Blog post #7

     In one of our recent Comm 348 classes when we discussed the issue of race in pop culture, the subject of the new television show Black-ish came up. Dr. C asked everyone who hadn't watched the show yet why they hadn't watched it. I had actually considered watching the previous week's episode (and even got a text from fellow Comm 348 classmate Max to remind me that it was on!), but alas, I didn't end up watching. Why? Because at the same time I happened to be in the middle of the season three finale on Netflix of my new favorite show, Hart of Dixie. And it was one of those season finales that was so good that there was no way that I was pausing it to watch anything else (or watching anything else for a couple days after because it was that good that I needed time to let everything sink in- haha!).

     In the few days after though that I was reflecting on both season three and Hart of Dixie as a whole, I started to realize the ways that race is presented in the show. I think that the theme of race is actually shown in a very positive light in Hart of Dixie, but perhaps so positive that it can be unrealistic (kind of like how the show Modern Family was called out for its unrealistic portrayal of class). But first I should probably explain it a little bit more about what the show is about!

      The main character in Hart of Dixie is a young doctor from New York City named Zoe Hart. She is fresh out of medical school when the show begins, and pursuing residencies. She is unable to get the residency that she wanted at a hospital in NYC, and ends up getting sent to a tiny little town called Bluebell in the Gulf Coast region of Alabama instead, to work at a family doctor's practice. The whole experience is a huge culture shock for Zoe, and the television show is centered around her new life in the Deep South, as well as the lives of some of the other "characters" of Bluebell (characters in quotation marks because for such a small town it has a lot of interesting residents!).

     Hart of Dixie is a dramedy that airs on the CW network, and as to be expected with most CW shows there are some love triangles each season, and sometimes the plot lines do get a little bit goofy. But overall I am so impressed with this show. I feel that I can relate a lot of the character of Zoe, as I am a Northern girl who moved down south for college. I enjoy the fact that this show can be laugh-out-loud funny, and then at other times it can tackle real life issues in a very real and serious way. And another perk: I always have a fondness for any televsion show that can successfully integrate a good flash mob into each season! :-)

     But as far as racial themes in Hart of Dixie, this is where things get a bit interesting. As I stated earlier, Hart of Dixie is set in a (fictional) very small town located on Alabama's Gulf Coast. The town of Bluebell, Alabama is displayed in the show as being a mix between lower middle and upper middle class. There are a significant number of reccurring characters on Hart of Dixie who are black, and one of the show's leads is also black. The lead character that is black is the town's mayor, former NFL player Lavon Hayes (who also becomes Zoe's best friend in the show). The Mayor's home is a large former Southern plantation house, and Mayor Hayes is seen as being very affluent from his former career as an NFL football player. The other black characters in Hart of Dixie are seen as being business owners in the town of Bluebell, or just average middle class citizens that are no different from their white neighbors. There are enough reccurring black characters on the show to present the picture that the town is equally divided racially (and there is even an Asian reccurring character in the first season). But yet there seem to be no racial tensions in the town of Bluebell whatsoever, and interracial dating also happens between characters and appears to be widely accepted. 

     Another observation that I made is that the few poor citizens of Bluebell (or the surrounding towns in the Gulf Coast area) that are shown in the show are always white, and very much fit the stereotype of "white trash." They all very much fit the country lifestyle, and all live in run-down houses on the outskirts of town or in the woods. A couple of these minor white trash type characters also have drinking problems. I find it interesting that the creators of this television show chose to make the few impoverished characters shown in Hart of Dixie to all be of a certain stereotype (and a white stereotype as well). 

     Lastly, another observation on race further within Bluebell's social circles. Within the town of Bluebell, the official women's society is the Bluebell Belles, which is almost like an exclusive sorority type group for the young housewives of the town. The members of the Belles varies slightly between seasons of the show, but there are usually an equal number of black and white members. Each Belle comes from an affluent household, and this is seen through each of the characters' wardrobes, as well as discussions of the types of dues that the Belles have to pay to be members and the elaborate events that they're always throwing. From a personal standpoint, I think it's wonderful to see that the Belles are made up equally of black and white members!! Like within the rest of the show, there doesn't appear to be any racial tension between members. (Of course the Belles do have their share of drama [it is a women's society after all!] but none of it seems to be racially based). But when looking at the Bluebell Belles racially from a realistic standpoint, I'm not sure that the creators have done an accurate job of making this organization seem realistic. Alabama is a state in the South where racial tensions in established organizations still run high even today. In fact, it was just this past year that the University of Alabama had to make an official school-wide rule that banned racial segregation as a practice during Panhellenic sorority recruitment (Read more about that here). Personally, I think it is great to see a group like the Bluebell Belles that are so tightly connected and don't seem to discriminate for their membership at all based on race... but sadly I'm not sure if that is quite realistic, based on the real-life version of the world in where the show is set. 

