Syed Nauman Tauqir – MA IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC EVALUATION

TOPIC: Cultural Impacts of American soaps / sitcoms on youth

The media — television, radio, movies, music videos — are part of the social

environment in which today's young generation grows up, and they can

contribute in setting social norms.

Perhaps more powerfully and pervasively than any other medium, television

provides the collective images, stereo-types and myths of popular culture

through which we as a society represent ourselves to ourselves and to

others. There is a complex and intricate relationship between the production

and reception of television drama and the larger pattern of experiencing and

coming to terms with the world. Its stories both express and effect the push

and pressure of a wider world.

Television is undoubtedly the most important communication medium in

today’s life. It possesses an amazing power to influence millions of

individuals with a particular message. Surely with time, television has

become the most powerful tool in the world of mass communication.

Television is a tool that can be used for both bad and good, it can be used to

educate and allow people to see a world they might never have a chance to

see in reality. However, television shows a small, distorted view of reality,

which can damage people’s views of the real world, and this can influence

how people think and behave.

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Syed Nauman Tauqir – MA IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Since youngsters spend a considerable amount of time watching television,

this makes them more prone to its negative effects. Eventually they try to

imitate the characters of these soaps/sitcoms and not only the positive

characters but also the negative ones. And the incidence of adopting the

negative characters is more because they are shown to be more powerful,

boast of limitless money and they usually get whatever they want in the

least of time.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In film, television and music, sexual messages are becoming more explicit in

dialogues, lyrics, and behavior. In addition, these messages contain

unrealistic, inaccurate, and misleading information that young people accept

as facts. The west has influenced east to a degree that people can no more

differentiate between the two. The term ‘American’ in fact refers to one of

the classic American literary and film genres. Western art works – films,

literature, sculpture, TV shows and paintings – are devoted to telling

romanticized tales of the American West.

It has been closely observed that American sitcoms contain heavy doses of

sexual content, ranging from touching, kissing, jokes, and innuendo to

conversations about sexual activity and portrayals of intercourse. These

soaps and sitcoms present sex as a casual activity without risk or

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Syed Nauman Tauqir – MA IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

consequences. Previous researches suggest that the messages young

viewers absorb from television promote sexual activity in this group.

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Syed Nauman Tauqir – MA IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

RATIONALE

The aim of this study is to analyze a certain influence created by American

soaps on the young minds of Pakistan. This research will be beneficial not

only for the general youth and their parents but media regulators as well as

cultural / social experts because it may give a clue to the changing society.

Moreover, any active member of the society can benefit from this study.

OBJECTIVES

This research aims at identifying the following issues:

• To find out the trends for American programs amongst the youth

(boys, girls)

• To observe the keenness amongst youth while watching these

programs

• To analyze the effects of the culture shown in these programs on the

social patterns of youth

• To observe the intentions of youth while watching and discussing these

programs

METHODOLOGY

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Syed Nauman Tauqir – MA IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Background

Change is usually disturbing for all yet it is important because stagnant

nations never develop. However to what degree is this change good, cannot

be measured. The first step towards analyzing the change in an environment

or a society is to assess the behavioral and social change among the youth

because this section of the society is the most sensitive towards media

effects, is the most active participant in the formation of social groups and

the future of the nation depends on their actions. Therefore, that is what this

study is all about.

Research plan

This was a quantitative study because the method used to study the cultural

impacts was through questionnaires. The questionnaires were designed for

the youth, keeping in mind all the possible questions that were required to

be answered. The questionnaires would be personally taken to the target

audience and be filled, for unbiased data collection.

Copy of the questionnaire is attached at the end of this document.

Sample

The research was planned and a sample of 100 girls and 100 boys were

decided. They would be analyzed separately and then a cross-comparison of

the observations would be conducted.

Universe

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Syed Nauman Tauqir – MA IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

The universe of the sample would be Lahore but the areas were not specified

because the sample would be taken from different colleges and universities

of Lahore. The names of all the top educational institutions of Lahore would

be written on pieces of paper and through simple random sampling/lottery

system, ten of them would be chosen.

At random 10 boys and 10 girls would be selected to fill the questionnaires

from each university.

Age group and social class

The age group for the students to which the questionnaire would be

distributed was between 15 to 30 years. They would have to indicate their

social class in the questionnaires so that the impact could be compared. The

reason for doing so was so that authentic data could be established and

analyzed for unbiased outcomes.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Geraghty, Christine. The Aesthetic Experience in Women and Soap Opera: A

Study of Prime Time Soaps, Polity Press, Cambridge.

Hyatt, Wesley. The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Billboard Books.

Waggett, Gerard J. "One Life to Live". The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. Harper

Paperbacks.

Abu, P. Media cleansing. Retrieved from:

http://www.dailynews.lk/2004/10/02/fea07.html

Amazon, I. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved from:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092325/

Answer, C. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,

Fourth Edition. Retrieved from: http://www.answers.com/topic/pattern

Larson, M. Sex Roles and Soap Operas: What Adolescents Learn About Single

Motherhood. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. Retrieved from:

http://books.nap.edu/html/youth_internet/ch6.html

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