The word culture was derived from the Greek word colere, meaning "to cultivate." Since then several definitions have been developed. A U.N. document in 2002 stated culture as the "set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs" (Dictionary.com). Paul du Gay defined culture as "a description of a particular way of life which expresses certain meanings and values not only in art and learning but also in institutional and ordinary behavior" (12). Culture is what defines a person, explanation of how and why people do what they do. Culture affects every aspect of a person's life, including television. There are many aspects of society that can be considered part of culture, such as television. Over the years culture has been divided into three separate concepts: Globalization, McDonaldization, and the Circuit of Culture.
[...] Television as a whole is not really relatable; there are always stretches to life that are unlikely to occur. Another WB show, One Tree Hill, has a plot based around high school friends who fall in love, cheat, get married, try to kill people, etc. Events such as those are unlikely to occur in teenagers' real life. Conversations are full of talk about girls, guys, parties, etc, nothing of any real importance. This is where Gilmore Girls has identified with viewers a bit more than other shows. [...]
[...] These four dimensions lead to a good McDonaldized enterprise; television is no exception to these four dimensions. Although some of the dimensions are more prevalent than the others. Efficiency is the first dimension that Ritzer discussed. He defined it has optimum method for getting from one point to another” (12). The entire idea of the television was to transfer information faster and more efficiently from one point to another. News outlets use efficiency to release stories immediately following their occurrence. [...]
[...] It can be demonstrated best by discussing a specific show from The WB, Gilmore Girls. The circuit is divided into five major processes: production, regulation, consumption, representation, and identity. This world of Gilmore Girls falls under all of these processes. Gilmore Girls has followed the traditional guidelines of most WB shows. The show first aired on the WB in October of 2000 and since then there have been six seasons. It has become the number one show in its slot, Tuesdays at eight. [...]
[...] Individual shows take the idea of television being part of a person's identity to a more extreme. If a show represents average life well, then the viewers can identify and relate to the show. Feminism has been a large proponent to the show. Gilmore Girls has been one of the first shows to really demonstrate strong female characters. The women have strong political views, not usually demonstrated on television. More importantly the show portrays the single working mother surviving on her own. [...]
[...] Television is no exception to this; it has come a long way over the course of history and has crossed many “territorial boundaries.” The first television was demonstrated in the early 1920s. It was a rare thing to own a television and they were in black and white. Before the television was in most American homes, people used the radio to gain their information. Once the television came out and was something in most people's homes, the radio was replaced. [...]
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