Draft:Influence of popular culture

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The influence of popular culture reflects the ways in which depictions of behaviors in popular culture changes societal attitudes about those behaviors. A wide range of cultural influences have been attributed to mass media, ranging from increases in smoking, improvement of race relations and acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage, and public expectations about the abilities of science and technology.

Smoking

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Film star and iconic smoker Humphrey Bogart

Smoking has had a major part in film symbolism since the era of silent films. In the hard-boiled film noir crime thrillers, cigarette smoke often frames characters and is frequently used to add an aura of mystique or nihilism. One of the forerunners of this symbolism can be seen in Fritz Lang's Weimar era Dr Mabuse, der Spieler, 1922 (Dr Mabuse, the Gambler), where men mesmerized by card playing smoke cigarettes while gambling.

Female smokers in film were also early on associated with a type of sensuous and seductive sexuality, most notably personified by German film star Marlene Dietrich. Similarly, actors like Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn have been closely identified with their smoker persona, and some of their most famous portraits and roles have involved them being haloed by a mist of cigarette smoke. Hepburn often enhanced the glamor with a cigarette holder, most notably in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's. Smoking could also be used as a means to subvert censorship, as two cigarettes burning unattended in an ashtray were often used to suggest sexual activity.

Since World War II, smoking has gradually become less frequent on screen as the obvious health hazards of smoking have become more widely known. With the anti-smoking movement gaining greater respect and influence, conscious attempts not to show smoking on screen are now undertaken in order to avoid encouraging smoking or giving it positive associations, particularly for family films.[1] Smoking on screen is more common today among characters who are portrayed as anti-social or even criminal.[2]

According to a 2019 study, the introduction of television in the United States led to a substantial increase in smoking, in particular among 16–21-year-olds.[3] The study suggested "that television increased the share of smokers in the population by 5–15 percentage points, generating roughly 11 million additional smokers between 1946 and 1970."[3]

Race relations

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The Cosby Show, airing from 1984 to 1992, spent five consecutive seasons as the number-one rated show on television and, along with All in the Family, is the only sitcom in the history of the Nielsen ratings as the number-one show for five seasons, having spent the series in the top 20 ratings. It also remains the only scripted TV show with a predominantly African-American cast to top the Nielsen ratings, and to do so more than once. Its spinoff, A Different World, also became a ratings hit, featuring in the top 5 of the ratings for four of its six seasons. It launched the extended cast into stardom and Cosby, having already had a successful career on television, films and stand-up, became the highest paid actor on television.[4]

It was also an international hit, garnering a following from across the world being a regular fixture in markets previously considered unattainable for African-American leads, such as Europe, where the show became a ratings and commercial hit and cemented itself as an international icon of 1980s pop culture. Its effects on Black American portrayal and gender politics on television were a major part of its success. The portrayal of Clair Huxtable, the matriarch of the Huxtable family, by Phylicia Rashad sparked an international wave of working mothers on television dubbed the "Clair Huxtable effect", and Bill Cosby was nicknamed "America's Dad" for his highly celebrated portrayal of Cliff Huxtable. The colorful sweaters he wore as Cliff became a fashion trend for a time which was temporarily revived in the early 2010s.

The show's portrayal of a successful, stable black family was praised by some for breaking racial stereotypes and showing another part of the African-American experience.[5][6] However, it was criticized by others, including Henry Louis Gates Jr., for allowing white audiences to think that racism and poverty were problems of the past. Phylicia Rashad claimed that when she met Nelson Mandela, he told her that he "is eternally grateful for the show and its influence on Apartheid and us Black people. [The inmates in prison] watched the show while in prison."[7]

Acceptance of homosexuality

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Will & Grace was the first prime-time television series on American television to star openly gay lead characters, making it the highest-profile presence of LGBT characters on American broadcast television since Ellen's eponymous lead character's coming-out in the 1997 "Puppy Episode". It has also been heralded as responsible for opening the door to a string of gay-themed television programs, such as Queer as Folk, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Boy Meets Boy. In 2004, the cast of the show were listed in Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters.[8] In 2012, The Washington Post ranked Will & Grace the ninth-best NBC comedy of all time.[9] In 2014, scripts, props, and set decor from Will & Grace were donated to the National Museum of American History, which is part of the Smithsonian.[10] In December 2023, Variety ranked Will & Grace #93 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.[11]

