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Television
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What is Television?

Television is one of the most studied media forms in communications courses, and it sits at the intersection of cultural studies, media literacy, media effects research, and public policy. Students write about it because it functions simultaneously as entertainment, news delivery, political platform, and social mirror. Its reach into American homes makes it a reliable subject for examining how mass media shapes attitudes, reinforces or challenges stereotypes, and influences public life. The Kennedy-Nixon debates, for instance, stand as a landmark case for understanding how the medium transformed political communication, while works like the soap opera form raise questions about genre, audience, and cultural value.

The papers archived under this topic take a wide range of approaches. Some examine media effects directly, asking whether television violence increases aggression in children or whether excessive viewing harms educational development. Others take a cultural criticism angle, analyzing how television shapes identity, perpetuates stereotypes such as the redneck stereotype, or represents women and reality in America. Policy-oriented essays engage questions raised by cases like Citizens United v. FEC, while more literary or comparative essays draw connections between television's social influence and dystopian works such as 1984 and Brave New World.

A strong essay on television narrows its scope to a specific claim about the medium's impact—on a demographic, a genre, or a social outcome—rather than arguing broadly that television is good or bad. Evidence drawn from documented programs, historical events, or peer-reviewed genre studies carries more weight than general impressions. The most common pitfall is conflating correlation with causation, particularly when arguing that viewing habits directly produce behavioral or developmental outcomes.

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Paper Doctorate

Martin Luther King Junior as a transformational leader

The paper is focused on the legendary leader – Martin Luther King Junior. The paper gives a brief introduction of his life and then moves quickly into his leadership styles. The styles discussed in the paper include the transformational approach he took as well as his ability to use his charisma to promote the non-violent approach.

Research Paper Masters

The simulacrum in postmodern culture and consumer imagery

This paper discusses the notion of a simulacrum, or a false form of representation that comes to seem more 'real' than the real thing or to dominate the real thing in the cultural landscape. Unlike a copy, the simulacrum originates before 'the thing itself.' A good example of a simulacrum is a false, idealized image of a perfect life in a magazine. Real people then strive to 'copy' and shape their lives based upon this false ideal.

Paper Undergraduate

Ethnic and religious stereotypes in The Simpsons

The Simpsons is a TV sitcom that is full of stereotypes and that has been used for entertainment for years. In fact, it is the longest running sitcom in American history (Susman, 2003). The show is ranked 17th of today's most popular shows and is ranked 25th of all time. The program features the typical American dysfunctional family exaggerated to a comedic extent. There is the idiotic father, the housewife mother, the intelligent daughter, and the delinquent son. There is also an extensive repertoire of stereotyped characters and these were seen on three of the shows that I watched. Three of these stereotypes are Apu Nahasapeemapetilon the Indonesian convenient store manager, Ned Flanders the happy evangelical Christian, and the Jewish Krusty the Clown, and, as this essay shows, these stereotypes, although innocuous are likely to have an indubious impact on their young viewers.

Essay Doctorate

Gender conformity and death in Carol Shields' The Stone Diaries

This paper discusses Carol Shield's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Stone Diaries." In the final chapter of the book, entitled "Death," the main character Daisy Flett finally dies. During the course of her final sickness and in the aftermath of her death, both she and her family have to face the reality of her life and how little she has lived.

Paper Undergraduate

Elvis Presley's impact on 1950s American culture and society

An analysis of the cultural significance of Elvis Presley. The events that are analyzed in particular are his television performances. It is argued that these performances allowed fans to further connect with the icon. Additionally, these performances also threatened the "moral fiber" of society, yet Presley prevailed and has become a significant icon in music, television, live performances, film, and art.

Paper Doctorate

Does watching complex television programs make viewers smarter?

Author Steven Johnson argues that watching today's television shows, because they contain multiple threads of plot and fast-paced dialogue, are good for the brain because they make greater demands on cognitive processes. Writer Gina Bellafonte argues that the program "24" portrays aberrant family relationships as normal. There is no disputing that the influence of television is powerful in today's world. There is debate about whether television creates culture, or is a reflection of it.

Research Paper Doctorate

Conflict resolution and cross-cultural communication in educational workplaces

Explain what steps you would take to avoid conflict and misunderstanding with others in the work place, thinking particularly about students and colleagues from other cultures and backgrounds.

Research Paper Doctorate

Music videos as promotional devices and cultural influencers

Music Videos: Promotional Device or Separate Product?

Openness in communication and meaningful coincidence on Interstate 8

Experiential Essay – Collision of Meaningful Coincidences Introduction The theory that attracted me to my ideas about this paper is Jae's theory of openness, which posits that the more open a person is in the process of communication, the more creative that person will be when it comes to solving problems. Much of life, as we know, is about learning to solve certain problems that arise. Hence, according to this theory, the key to finding answers to things that puzzle us and stand in our way is learning openness in communication that leads to creativity and problem solving.

Paper High School

Marie Winn's argument on television's negative impact on families

This is a response paper to the essay "Television: The Plug-In Drug" by Marie Winn. In her essay, Winn claims that too much television can have a negative impact on children. She asserts that it acts like a babysitter to calm kids and keep them distracted. This limits the amount of time families spend together which has decidedly negative results.

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