Television Soap Operas and Moral Debate
ABSTRACT: This paper proposes that we should aim to refine talk about issues in soap opera as a means of developing moral reasoning skills. I begin with a report of work at schools in New Jersey over 1996-97, during which excerpts of a popular soap opera, 'Party of Five,' were used as the basis of a rigorous philosophical discussion of moral behavior. I then turn to the distinctive role of soap opera as a locus of moral discussion, with an example of a Mexicana telenovela. I suggest that children are already engaged in moral debate about soap operas and are eager to develop a more rigorous critical framework for the debate. I argue that children appreciate the opportunity to flesh out the school yard gossip about soap operas with a philosophically sophisticated discussion. My approach draws on the work of Matthew Lipman in philosophy for children, Neil Postman's critique of television, and David Buckingham's analysis of children's responses to television.
The paper proposes that we aim to refine talk about issues in soap opera as a means of developing moral reasoning skills. It begins with a report of work at schools in New Jersey over 1996-7, during which excerpts of a popular soap opera, 'Party of Five' were used as the basis of a rigorous philosophical discussion of moral behaviour. The paper then turns to the distinctive role of soap opera as a locus of moral discussion, with an example of a Mexican telenovela. I suggest that children are already engaged in moral debate about soap operas and are eager to develop a more rigorous critical framework for the debate. My argument is that children appreciate the opportunity to flesh out the school yard gossip about soap operas with a philosophically sophisticated discussion.
The approach draws on the work of Matthew Lipman in Philosophy for Children, Neil Postman's critique of television and David Buckingham's analysis of children's responses to television.
PARTY OF FIVE
Claudia: No, uh ah, no way.
Charlie: Claudia
Claudia: No, forget it. That's, that is a terrible thing to do.
Julia: Yeah, it is. It is, but how else, Claude, I mean, how else are we going to get him here?
Claudia: I don't know, but that? No, you can't tell him that. You can't have him get in his car and drive all the way over here thinking that. You don't think this is the cruelest thing you could do to a person, I mean you're actually OK with this ?
Not only educational shows accomplish these goals, but fictional television programs can often incorporate information that requires viewers to grapple with a topic using logical reasoning and a global consciousness. In addition, not to diminish the importance of reading, television reaches those who may never pick up a book or who might struggle with reading problems, enabling a broader spectrum of people to interact with cognitive topics. Veith has committed the error of making generalizations about two forms of media when, in truth, the situation varies depending on quality and content. However, what follows these statements is not just fallacious, but
Social security was designed to assist constituents during financial hardship. The program insured non-Negroes who needed unemployment compensation, met retirement age requirements, or child welfare prevention programs. Despite its forward objective, critics’ perception of the social security program was depicted as legal thievery. M.A.’s candid retort to the government’s evasive program was simply to rape the pocket’s of the people. M.A. as well as others primarily prepared for retirement or a rainy day from stock returns. Contrarily, the social security program stimulated other economic restructures, which included limited full-time workers. The shift in the economy and Roosevelt’s failed promises created a wedge between the people and the government. For instance, Mrs. OM voices her views of President Roosevelt’s campaign as a misleading trick. She further explained
In his novel, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman describes to the reader, in detail, the immediate and future dangers of television. The argument starts out in a logical manner, explaining first the differences between today's media-driven society, and yesterday's "typographic America". Postman goes on to discuss in the second half of his book the effects of today's media, politics on television, religion on television, and finally televised educational programs. He explains that the media consists of "fragments of news" (Postman, 1985, p.97), and politics are merely a fashion show. Although Postman's arguments regarding the brevity of the American attention span and the importance of today's mass media are logical, I do not agree with his opinion of television's inability to educate.
In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," he uses a hyperbole to support his belief that "one person can make a change," an idea still relevant today. Thoreau uses many forms of literary techniques such as multiple hyperbole, emotional appeals, and paradoxes. Thoreau uses these to sustain his ideas on civil disobedience. He believes if you believe in something, and support something you should do whatever it takes to help the cause. Many people in today's society believe to just go with the flow, rather than living like Thoreau has, and supporting his own beliefs no matter what the consequence. Henry David Thoreau had a lot of personal authority, he was all about his own independence. Many different people believed in being a non-conformist, and Thoreau was one of them, and he very well showed how much he supported it. Thoreau was not the only nonconformist, they're many people who followed his beliefs and they refused to be bound by anybody, or anything they did not support. Other non-conformists were Gandhi, Galileo, Malcom X and many more.
Television and the visual culture are “creating new conceptions of knowledge and how it is acquired” (p. 145). Neil Postman in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death explains the effects of television and visual culture on the youth education curriculum. Postman believed it necessary to warn society of the consequences of living in a culture dominated by television. As for my opinion on this matter, I do not agree with Neil Postman’s statements in regards to television and our youth’s education. I believe it is not the crisis Neil Postman makes it out to be.
In this day and age we spend an extensive amount of time engrossed in literary works, films, television shows and other forms of fiction. Some see this in a positive light, contending that fictitious stories cultivate our mental and moral development. Others however have argued that fiction is mentally and ethically obstructive. Posing the age old question: Does fiction build the morality of individuals and societies, or does it break it down?
Albelda, Randy. “Fallacies of Welfare-to-Work Policies”. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 577, JSTOR Sept. 2001. 66-78.
The media has come to dominate the lives of many of today’s youths. In The Great Imagination Heist, Reynolds Price expresses extreme dismay at the media’s ever-tightening grasp over the impressionable minds of adolescents. He sincerely feels that the effects of prolonged exposure to television, film, video games, and the Internet are detrimental to the development of a youth’s imagination and ability to think freely, without outside influence. The word “heist” indicates the intention to rob or steal. Price laments what he perceives to be the robbing of original, personal thought. He longs for the days when people read books freely and television was little more than a negligible aspect of our daily lives.
Hazing is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.” (Rosner & Crow, p. ). While most states have enacted anti-hazing legislation criminalizing the act of hazing, the application of these statutes is still quite rare. Id. at 277. Most lawsuits filed for reported hazing incidents are still reviewed under federal law claims ...
Jimmy Carter said any system of economics is bankrupt if it sees either value or virtue in unemployment. The Social Security Act of 1935, also known as the "Old-age program", is the largest social program in the United States to date. The main function of this program is to compensate workers and their family members who are retired or disabled. The Social Security act came at a time of great hardship and uncertainty by the American people. With the Old-age program it was possible for a retired person to have a form of security knowing that they will have a supplemental income which would allow them to live and in return allow the younger generation to work.
[16]. A Discussion with Burto Malkiel and Sendhil Mullainathan, 2005. Market Efficient versus Behavioural Finance, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 17, No. 3, A Morgan Stanley Publication, Summer 2005
In turn everything in the present and the future is judged through the stocks as they hold a high importance in industrialized economies showing the healthiness of said countries economy. As investing discourages consumer spending over all decreases, it lead...
“Children Who Kill” will discuss a few headline murder cases, media coverage, the court system, entertainment industries, and how society and the entertainment industry plays a major part when analyzing a child’s deviant behavior. It is my belief the entertainment as well as society is responsible for the decline of moral an ethics in inner city youth.
Turnbull, S. (2010) “Crime as Entertainment: The Case of TV Crime Drama” Journal of Media and Cultural Studies Vol. 24. (December) p. 819-827.
...e question of ethics. In modern times, the role of media is under debate. There emerged so many issues regarding the functioning of media. For instance, generally violence on television is criticized to the great extent. Critics argue that violence shown children. This creates psychological depression and emotional instability.