Culturally Sensitive Television Programming
The vast reach of the television medium, and its high visual impact,has led to a great deal of debate on the influence of televisionprogramming content in molding cultural and societal values. Thecontroversy is particularly heated in countries such as the United States,which has a large migrant population from all over the world. Whilecommercial television has developed into offering different populationsegments a choice of ethnic channels and programming, the fact stillremains that an eclectic mix of culturally and linguistically diversegroups view mainstream television. The aforesaid fact, along with thecurrent, important social agenda of eliminating all racial and ethnicdiscrimination, has raised the question of whether mainstream televisionhas a responsibility to restrict its language and content in response tocultural sensitivities. Social activists contend that television has thepower to communicate the norms and values of a society and to that extent,the medium must play its due role in bringing down social barriers byinfluencing Americans to become more open and sensitive to other cultures.Pro-choicers, on the other hand, point to the principles of freedom of
Therefore, it is as important that culturally andlinguistically different segments of the population also learn to adapt tothe functioning of a democracy and respect the principle of freedom ofexpression. For after all, democracy works precisely because it expects itsinstitutions, commercial enterprise, and citizens to be guided by a socialconscience and sense of responsibility in exercising the freedom it offers. The fact is that television, with its global reach and visual power, can,if it so chooses, play a more active role in influencing and shapingsocietal values. The key point I am making here is only that any marked skew intelevision programming should be addressed so that the scale is more evenlybalanced. While, it does appear that there is a great deal of scope fortelevision to stop hiding behind the fact that it mirrors society, it isimportant to point out here that a line also needs to be drawn somewhere onculturally sensitive programming. Similarly, ahigher coverage of culturally diverse news stories would also go some wayin bringing together the different streams of life in America today. Such characterization, over time, not only affects the sensitivities of thecultures being stereotyped, it also negatively impacts the self-perceptionand confidence levels of minority groups, especially adolescents andchildren. Further, such an enlightened and educational approach need notnecessarily be confined to educational or infotainment programming, butform a conscious part of pure entertainment as well. If television follows social values, it is then highlydebatable whether conscious developing of sensitive, cross-cultural ormulti-cultural television content will succeed in either eliminatingcultural and social differences or in generating mass, popular appeal. Thinking about theissue, it is my personal view that both sides of the argument has its ownmerit, and the answer probably lies somewhere in between such polarizedviews. The inclusion of simple devices, here, such as adifferent cultural setting for a popular soap or sitcom can go a long wayin establishing respect for the diverse groups in America. For,without question, only social forces such as education, religion,employment and community practices or family upbringing can inculcate suchvalues. The argument of social activists stems from the belief thattelevision media messages tend to reinforce existing cultural values andsocial differences by, for example, the stereotypical portrayal ofculturally and linguistically different groups.
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