College Essays-Culture and representation on television
- What ethnic groups, genders, and sexualities are represented on the show? Why do you think particular casting decisions were made for each type of character?
- Regarding characters, what stereotypes do you find about women, men, gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, people of color, people of age (such as elders), disabled people, or people from different socio-economic classes
- Does the narrative acknowledge and/or subvert any stereotypes or tropes? How? Is it obvious or more subtextual?
- How do the stories told on the show reinforce cultural ideology and hegemony? (i.e., “dominant culture” or “mainstream culture” or even what we call “normal”)
- How are cultural power relationships revealed through interactions between characters? Pay attention to verbal and nonverbal interactions.
- For this part, interpret the patterns from your own critical perspective, but also use outside sources to help support your points (see list below).
- In what ways might patterns of representation and narrative influence public discourse (agenda-setting effects), including traditional media and social media?
- How do you think the patterns of representation and narrative affect audience perceptions of reality (cultivation effects)? Do they reinforce or challenge stereotypes?
- Take detailed notes about representation and narrative for each of the three episodes. This activity is your “describe” step of the 5-step process. Along with your paper, submit (typed) notes you made as you watched the program.
- Analyze your notes to identify patterns and themes about representation, narrative, and audience effects. Think about and interpret the meanings of these patterns and themes. Why do you think producers made these decisions? Research other perspectives.
- Evaluate the effects that these patterns of representation and narrative have on audiences, other media, and the broader cultural discourse in the U.
Watch three consecutive episodes of one of the following modern TV shows. Qualifying shows are comedies or dramas, and not allowed are studio sitcoms, animation, or sci-fi/fantasyThese are available on Hulu, Netflix, or their home network’s website:
- Modern Family
- Jane the Virgin
- Fresh Off the Boat
- Scandal
- Black-ish
- Grown-ish
- Parks and Recreation
- Atlanta
