Television and Citizenship - Essay Example

?Question Since its invention, television has captivated audiences with groundbreaking comedic, dramatic and reality series. While each generation has its own most popular shows, American society saw a shift in the types of television programming being offered to viewers. Amidst the delicate society of a post 9/11 world, an increase in goodwill-based television programming opened the door to American society by providing a window into the ways that many people actually lived within the borders of this nation. As part of this social theme, American television viewers were introduced to the notion of neoliberal citizenship. According to McMurria, neoliberal citizenship creates a false reality within television audiences. While in reality, neoliberalism represents a society where the wealthy continue to grow in riches and the poor only continue to fall into deeper poverty, the role of neoliberalism in television creates a false reality where viewers feel that they are seeing special circumstances versus a daily reality that many Americans face. Along with the social influences of neolibearlism, this notion can also be applied to Ouellette and Hay’s theories on how television can play the democracy game in public and private partnerships. Before discussing how this happens, it is important to first define what Ouellette and Hay’s theory of the democracy game entails. According to the authors, the democracy game speaks about the integrated role of television in the nation’s political scene. The focal point of this idea centers around the fact that the American public is generally more interested in social entertainment versus actual politics. By giving such incredible power to entertainment venues, the political world has taken notice and understands that combining forces with the entertainment world can bolster their efforts within the realm of public view. With the definition of this theory established, we can connect this idea to the social influences of neoliberalism. By combining these theories, the end result is a social atmosphere where the false view of special circumstances signifying instances of need with the power of entertainment to draw attention to social issues, it is clear that the crux of these texts is to highlight the fact that social media drives culture. With these theories combined, we can now progress to a real-life example of these theories in action. Audiences who watch the television show The Biggest Loser are introduced to a panel of morbidly obese contestants at the beginning of each season. As the weeks progress, the contestants and their professional trainers work to transform their bodies into healthier versions of themselves. Within the context of the show, the areas of neoliberalism transcend to audiences through the idea that these contestants are chosen and represent extreme cases of unhealthy living habits. While a plausible view, thanks to the constructs of neoliberalism, viewers of The Biggest Loser may forget the mass epidemic that obesity has within this country. Through combining this viewpoint with the democracy game of television, The Biggest Loser can help the political movement of working to help the nation gain greater awareness about the dangers of obesity. With the publicity of this show shedding light on the growing problem of obesity among Americans, the political realm can capitalize on the popularity of this movement and work with health institutions to create new awareness campaigns and programs to combat obesity in society. By understanding how these tangible possibilities can stem from society’s enthrallment with popular television, it is clear that these theories have pros and cons about them. While it is good that a high degree of followers for a particular television program can spur social change, it is also dangerous that neoliberalism can make it seem a social issue is less widespread than it truly is. Question 2b According to Stuart Cunningham, the public sphere is a symbiotic place for free debate within the constraints of society. The purpose of a public sphere is to create an environment where issues, regardless of social class or community can be discussed. It is because of these public spheres that ‘public sphericules’ exist. Allowing for smaller sub-groups or diasportic communities to discuss issues pertaining to their needs, public sphericules can create awareness for issues that need to be brought to the center of the national forefront. While public sphericules are the catalyst for an increasing debate in community-specific issues, there can be difficulty in relating these specialized ideas back to the mainstream of national public thought and opinion. An example of this theory in action can be seen in the movie, “Slumdog Millionaire.” The plot of this film concerns a young Indian man who was raised in the slums of the county. With the chance of a lifetime to be on the show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” the young man wins the monetary prize and finds himself with more money than he could ever imagine. In translating this idea to public sphericules, we can see where the smaller community affected by the poverty in Indian culture strives to gain awareness for the problems this country is facing in regard to the abject living conditions of a large population of its citizens. Once this film became popular throughout America and entered into the national public sphere, society’s awareness and understanding of the need to help combat poverty in India was heighted as this issue was brought out of its public sphericule. While this example highlights the difficulties of bringing ideas from public sphericules into the national public realm, another facet to this example is it represents the information/entertainment dualism of the public sphericule concept. Instead of poverty in India gaining awareness because of the fact that it is a very serious problem that is responsible for the deaths of millions of people every year, this social issue was brought to the forefront of national attention based on the fact that at the time the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” had a high entertainment value for the public. An extremely successful and Oscar-winning movie, it was the film that acted as a catalyst for the progression of awareness about social status and living conditions in India, not the problem itself. This attitude highlights the negative dualism that comes with the information/entertainment concept. Essentially, it is obvious that for a social issue encompassed within a public sphericule to be taken seriously and gain notoriety throughout the national public realm, it must be accompanied by a high degree of press from the entertainment world. Another example of this theory in action is seen with the public frenzy that took place over the Berlin Zoo’s famous polar bear cub, Knut. As an orphaned polar bear cub, Knut captivated the world with his cute face and darling persona. While he gained instant fame from his lovable appearance, Knut also brought the social issue of global warming to the forefront. His popularity rose to such high levels that he was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine and his image was superimposed into magazine photo shoot images with Hollywood actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, to raise awareness against the dangers of global warming. Upon