Page 181 - Religion in the Media Age Media, Religion & Culture

170 Born-agains and mainstream believers

Dan: Judge Judy.
Ryan: Oh, yeah. Me and Dad watch that a lot.
Laura: And I hate it. It just drives me nuts when they watch stuff like that.
Interviewer: (to Ryan) You and your dad watch Judge Judy?
Dan: Not very often. About once a month.
Ryan: And we watch . . . what’s that one, that cop show?
Dan: Oh, Top Cops.
Ryan: Yeah. That’s what we watch.
Laura: If I’m around I won’t let them watch it.
Dan: I think the big one is we don’t let them watch the Jerry Springers and
some of those kinds of shows.
Laura: I think the girls police themselves pretty well, and if they’re uncom-
fortable they’ll usually shut it off.
Interviewer: What do you not like about the talk shows?
Laura: They’re just so dumb.
Dan: All the general crap on ’em that’s just... they’re such far-fetched
topics that it’s just not worth your time to turn it on.
Interviewer: And has that always been a rule, no talk shows?
(Several answer “yes”)

The similarities to other families are striking here. While the Boswells
express some fairly clear understandings and accounts of media, some
variations in viewing behavior from expressed preferences do take place. It
is further not clear how the distinctions between types of talk format
programs are made. It is not clear what Laura means by “dumb,” and
exploration of this issue with her does not result in any more enlighten-
ment on that point. In addition, Ryan and Dan seem to enjoy the guilty
pleasure of some programs of which Laura does not approve. The
Boswells, in short, are not that different from many other families in many
of the ways they consume media.

The Allen family
Jill Allen, 37, lives in the inner suburbs of a major city with her two
daughters, Laura, 16, and Melissa, 10. She is divorced from the girls’
father, and has had on-again/off-again relationships in the years since. Jill
is Anglo, the girls’ father Hispanic. They do not maintain close contact,
and he does not contribute to the maintenance of the family. Jill has a
high-school education and works at a nearby manufacturing plant on the
assembly line. The family income is low, and life is a constant financial
struggle. The family is fortunate to be able to live in a neat, clean, and
well-maintained three-bedroom home, subsidized by a local non-profit
housing organization. Laura, the 16-year-old, plans to begin after-school
work soon to help support the family. 14