The next time you see your friends, try this little trick. Tell them: “I want you to touch your finger to your chin– like this.” As you speak, touch your forefinger to your cheek. Watch your acquaintances to see what they do, and I guarantee that, ninety percent of the time, they will touch their cheek rather than their chin.
The fact is that we emulate what we see, not what we hear.
Any good parent can tell you that this is true. There have even been articles concerning behavioral psychology that have come to the same conclusions. It’s an undebatable fact that the phrase “Do as I say, not as I do,” is an empty and useless expression.
Given humanity’s predisposition to learn by observation, is it any wonder that we are powerfully influenced by what we see on television? The portrayals of race, gender, and class broadcast across the country greatly influence how we view reality, and this influence has, in some cases, helped to mask or even cause social issues. Television families have been America’s measuring stick for what it “normal” and “real” for decades. This is not to say that we believe these fictional families actually are real, or that we think they accurately portray actual reality, but rather the fact is that we feel these TV households are an entertaining commentary on what is real. They might be more perfect, more interesting, more dramatic or more farcical than the truth, but we perceive them as being based either on what is or what should be.
Take, for example, the role of women in the household in 1950’s programming. June Cleaver personified the perfect mid-twentieth-century television housewife. She always looked immaculate, she never frowned or became angry, she was too incompetent to do practical things like driving a car, and she got a huge kick out of cleaning, laundering and cooking. To see June at work, one would think that life as a wife and mother in the 1950’s was heaven on earth.
The reality is that housewives in booming suburban America were isolated, stressed and bored out of their minds. As families moved out of close-knit city neighborhoods and into new suburbs, women found themselves cut off not only from old friends, but also from shops, parks, libraries and such. In an era when families only owned one car, which was used by husbands to commute to work, and bus lines rarely serviced suburbs except to bring men to and from jobs, housewives were stranded in the midst of sprawling residential wastelands with little access to the outside world. They had nothing to entertain themselves with other than housework, and shirts can only be ironed so many times. As women were not expected to take particular interest in things like history, politics, economics and foreign affairs, there was little of substance to occupy minds and conversations. A housewife’s only friends were usually other housewives in the same suburbs who, like everyone else, had nothing to talk about besides laundry, children, and gardening. It must have been a lonely existence.
The reality is that housewives in booming suburban America were isolated, stressed and bored out of their minds. As families moved out of close-knit city neighborhoods and into new suburbs, women found themselves cut off not only from old friends, but also from shops, parks, libraries and such. In an era when families only owned one car, which was used by husbands to commute to work, and bus lines rarely serviced suburbs except to bring men to and from jobs, housewives were stranded in the midst of sprawling residential wastelands with little access to the outside world. They had nothing to entertain themselves with other than housework, and shirts can only be ironed so many times. As women were not expected to take particular interest in things like history, politics, economics and foreign affairs, there was little of substance to occupy minds and conversations. A housewife’s only friends were usually other housewives in the same suburbs who, like everyone else, had nothing to talk about besides laundry, children, and gardening. It must have been a lonely existence.
Nonetheless, TV mothers like June Cleaver were held aloft as the role models for housewives everywhere. This is how women were supposed to act. This is how life was supposed to be. Indeed, these characters were often aimed at women. It was common at that time for characters and TV personalities to advertise sponsors’ products during the show, and whether by accident or design, the message was sent to women that these products, or the lack thereof, was what separated them from the contented, picture-perfect ladies on the screen.
No comments:
Post a Comment