Core post #1: TV + Family - Georgina Gonsalves

I found that "The Rhythms of Reception" by Tania Modleski and Lynn Spigel's "Installing the Television Set" had some similarities and great differences in their content as to the newfound presence of the  television in the home. Both are similar in describing the differing effects of the television as it relates to women and men in the house, based on the point in time that televisions were first becoming a household item. 

In Modleski's analysis, which I found quite offensive to women, as a women reading this in a more modernized era; they focus on the idea of flow between programming and commercials in relation to 'women's work in the home'. I can see how this was initially the layout for programming in that point in time where women were expected to keep up the home and take care of children while the men worked labor jobs; however I do think that this article focused too intensely and almost solely on the female experience and effect of the television. I agree during that era, that programming was targeted toward the audience who would most likely be watching during daytime or nighttime programming, taking their viewing pleasures into account, that makes sense; though I did find it incredibly manipulative that programming targeted towards women enforced strict gender roles and suppressed them even further in subconscious ways; for example, playing on women's fears that they are never enough for those around them, conditioning women to be 'mind-readers' for their husbands while their husbands already assume they know what is best, and habituating women to interruption, distraction and multi-tasking as a mother and a wife as was expected to do while juggling tasks in the home. Perhaps Modleski was describing the period in time where this was the norm, however I found the majority of the analysis to be strongly misogynistic as it went to great lengths to analyze the manipulative effects of television targeted towards women in an effort to distract her from her reality while ensuring her efficiency, while it only briefly touches on men's viewing pleasure, the sexualization and objectification of women. Though this may have been the intention with television programming, I found this article more offensive than informational. 

In contrast to Modleski's analysis, "Installing the Television" by Lynn Spigel seemed to differ in content greatly. Though it still discussed the presence of the television in the home and the effect it had on societal norms, it discussed the television as an object and the role it played in the home and how it related to the rest of society. This analysis was much more historical, reviewing the era in which television became a widespread household item. It focused more on utopian and dystopian views of the television, how it affected families and home life during a time where suburbia was new and television contributed to the idealism that was desired. I found it very interesting that television was being introduced as more of a means of metaphorical transportation, a 'window' to places outside the home and far, far, away. I think that the era aligned well with the pace of technology as the new presence of the television contributed to the idealistic aesthetic of suburbia, the idea of space and the efforts of erasing spacial barriers (the illusion of "traveling" to places far from home without actual effort).

While Modleski's analysis focused more on programming intention and purpose, and how it was shaped by and related to women's work; Spigel's analysis discussed more of the television's role as a glorified object in the home and the role it played in a new society where space and idealism was greatly valued. Both discussed the television's role in metaphorical transportation to places, situations, and lives outside of reality and the effects this had privately in the home, and on a greater scale in society itself.