A Very Special Conclusion.

So after all of this television watching, what have we noticed?  Despite the different nature of the channels and shows that each of us viewed, there were some definite similarities in depictions of femininity and masculinity in both the shows and their advertisements.  What is clear is that whatever strides we have made in gender equality in real life over the past decades is not quite reflected in day-to-day television.

Using a Spike to Maintain Stereotypes

Spike is a cable channel that provides adult-oriented programming targeted at a male audience. Although the network's prime-time programming includes action and sports shows that appeal to a mostly adult male viewership, it's day-time shows include re-runs of CSI and other shows that could also attract a female audience. The channel's tagline, Get More Action, is meant to appeal to a masculine audience.

Constructing Reality on MTV

MTV, formerly meaning Music Television, has rapidly changed from its origin as the first channel to host music videos. It now is more focused on reality television with a few time slots dedicated to music. Its audience is definitely in the teenage range, and seem to be more geared towards females, although it is not strictly so. It has many long running reality TV shows, like The Real World, the Real World/Road Rules Challenges, and Laguna Beach, and new additions such as Jersey Shore, Sixteen & Pregnant¸ and Teen Mom. The channel is known for being not exactly family friendly, and a lot of shows contain adult themes and content.

Cops and Victims on USA Network

The television network USA tends to be a quieter network that doesn’t really show too much media that rocks the boat; nothing to worry about. This fairly renowned network is home to one of the longest-running crime dramas known to man in Law and Order, more specifically Special Victims Unit where sexually based crimes are considered especially blah blah blah. This show, while being a joke to some celebrities as the ultimate sign of “making it” normally shows what people think actually goes on in all police precincts across the nation, even when some of the things tend to tip-toe around near bigoted imagery and notions.

The Simpsons: The Ultimate Prime-Time Family

A pioneer of animated sitcoms, The Simpsons have been exploring the common issues faced by the American society through the medium of animation since 1987 on The Tracey Ullman Show and from 1989 as a full series. Of a similar nature shows like Family Guy, South Park and King of the Hill are prime-time shows that also reflect this similar satirical nature through animation; that could be seen as adult humor.

Over the years The Simpsons have received great praise as well as criticism and controversy. " U.S. President George Bush and former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett publicly criticized the program for its subversive and anti-authority nature.”

I will be discussing my findings of The Simpsons aired during Fox prime-time on Sunday 24^th April 2011, from 7pm -10pm.  Between these hours two episodes of the program was shown as well as The Simpsons Movie.

NBC's Same Old Thursday Night- Done Right?

NBC's Thursday night lineup has been devoted to the situation comedy since The Cosby Show in the 80's. Today, the style may have changed- real settings instead of a studio with an audience- but the lineup is still devoted to the half-hour comedy.

The current NBC Thursday night lineup has several comedies that play with traditional sitcom gender roles. Where in the past, women in sitcoms played the "straight" role to a funny male lead, Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock both feature strong female lead characters who aren't afraid to be ridiculous and often absurdly funny. On the other hand, Community and The Office feature more traditional sitcom gender roles, with the women often playing the scowling voice of reason to the lovable loser male characters' antics.

Along with the shows themselves, the commercial breaks present an interesting area to look for gender. It seems that each show has been determined to have a specific audience, and the commercials are programmed accordingly. One doesn't need to dig too deeply to see the patterns.

I took a look at each of these shows on Thursday, April 21st. Let's take a look at each show and some of the commercials it was packaged with: