Problems With Television

[Aramant]

In my on-going campaign to do anything and everything I can to avoid doing what I'm supposed to do, I've taken to watching all sort of television programming. Not specifically for any sense of entertainment, though I do have a few shows that I actually like, but rather as a sort of cultural observation without having to actually interact with a real person. For the most part, I've been watching the Space Network, the Food Network, the Discovery Channel, SpikeTV, Showcase, TBS, Much Music, and YTV. I have to say, a lot of the programs I've been watching have given me some measure of pause, and have caused me no small amount of puzzlement, concern, and distress.

For the most part, it's YTV I have a problem with. Aside from the prominence of anime cartoons on this network, and all the inherent problems contained in that genre (and my own personal dislike and disdain for it), the cartoons in general have rather problematic content. For a bit of a case study, I'm going to use the cartoon Winx. I caught the last half of this cartoon when it aired at 7:30 AM this morning, Sunday April 24. To be fair, I watched it on mute, but I think doing so enabled me to notice more background and implied details in the cartoon than I might have been aware of if I had been paying any attention at all to the plot. Or to what may have passed for one.

Be a Slut to Fit In
Most immediately noticable was the appearance of the starring characters. I made a diagram, and highlighted important issues:

Figure 1.1

* This girl is the only girl not in an obviously vamping pose that would cause her breasts and butt to stick out, and she is coincidentally distanced from the rest of the group. On the website, I found a small collection of audience comments, most of which included some mention of which character/s the author of the particular comment liked most. The tally is as follows:

(From left to right)
Stella: 6
Flora: 1
Musa: 1
Bloom: 5
Techna: 0

The four vamping characters have an obvious fan base, whereas the (relatively) less provocatively posed character has no apparent fans.

With regard to the significantly higher fan base for Bloom and Stella: on the show's character directory, Bloom's entry includes the following:

Likes: Everything connected with the magical world and beings
Strengths: Altruistic, independent and born leader
Weaknesses: Somewhat impatient, stubborn, a bit insecure due to her doubtful origin

It stands to reason that her fan base is high because she's "the leader" of this fairy troupe. Now for Stella:

Likes: All that is beautiful, love spells and the latest fashion
Strengths: Vivacious, optimistic, good at gymnastics
Weaknesses: Lazy, not too serious about school, and as the wealthiest of the fairies, she wastes lots of money

From her profile, Stella appears to be a stereotypical "valley girl": blonde, dizty, and spoiled. Apparently, young girls prefer this character type over any other, even the "born leader". Flora is "the most mature of the group", and Musa is a "tom boy". Techna, the apparently least liked character, likes "Science, Informatics, [ and ] Inventions", and her weaknesses are that she's "A perfectionist, [ and ] very decisive". Apparently, young girls don't like the apparently smartest fairy in the group. These preferences are reinforced in the show synopsis on the website:

"Meet five fairies in training with a passion for fashion and a flair for
magic - they are the Winx Club! In a universe where magic is a way
of life, it was only a matter of time before a battle against the evil
witch school next door would begin. Exploring love, style, music
and friendship, the members of the Winx Club may all have
different interests, but one thing is certain - they want to get rid of
the witches, and look good while they do it!"

Apparently the issues in life that are most important are boys, how you look, and who and what you like. But most imporantly, no matter what you do, you have to look good while you do it.

Additionally, the fact that Techna is separated from the group in the above picture could suggest to young girls that they won't fit in if they're too smart. This separation may also strongly influence the audience to dislike Techna.

Good Fairies Give BJs

Figure 2.1

This picture pretty much speaks for itself. Observe Stella, the apparently favourite character. Here we have a happy blonde, winking flirtatiously while holding a red, dripping, phallic-shaped item, the full potential of which is only achieved when she puts the item in her mouth and sucks on it. And for those of you who think I'm carrying this popsicle issue a bit too far, I'd like to direct you to this website, as evidence that I'm not just pulling this whole popsicle erotica business out of the air. This is copied directly from the website linked above:

"I could sit outside all summer watching half-naked people (women especially) walk by sucking popsicles. When it's really hot, one has to lap them up fast or they start dripping. To see someone get drops on a bare chest -- over a tank top or bikini bra -- dab them up with a finger, and lick, can be downright pornographic."

Additionally, compare the above picture to the one following, taken from the same website as the quotation:

Figure 2.2

The two pictures are remarkably similar: both portray blonde females with bare shoulders, holding a red popsicle. There is also a suggestion of wetness in each picture, in the melting popsicle in Figure 2.1, and the sweating woman in Figure 2.2.

Conclusion(?)

While I'm far from being a liberal feminist (though I do refrain from shaving my legs and armpits), I do believe that this cartoon is propagating a very negative female role, and I find it very disturbing and bothersome that this cartoon is aired at a time almost certainly aimed at a young, formative audience. While I'm all in favour of hot chicks and... other things mentioned in this post... I am not pleased with such issues being taught to young girls who, as far as I can tell, can't possibly fully grasp what's going on, and who shouldn't be exposed to such disgusting displays of elitism and sexuality.