     In closing, I have two statements that I would like to state:

     1. Comm 348 is definitely making me analyze the types of pop culture that I enjoy watching/reading/listening to... whether I like it or not (as in the case of questioning how race is displayed in Hart of Dixie). I guess that means that I'm definitely getting something out of this class!

     2. Hart of Dixie is a GREAT show. I think that everyone should watch it, or at least give it a try. The first couple episodes might seem to be a little much but I promise that before the middle of season one you will be hooked! I have gotten several of my friends back home in Maine addicted to it, and they're currently finishing season three on Netflix so we have all been texting non-stop (so it's proven to be a way for us to stay in touch!). The first three seasons are on Netflix and season four premieres on the CW network this winter. 

     -Annaliese 

Blog post #6

    Recently our class read the article "Modern Family is a Class-Blind Fantasy World" from Salon Magazine. This article discussed how the popular television show Modern Family does a terrible job at giving an accurate representation of the financial situations of middle class American families. For the majority of the seasons of Modern Family, the three families featured on the show are all single-income families, yet they are living extremely affluent lifestyles. Examples of this are the grand vacations that they take, the fact that they're always up to date on the latest technology, and how extravagantly decorated all of their homes are.

     Sadly, many popular American television shows take a similar approach to Modern Family and are unrealistic in their portrayals of class and the American family. But my personal favorite television show does what I think is an excellent and actual realistic job at portraying what life is like in modern America for a single income middle class family. This show has sadly been off of the air for seven years now, but in the 11 years that it aired on the WB network (now the CW) it had a large following.

     The show 7th Heaven was a family drama about a pastor's family in California. The main characters were the Reverend Eric Camden, his wife, stay-at-home mom Annie Camden, and their seven children.  In a society where having only one or two children is becoming the norm, having a family as large as the Camdens to be the subject of a family drama was definitely a bit of an interesting choice. But I believe that the show's creators, Aaron Spelling and Brenda Hampton, did an absolutely fantastic job giving a realistic portrayal for what life is really like for a large family living on a single income.

     In 7th Heaven, the Camdens live in a fairly large house in a surburban neighborhood in California. But it is noted quite often in the show that the family wouldn't be able to afford living in the house if it wasn't a parsonage (a house owned by the church congregation of which Eric Camden is the pastor of). And even so, the house still isn't large enough to accomodate their whole family at times (throughout the seasons of the show all of the children share bedrooms at different times). Annie Camden is known for being very handy and whenever something needs to be repaired she generally fixes it instead of calling out for a repairman to come and fix whatever the issue is. This is shown in mulitple episodes of the show, starting with the pilot episode in which Annie is shown fixing some pipes under the kitchen sink. Annie (and sometimes Eric) also cook most of the their family's meals at home instead of eating out. Characters in the show are seen eating at restaurants but they're usually very affordably priced restaturants (such as a local pizza parlour that is a popular hangout for high school students). During the few times in the show when the family eats a dinner out at a nice restaurant, usually a comment is made about what a treat it is.

     As far as the education of the Camden children, things seem to be very realistic in this department as well. During the 11 seasons that 7th Heaven ran for, the four eldest Camden children are seen through into adulthood or their college years. Three of them chose to pursue college, but they all did so in an affordable manner. Matt and Lucy Camden both attended a university in the same town as where the Camden family lived, and chose to commute from home instead of living on campus (to save money). Matt Camden was shown working a demanding job all through his college years to help pay for his schooling. When Simon Camden was shown going to college a few years later he chose a public college, didn't live in campus housing, and was also shown working during the school year to help cover his bills.  One of the younger Camden children, Ruthie, attended a private elementary school for a couple years during the show. It was noted by Eric and Annie multiple times that she could only attend because she had high enough grades to be there on full scholarship, and without the scholarship the family couldn't afford to send her there on just a pastor's salary.


     There are countless other ways that class is appropriately displayed in 7th Heaven; the fact that the family rarely takes vacations, how all of the weddings of older Camden children that have taken place on the show were fairly modest and budget concious affairs (that all took place in the Camdens' home city of Glen Oak, California), and how the Camden children are shown being careful with their allowance money and also being encouraged to work jobs during their high school and college years to help pay for their own expenses. But more then appreciating the fact that the creators of the show did an accurate job at expressing what life is like for a large single income family, I appreciate the values and morals expressed in the show. At the core of 7th Heaven are life lessons such as "there is nothing more important than faith and family," and also "material possessions aren't most important." The Camden family shows that situations in life might not always be easy and that sometimes money might be a bit tight, but that when you have the love of a family, a strong faith, and healthy friendships within your community that's what's truly most important. It might sound cliche- but the show did have a successful run on the WB network for 11 seasons! I don't think it would have lasted that long if  viewers disagreed with the messages in the show. :-)



      (On an unrelated note about 7th Heaven, the show was recently in the news. A couple weeks ago the news broke that lead actor Stephen Collins (who played Eric Camden on the show) is currently being investigated by police after reports against him for child molestation surfaced recently. I am sad that my favorite show is back in popular culture for such disturbing reasons.)