Lying in Familial Relationships As Portrayed in Domestic Sitcoms Since the Recession: an Examination of Family Structure and Economic Class
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LYING IN FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS AS PORTRAYED IN DOMESTIC SITCOMS SINCE THE RECESSION: AN EXAMINATION OF FAMILY STRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC CLASS Nancy Bressler 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 December 2014 Committee: Lara Lengel, Advisor Ellen E. Berry Graduate Faculty Representative Radhika Gajjala Ellen Gorsevski Lisa Hanasono ii ABSTRACT Lara Lengel, Advisor Through the fusion of media/cultural studies scholarship, interpersonal communication research, and triangulated method, this dissertation draws connections between our social and cultural interpretation of the American family, the discursive possibilities of humorous mediated representations, and the influence and implications of lying on familial relationships. The concept of the American family is as much a social and cultural identity as gender, class, and ethnicity; yet its construction has been typically ignored by cultural studies research. This dissertation addresses that deficiency by examining representations of the American family on Disney-owned situation comedies. These representations are analyzed through past interpersonal research and typologies on lying to determine how the motivation for lying and the relationship between the liar and the recipient of the lie impacts the portrayal of family structure and class status. This dissertation considers to what extent the idyllic and deviant portrayals of the American family marginalize and symbolically annihilate any family conceptualization that is not a nuclear, middle-class family and consider how these media depictions (re)flect and (re)present the broader cultural shifts surrounding the meaning of the American family. Finally, this research concludes by considering how the lie factors into the narrative of the episode and the overall perception of the familial characters. Using a triangulated approach toward textual analysis, including content analysis and narrative analysis, this dissertation draws connections between quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide a more complex and holistic investigation of American situation comedies. Across the sample of 84 episodes, 589 lies were iii recorded, or an average of 7 lies per episode. The findings of this dissertation also uncover two additional categories that warrant further exploration: “self-serving lies” and “punishment by lying.” Another key finding observed that family members who lie to outside characters for financial gain are rewarded, while those who lie to develop or sustain a relationship were punished. Overall, the results concluded that when considering the motivations for lying and relational impact from lies told, family structure provided less of a distinction than class status. The findings further contribute to uncovering which family structures or class statuses are potentially idealized and which are marginalized. iv Dedicated to Barbara – No matter the distance, you are always in my heart! Nothing I have achieved would be possible or worthwhile without you! v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a massive amount of gratitude to my committed, supportive, and diligent committee, whose unwavering commitment made this dissertation and future research projects possible. Specifically, I want to thank my advisor, Dr. Lengel, for her steadfast support and influence on this dissertation. I greatly appreciate the time, support, and dedication you invested in me during my graduate career at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). From the first day I attended your class on media and cultural studies, I knew you would guide me down an area of research that would change my academic life. I have learned so much from your intellectual prowess, yet I am also personally in awe of your amazing strength and dedication in life. Your mentoring has been instrumental and I can never thank you enough. I would also like to thank my outstanding committee members who have each left fundamental impressions on this project, as well as my future goals. To Dr. Gajjala, I could not have imagined completing this without your input; thank you so much for always being willing to converse about research interests and professional development opportunities. Thank you to Dr. Gorsevski for helping me to craft my ideas about the American family as a rhetorical, political, and cultural entity. My pedagogical and research skills were also greatly enhanced through Dr. Hanasono’s contributions to my graduate career. I have greatly benefited from our discussions and interactions and cannot ever thank you enough for the time you invested in me. Thank you Dr. Berry for agreeing to serve on my committee and for being a supportive mentor, particularly at times when my focus wavered. I could not have asked for a better committee and your continued dedication to this project and to me is something that I will cherish the rest of my life. vi Finally, to my outstanding, wonderful, and particularly patient mother. I could never have accomplished a quarter of my goals without your constant support, love, and guidance. You have always been there right beside me and I can never thank you enough for all the assistance you have given me over the years. I can pursue my dreams because of the strength and love I received from you. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION …………………… .....................................................… 1 Disney-Owned Sitcoms Since the Recession ............................................................ 4 Overview of Dissertation .......................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER II. CRITICAL APPROACHES TO THE AMERICAN FAMILY ................... 13 Representations of the Nuclear Family in the Media ................................................. 16 The American Family and Class in Media Representation ....................................... 19 CHAPTER III. THE CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF SITCOMS........................................ 23 Defining the Sitcom Genre ........................................................................................ 24 Domestic Sitcoms ...................................................................................................... 26 A Historical Overview of the Representation of Families on Sitcoms ...................... 28 1950s: The Golden Age of Television ........................................................... 29 1960s: Gimmicks Invade the Traditional Family .......................................... 34 1970s: Socially Relevant Sitcoms & Cultural Shifts .................................... 36 1980s: Backlash from Social Relevance ........................................................ 39 1990s: Conventional Sitcom Meets Satire .................................................... 42 Domestic Sitcoms Since the Recession ..................................................................... 45 2009 Domestic Sitcoms ................................................................................. 45 2010-2012 Domestic Sitcoms ....................................................................... 48 2013 Domestic Sitcoms ................................................................................. 49 CHAPTER IV. DECEPTION AND LYING ........................................................................ 51 Conceptual Definitions of Deception and Lying ....................................................... 51 viii Lying in Real Life Contexts ....................................................................................... 53 Parent-Child Relationships ............................................................................ 54 Sibling Relationships .................................................................................... 55 Motivation for Lying.................................................................................................. 56 Previous Typologies for the Motivation for Lying ........................................ 56 Children and Parental Motivations for Lying ............................................... 58 Responses to Lying ....................................................................................... 60 Connections Between Lying and Familial Relationships ............................. 61 Lying in Media Representation .................................................................................. 63 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER V. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 69 Triangulation ............................................................................................................ 69 Textual Analysis ......................................................................................................... 71 Content Analysis ........................................................................................................ 73 Coding ........................................................................................................... 75 Data Analysis Techniques ............................................................................. 78 Narrative Analysis ...................................................................................................... 79 Equilibrium Formula ...................................................................................... 81 Concluding Methodological