reflection, one can see how Knut and his fame helped propel the social issue of global warming from its scientific public sphericule to the center of the national public realm. Question 2C Across the pond from America’s East Coast, the continent of Europe is home to a variety of countries, languages and cultures. While our American society can create a public sphere that accommodates our one national language and general cultural similarities, Europeans face a different obstacle in regard to their communications efforts. According to Jostein Gripsrud, creating a European public sphere is a complicated process due to the necessary requirement of making this sphere accessible and viable for all cultures within the continent’s borders. In order to achieve this goal, a European public sphere must contain particular factors including one chosen common language, reporting and news coverage that centers on a European perspective of all events and an issue-oriented society where all cultures can feel free to talk about the same event at the same time. With these pieces in place, Europe can have their own public sphere that is personalized and adapted to their own specific needs as a continent. Once this plan is understood and the infrastructure to support it is in place throughout European society, one can analyze European television to determine what can be done to bolster the efforts of the public sphere. Since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which was the first European-wide televised event, efforts have been made to connect the varying people and cultures of the continent on all fronts. The organization of the European Public Broadcasters (EPB) strives to assist any efforts to allow citizens to discuss and learn about social issues through television programming that discusses a myriad of social topics that are either national concerns or specific to one region. According to Gripsrud, these efforts demonstrate to citizens the relative nature of their public sphere. The world is only as large or small as they make it. People who choose to be socially aware and involved can in fact be active members of Europe’s large society by staying connected through programming offered by the EPB. This sentiment demonstrates the transnational forms of deliberation that are the benefits of creating a European public sphere. While there are many benefits to this type of communications concept, there are also potential limitations. By choosing to cover both broadly based and specific issues, organizations such as the EPB run the risk of turning off viewers who do not choose to care or have concerns with issues that do not pertain to them or their daily lives. This possibility could result in a loss of funding if supporters could garner that this type of European public sphere was not popular with viewers. Although there are pros and cons to Europe maintaining its own public sphere, an example where we can see the extreme benefit of this type of communication took place last spring with the royal wedding of Catherine Middleton and Prince William of Wales. In addition to the attention surrounding this wedding due to the prince’s status as the heir apparent and being the son of the late Princess Diana, Catherine Middleton herself was a commoner, prior to marriage. As a culture, Europe had to take note that this event was going to be watched, discussed and analyzed from all corners of the globe. In order to ensure that all communities and cultures could have nearly unlimited access to this event, the European public sphere had to create a communications realm where all people could have access and understand the news coverage surrounding the royal wedding. When viewing channels like the BBC America, it was clear that the television content was geared toward teaching audiences about the ins and outs of British society. This type of programming allows all viewers to feel included and a part of Europe’s celebration of the marriage of the new future king and queen of England. Question 4 When analyzing the recent trends of active viewer participation and McMurria’s notion of a Good Samaritan society, it is clear that this form of television has the most power to broaden cultural democracy and participation. By combining active viewer participation with a Good Samaritan society, a new form of television viewing emerges as a sort of call to duty or sense of appreciation within viewers. Although the popularity of the Good Samaritan view of television programming is a development within the last decade, the roots of this idea go much farther back. Consider every holiday season when television commercials use sentimental songs and painful images of either impoverished children or neglected animals to stir viewers to action in an effort to get them to call and pledge monetary donations to help. Stemming from these initial seeds of donation commercials, Good Samaritan television has emerged as a cultural mark of the last decade. With programs such as Extreme Makeover Home Edition, where chosen recipients are given a new home to help them deal with whatever trouble they are facing, the American public has been bombarded with television programming that asks them to become active viewer participants. Upon analyzing the positive impact that the combination of active viewer participation and the Good Samaritan mentality would bring to the American public sphere, it is clear that this end result is something that society should strive for. In continuing the example of the Extreme Makeover Home Edition, imagine how many people would benefit if each person who lined the streets during the filming of each show then turned around and did something positive within their own communities. While watching the show, it is obvious that thousands of people turn out to catch a glimpse of this Good Samaritan act in action. Regardless of how big or small, if each live audience member would take a second to extend that feeling of appreciation and gratitude into their own community, there is the potential that movement could transcend through communities across the nation. Another reason why this combination proves to be the best for America’s public sphere is the notion that the duality of active viewer participation and the Good Samaritan mentality will be the most successful in promoting cultural diversity throughout the country. As seen in Extreme Makeover Home Edition, the families featured come from all walks of life. They are from a variety of cultural backgrounds, circumstances and family scenarios. While their surface issues can be a myriad of things, the underlying message this show represents is that human beings in need of help should be able to count on their fellow peers to assist them and help through periods of strife and turmoil. In doing so, one can hope that people assisting others will see and understand the importance of being a Good Samaritan within the public sphere. Regardless of background, ethnicity or culture, it is our responsibility to help one another and treat all cultures fairly. By infusing these ideas into the American public sphere on a highly popular scale, the public is being introduced to the notion that helping others should just become a given – much more than just a volunteer opportunity. Through acknowledging this aspect of the public sphere, we can see the true power of commercial television and its ability to impact society. Read More