In May 2012, during a Meet the Press interview with host David Gregory, then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden cited the series as an influence in American thinking regarding LGBT rights, saying, "I think Will & Grace did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody has ever done. People fear that which is different. Now they're beginning to understand."[12] In the same interview, Biden stated that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage, a statement which was followed on May 9 by President Barack Obama's speaking in favor of it.[13]

CSI effect

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Main article: CSI effect

The CSI effect is a supposed shift in the attitudes of jurors due to the exaggerated portrayal of forensic science on television shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which premiered in 2000. Jurors may expect large amounts of forensic evidence (such as fingerprinting and DNA analysis) in criminal trials, raising the effective standard of proof for prosecutors. The term was first reported in a 2004 USA Today article describing the effect being made on trial jurors by television programs featuring forensic science.[14]

While this belief is widely held among American legal professionals, some studies have suggested that crime shows are unlikely to cause such an effect, although frequent CSI viewers may place a lower value on circumstantial evidence.[15] As technology improves and becomes more prevalent throughout society, people may also develop higher expectations for the capabilities of forensic technology.[16] The CSI effect has also re-popularized the forensic sector of the criminal justice system in the media and academia.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Smoking Prevalence in UK Films | Doctor-4-U". www.doctor-4-u.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  2. ^ Noah Iserberg, "Cinematic Smoke: From Weimar to Hollywood" in Smoke, pp. 248–55
  3. ^ a b Thomas, Michael (2019). "Was Television Responsible for a New Generation of Smokers?". Journal of Consumer Research. 46 (4): 689–707. doi:10.1093/jcr/ucz024. hdl:10.1093/jcr/ucz024.
  4. ^ Heads, TV Talking (December 13, 2016). "What 29 TV Shows Have Been #1 in the Annual Nielsen Rankings?". TV Talking Heads. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017.
  5. ^ Whitaker, Matthew C. (2011). Icons of Black America: Breaking Barriers and Crossing Boundaries. ABC-CLIO. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-313-37642-9. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  6. ^ Shaw, Harry B. (January 1, 1990). Perspectives of Black Popular Culture. Popular Press. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-0-87972-504-4. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  7. ^ Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (November 12, 1989). "TV's Black World Turns—But Stays Unreal". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  8. ^ "Bravo > 100 Greatest TV Characters". Bravo. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
  9. ^ Chaney, Jen (October 9, 2012). "Ranked: The top 10 NBC comedies of all time". The Washington Post.
  10. ^ "Original Transgender Pride Flag, Will & Grace Artifacts Donated to Smithsonian | Out Magazine". August 20, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  11. ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". Variety. December 20, 2023.
  12. ^ Jessica Yellin (May 6, 2012). "Biden says he is 'absolutely comfortable' with same-sex marriage". CNN. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.
  13. ^ Sam Stein (May 9, 2012). "Obama Backs Gay Marriage". HuffPost. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  14. ^ Willing, Richard: "'CSI effect' has juries wanting more evidence," August 5, 2004, USA Today retrieved April 2010 and October 16, 2022; also at: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-05-csi-effect_x.htm%7Cpublisher=USA Today, retrieved April 30, 2010
  15. ^ Kim, Young S; Barak, Gregg; Shelton, Donald E (2009). "Examining the "CSI-effect" in the cases of circumstantial evidence and eyewitness testimony: Multivariate and path analyses". Journal of Criminal Justice. 37 (5): 22. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2009.07.005. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  16. ^ Shelton, Donald E; Kim, Young S; Barak, Gregg (Fall 2009). "An Indirect-Effects Model of Mediated Adjudication: The CSI Myth, the Tech Effect, and Metropolitan Jurors' Expectations for Scientific Evidence" (PDF). Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. 12 (1): 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2010.