin of the suspect, [Hispanic] may affect how viewers process the scene and the outcome of a trial, even before seeing the suspect (Silverblatt 138, 139). The picture has been painted by the words of the teenager who witnessed his father’s murder.
Cut to the scene of an accident between a moving truck and a car that has been flipped on its side. Inside are a mother and her son. Two officers, the uniformed Reagan and his partner hear the crash and run to the scene. The young son is rescued by Officer Reagan and asks for his escort to the hospital. The officer, even though ordered not to, agrees to go with the boy because “that kid’s welfare and how he views cops for the rest of his life was more important … “ (“To Protect and Serve”). This scene acts as a subplot which, according to Silverblatt is a secondary story that may comment on different aspects of the same thematic concerns (140). The first scene of government corruption and deceit is diverted by the good hearted, passionate officer who, threatened with suspension, seemingly does right thing. The officer is suspended for disobeying a direct order which may evoke sympathy in the audience. The commissioner has the opportunity to “fix” his son’s suspension, but keeps the rules clear that the suspension will stand since the officer disobeyed a direct order. When asked what the point was of being in charge he replied, “I build character” (“To Protect and Serve”). The message to the audience is clear, that family and job must be kept separate to maintain integrity and respect among subordinates and family members.
As with the other three shows, the dominant culture is represented as white, middle-class, working people. Additionally a subculture of men is very prevalent. This limiting of
Francis 13 demographics creates what George Gerbner refers to as “socialization. [It] makes us who we are, and stories are how we learn our social roles (Gerbner and Derrick). The dominance of white people in these programs may affect the attitudes of those watching by offering the suggestion that more opportunities exist for those most represented in the roles of the characters. It may also suggest that minimal, often criminal, opportunities exist for many subcultures. Additionally young girls may be affected by the presence of male domination in the field of law enforcement. What opportunities might they think exist for them in law enforcement or other traditionally male dominated fields in the future?
More Blue Bloods drama occurs in a courtroom scene where the Hispanic suspect has been caught and is now being arraigned. He grabs the security officer’s gun and shoots ADA Reagan, commissioner’s daughter, in the shoulder. After the hostage receives all his demands and is about to be escorted to an airplane headed for the Dominican Republic, Detective Reagan begs him, “Please don’t hurt my family” (“To Protect and Serve”). Later in the show we find out that this had been taught to the children in the family for generations as code for “let’s get this settled right now”. The suspect is shot and killed and the ADA is taken to a hospital for treatment. The show always ends with the family gathered at the home for dinner. They make a point to eat together each night and discuss the details of everyone’s day. Family time is becoming increasingly important in a culture where everyone is constantly moving and busy. After a hard day of work, be it fighting crime, technological exploration, or reporting the latest “local” news, it’s wonderful to come home to family, a safe place. This ending to Blue Bloods

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Primetime television carries a message of dominant culture. Subcultures appear in some, but not many of the shows discussed in this paper. Of the shows watched there were approximately 34 stars and co-stars. Of that only eight were of other races: six were African-American, one Asian-American, one Hispanic. In that regard, prime time television is very representative of culture as a whole with the dominant culture being Caucasian. According to Silverblatt the “media promote the dominant ideology of a culture (98). This imposition of an ideology within a culture is [called] hegemony. Media messages are influenced by “those people, groups and interests that maintain economic and social control of the culture” (99).
Additional messages of constant desire to fit in, even as a nerd, are sent via television programs. Media plays a role in educating the public about nerds and their behaviors using comedy as a vehicle. While the messages about subcultures may be exaggerated or even inaccurate, the information will be received based on the knowledge level of the viewer. If television frames their world the message will be received as accurate and as education. Sex or the implication of it is also eminent in programming. While sex in most of the shows viewed is not evident or illicit, the verbal messages and body language give clues. Most prominent is violence in programming. In determining which shows to analyze, it was pretty inevitable that one or more would be a crime drama as these are prevalent during prime time viewing hours. “ ‘…For the vast majority of [viewers], exposure to crime [and] violence may be obtained
Francis 15 largely through the media rather than through personal experience or formal education’ ” (qtd. in Souillere).
In conclusion, a great deal of research exists that proves that television wields powerful influence as a carrier of information about culture. This goes beyond crime to sex and other social and cultural aspects. If exposure to cultural ideology and messages comes mainly in the form of television, then that content, in the form of images and messages, acts as a powerful medium that affects viewers’ understanding of the world around them.

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