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TV's distorted vision of poverty

1981; Routledge; Volume: 29; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01463378109369420

1746-4102

C. R. Gould, Dagmar Cacilia Stern, Timothy Dow Adams,

Cinema and Media Studies

Avoiding almost entirely the depiction of poverty during prime‐time broadcasts, television networks present a sentimentalized vision of economic deprivation that omits or minimizes hardship while idealizing the supposed benefits of a spartan way of life. Much happier than the harried members of middle‐ and upper‐income groups, poor and working people on television seldom strive against their economic fates or against the system. Conclusions are based on a monitoring of prime‐time entertainment broadcast by the three commercial networks during "ratings month."