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An Analysis of Hegemonic Social Structures in "Friends"

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"I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU" IF YOU ARE JUST LIKE ME: AN ANALYSIS OF HEGEMONIC SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN "FRIENDS" Lisa Marie Marshall A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2007 Committee: Katherine A. Bradshaw, Advisor Audrey E. Ellenwood Graduate Faculty Representative James C. Foust Lynda Dee Dixon © 2007 Lisa Marshall All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Katherine A. Bradshaw, Advisor The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the dominant ideologies and hegemonic social constructs the television series Friends communicates in regard to friendship practices, gender roles, racial representations, and social class in order to suggest relationships between the series and social patterns in the broader culture. This dissertation describes the importance of studying television content and its relationship to media culture and social influence. The analysis included a quantitative content analysis of friendship maintenance, and a qualitative textual analysis of alternative families, gender, race, and class representations. The analysis found the characters displayed actions of selectivity, only accepting a small group of friends in their social circle based on friendship, gender, race, and social class distinctions as the six characters formed a culture that no one else was allowed to enter. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project stems from countless years of watching and appreciating television. When I was in college, a good friend told me about a series that featured six young people who discussed their lives over countless cups of coffee. Even though the series was in its seventh year at the time, I did not start to watch the show until that season. Little did I know that years later I would become so engaged with the series that it would turn into an enjoyable research project for my doctoral dissertation. I could have not completed this project, however, without the support and cooperation from several people. I wish to express gratitude to the following individuals: My family—I am so blessed. Thank you to my parents, Rick and Cindy Marshall, for supporting me through not only 8 years of college, but also all of my endeavors. They encouraged me to become involved and creative in the communication field at a young age and I can never thank them enough for the doors it has opened. Thank you for always encouraging me to do my best and seeing I had the appropriate resources to achieve my goals. Thanks, especially, for taping my favorite shows as a child so I could watch them repeatedly and analyze the content. Little did I realize I was a researcher in training! Thank you to the rest of my family who has proven family can also be your best friends: Sona “Ma” Marshall, Becky Marshall, Jean and Richard Tipton, Holly, Turtle, and Jade Beardsley, and my late grandfather, Ralph “Pa” Marshall. Thanks for always being interested and involved in my ambitions. Their love, support, and faith in my abilities helped write the following pages. This is the last graduation, I promise! I would especially like to thank my dissertation advisor, Doctor Katherine Bradshaw, for her kind words of support and guidance during the past 3 years. She believed in this project and v my abilities from the very beginning and encouraged me that I could study something I love. Thank you for being a wonderful mentor during my time at BGSU! I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my dissertation committee members, Doctors Foust, Dixon, and Ellenwood. I appreciate their constrictive advice and suggestions to better my work. From courses to this dissertation, I thank all four committee members for working together with me to see this project come to fruition. I am grateful to Bowling Green State University and the School of Communication Studies. I am forever appreciative for the 3 years of assistantship funding I received for educational and professional opportunities. The teaching, research, and service experiences I have encountered at BGSU are invaluable. I would like to thank many wonderful friends who have been supportive during this journey. I appreciate the continuous support from my undergraduate advisor and fellow BGSU graduate, Doctor Jeff Harman, who inspired me to pursue graduate studies. Thanks to Danielle Stern—a friendly face I met the first day of graduate school—whose friendship and encouragement has benefited me both personally and professionally. I am grateful to Nick Wiget, who motivated me to write everyday and graciously took time to review several drafts of this project. Thanks, especially, for making sure my life had a semblance of normalcy during this process. Thank you to Jen Noble, Christina Miller, Allison Corns, Aaron Burton, Jenny Walton, and countless others who have been a great support system at Bowling Green and back home. As the following pages explain, friends become family and family become friends. I am forever grateful to my friends and family who have and will continue to encourage and support my educational endeavors in the past, present, and future. Thank you, again, to everyone who was involved with and supported this project! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 How this Project will Study Television...................................................................... 1 ............Purpose of Research....................................................................................... 2 About Friends............................................................................................................. 2 ............Friends with Romance ................................................................................... 5 Theoretical Framework............................................................................................... 7 ............Dominant Ideology......................................................................................... 7 ........................Hegemony.......................................................................................... 8 ........................Dominant Ideologies and Hegemonic Influence................................ 9 ........................Dominant Ideologies in the Media..................................................... 10 ........................Hall’s Hypothetical Positions of Discourse....................................... 11 ............Social Penetration........................................................................................... 13 Methods....................................................................................................................... 17 ............Textual Analysis............................................................................................. 17 ............Content Analysis............................................................................................ 18 Why Study Television?.............................................................................................. 19 ............Media Culture................................................................................................. 19 ............Television Influence....................................................................................... 19 Traditions of Studying Television.............................................................................. 23 ............Defining Sitcoms............................................................................................ 23 ............Why Critical Analysis? ................................................................................. 26 vii Organization of Study................................................................................................. 27 CHAPTER 2. “THEY’RE LIKE MY FAMILY”: ALTERNATIVE FAMILIES AND FRIENDSHIP RITUALS....................................................................................................... 30 Defining Friendship................................................................................................... 31 Stages of Friendship Development................................................................ 32 Families Defined............................................................................................ 33 Family Structure Modifications, Friends and Alternative Families .. 33 Unconventional Families in Your Living Room ............................... 36 Social Penetration Theory.......................................................................................... 37 Method....................................................................................................................... 37 Results........................................................................................................................ 38 Social Support................................................................................................ 38 Date Disapproval........................................................................................... 40 Holiday Commemoration............................................................................... 42 Threat of Other Friendships........................................................................... 43 Connecting Alternative Families to Friendship Rituals............................................. 47 Defining Friendship Rituals......................................................................................
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