[Magrus]

First, I must apologize, I assumed you were male for some reason. *coughs* Anatomy thread.

Second, I don't watch much TV. For a few reasons. Commercials irritate me, I can't sit still long enough to sit through a show, and the content in most shows is based on selling objects, sex and idiocy.

So, I'll have to agree with you there. It's all about marketing with tv.

Hot girls on a show mean higher ratings for males to watch.
Alcohol, sex, violence, etc increase the ratings too.

Rather than make a quality show, people are making shows that target impulses in people to make them want to want just that show, for some specific reason. Like attractive women characters doing things you normally won't see in real life situations.

[Aramant]

I am male. The not shaving comment was meant as a joke.

And I understand the fact that "sex sells". My problem is that this show is portraying sexual female characters to young girls, as role models. It's not an issue of the show selling sex to get an audience, but of the show encouraging young girls to dress sexually.

And the issue of sex aside, there are all the other negative values being encouraged by this cartoon, which young girls seem to enjoy and admire, if the characters' fan scores are to be any sort of indication of a trend.

[dragon wench]

lol! I watched that programme not very long ago (my son sometimes watches YTV) and I arrived at the same conclusions. Yes... very disturbing.. though hardly new. The media has been propagating "ideals," of female role models since time immemorial.. even the Greeks and Romans had their equivalent of the same phenomena. One dimensional female stereotyping in Greek mythology anyone?
Artemis: the celibate "tomboy"
Athrodite:the epitome of voluptuous sensuality
Athena: all that is wise

I'm not saying the long history of gender stereotyping makes it right, I'm only pointing out that what we are seeing now is the modern version. What is disturbing, however, is that now these images have considerably larger reach via present day technology.

[Aramant]

I'm not surprised by this, or any ideological agenda in the media. This particular show, being so blatant, just served as an example to use for discussing and organizing my thoughts on this issue.

I think the biggest problem I have with this phenomenon in cartoons for young children is that children should have no business being sexually aware, and seven year old girls shouldn't be flaunting midriffs and hips. And then there's the issue of whether the girls are aware of the significance of their clothing. And if they aren't, that's rather more disturbing.

Regarding the Greco-Roman thing, the deity stuff actually began with a chief goddess being in charge, and women being dominant. I forget why that changed, but it changed from the mother-wife-virgin dominance to hag-breeder-concubine submission, with the new, male gods' symbols (swords, spears, lightning bolts) being phallic. The ideal purity of female virginity changed to something to be conquered.

I wish I still had the book on that topic. It was pretty interesting.

[Aramant]

Oddly enough, on this cartoon on right now, there is a spoof of the shallowness of female portrayal in the mass media. There was a music video on the cartoon television:

"It's a vapid, vapid world
And I'm a vapid vapid girl!"

[C Elegans]

I don't watch TV at all except for sports, but the gender role stereotype for females you describe is all over us in the Western world, and has been for a pretty long time. In Europe, there was a break from this gender stereotype during the 1970's and early 80's, but with recession and increasing influence from US popular culture, the stereotype moved back to the good ol' passive and helpless female whos important characteristics is looks. Media images are more powerful then ever - now even 7-year old girls in Europe and the US are dieting, view themselves as "fat" and want to be models, popstars or just "celebrities" when they grow up.

Gender roles are connected to family and family values, and family values are important for a society because it has a large impact on how people are living and what mechanisms of control there will be. US "family values" are more strongly connected to religion and financial viability than I know of anywhere else in the world, so accordingly, gender role stereotyping in media should be very strong. In Europe, religion plays a much smaller role, but the commercial interests are the same. I guess Canada would be somewhere between US and Europe?

[dragon wench]

[QUOTE=C Elegans] In Europe, religion plays a much smaller role, but the commercial interests are the same. I guess Canada would be somewhere between US and Europe?[/QUOTE]

I think this would be a fairly accurate assessment. Canada tends to be midway between the two in most social issues/problems. One thing I have noticed is that generally speaking Canada is a far more secular nation than the US, and despite having no legislation dictating it, there is probably a far greater separation between Church and State. For example, the religious right tends to be much more marginalised than it is in the US, and as a consequence it has considerably less impact on social policy.
Though, much like Europe, commercial interests do remain fairly paramount. However, pursuant to the discussion in the Stereotype thread, it is important to bear regional differences in mind.

[fable]

[QUOTE=C Elegans]I don't watch TV at all except for sports...[/QUOTE]

If you cut the "except for sports" out of the above, it sums up my television habits for the last fourteen years.

[GFreeman]

I used to watch a lot of television, but have not been very into it lately....there are a handful or programs i like and i just set the tivo to record them. there is no better way to cure boredom than catching up on tivo...i couldn't get through sundays without it.

[ik911]

[QUOTE=GFreeman](...)I couldn't get through sundays without it.[/QUOTE]
Meaning you were stuck on Sunday? I wanna be you!