Sammy Davis
"Television Shows Reflect American Culture There are many movies andtelevision shows that reflect American culture. A show or movie mustaddress some current societal problem or trend in order to truly reflect American life; murder, rape, racism, and, on a less serious note, parties,shopping, and sports are topics that deserve serious consideration by thepublic and the media. The show Beverly Hills 90210 attempts to be anaccurate portrayal of the life of a typical well-off American teenagergrowing up in the 80's and 90's. The producers of the show attempt tointegrate many real life situations into the show. By doing this they aresuggesting to the audience, which happens to be geared toward teenagers,that what the characters do in the show is the ideal way to deal withthese types of situations. Many aspects of American culture arerepresented on the television show Beverly Hills 90210, or just 90210 asit is commonly referred to. Three to four years ago it dealt with thesubject of murder or homicide. One of David's, a star in the show, bestfriends was playing with a gun which he had acquired during a summervacation to the mid-West. The friend shot himself by accident; what
The twolovers had just married and planned on a happy life when tragedy struck. In the meantime, Dylan has fallen in love with his daughter. In the adolescents'mind it appears that guns are not a bad item to own, when in reality gunsare extremely dangerous weapons. This location, along with rich parents, provides for the perfect situationto make them look like rich brats. One of the morecommon stereotypes of American life fits right in with the materialisticvalues promoted by our society - in print, in television, in commercials,in movies - in other words, in all aspects of the media. The show also deals with thetopic of suicide. This is a major problem in the UnitedStates and the show is trying to get the message out that it is not a safething to do. Many innocentchildren, and sometimes adults, are killed accidentally playing with guns,or by drive-by random shootings. The producers are doing a good deed in showing thisbecause it sends a message to teens; hopefully, they will want to becomeproductive members of society and will not want to get involved with theharmful aspects of the American culture. Dylan's girlfriend, whose father was an organizedcrime figure of some kind, was gunned down by a bullet intended for Dylan. This episode's tragedybrought the characters in the show closer together. Her experience was extremely valuable in later episodeswhen David's mother was having mental problems and he contemplatedcommitting suicide. One of the newer stars of the show, Valerie, moved toCalifornia after her father killed himself because she could not stand tobe in the house where such a horrible thing had happened. Teen suicides are rising because of manyinfluences: drugs, alcohol abuse, mental and physical abuse, alienationfrom parents, poor performance in school, low self-image, rejection bypeers, sexuality, or, as in this situation, a death in the family. Ironically, the hit-man was hired by her very own father.
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Acceptance Essays
