The main research in this area has been carried out by David Morley and James Lull. Both have studied the relationship between the use of television and power and gender relationships within the family unit. Further studies have been carried out (eg O'Sullivan, Gray) that agree with their findings although criticisms of their studies have been made. Morley's study concentrates on Inner City London working class families, many of whom had poor educational backgrounds. This study was very small scale and was unrepresentative of the country as a whole. James Lull's research was slightly more representative as he looked at different areas in society including farm labourers, and both blue and white collar workers. Although he had more of a spread across the classes he only studied a small area of California, so his study is still geographically unrepresentational.
However, despite the drawbacks to the studies they do raise some important points. David Morley found that gender did have a significant role to play. In his 1986 study he argues that gender has control over issues such as '...power and control over viewing choice; viewing style; planned and unplanned viewing; the amount of viewing; television-related talk; use of the video; solo viewing; programme and channel preferences; and preference for the type of news that was watched' (Morley 1986:147). Morley found that men had the most control over what channel was watched and when watching they seem to get more involved as Brodie (1983) notes, 'Fathers, while viewing television with their wives and children, tend to become engrossed in the television programme, relying on mothers to enact the parenting role with the children' (Brodie, cited in Morley 1986:29). It has been noted in both studies that men tend to have control of the remote control device and often flick between channels without consulting the rest of the room. The control of the male also resides over the video-recorder. In her book Video Playtime (1992) Gray suggests that women simply do not learn how to use the VCR as a point of protest, as once she can use it, it will become one of her 'jobs' around the house. She also puts forward the idea of colour-coding (pink in relation to women and blue in relation to men). In relation to the VCR she sees the play, record and rewind buttons as lilac, used by both sexes, but she sees '...the timer switch [as] nearly always blue, with women having to depend on their male partners or their children to set the timer for them' (Gray, cited in Moores 1993:93). This shows that women do not either feel the need to be able to learn how to use the VCR or maybe as suggested above do not wish to add it to their list of chores around the house.
It can be seen in the studies by both Morely and Lull that men plan their viewing much more thoroughly than women, often planning their viewing by looking through a listing magazine or even the teletext. The women in the studies tended to know what times their favourite programmes were on and did not really plan their viewing. Males do tend to have higher viewing figures as they see the time they spend watching television as their leisure time whereas women see '...viewing as a fundamentally social activity, involving ongoing conversation, and usually the performance of at least one other domestic activity (ironing etc) at the same time' (Morley 1992:148).
In the studies it could be seen that there were clear differences between the types of programmes that both sexes watched, the males tended to watch documentaries, sports programmes and national news programmes. The women tended to watch more soap operas, comedies and the regional news. These type of programmes all show real life situations that may help the mother to bring up her children, for example the issues discussed in soap operas are often similar to day-to-day experiences that the mother may face. Lazarsfeld and Hertzog (1940's) put forward the idea that '...these melodramas provide practical suggestions for social interaction which are widely imitated by audience members...these imitations may be useful in solving family problems which bear resemblance to difficulties resolved in television dramas' (Lazarsfeld and Hertzog, cited in Morley 1986:38). James Lull also sees the role of women in terms of television as one of 'a companion for accomplishing household chores and routines' (Lull, cited in Morley 1986:32). From these studies it can be seen that the role that gender has to play is important.
In his studies Lull divides viewing into two separate categories, socio-oriented and concept-orientated. The socio-oriented communication style consists of the emphasis on harmonious relations and the feelings of others. The children of these families are encouraged to get along with other family members and friends. The levels of viewing are fairly high but there is low consumption of news. The viewing of violent television is heavy. In opposition the concept-orientated family places an emphasis on presenting a discussing ideas. The children are encouraged to express their own ideas and to explore controversial issues. They have a relatively low use of the television and high levels of news consumption.
It is from the various viewpoint of the above researchers that I have carried out my case-study. Like Morley and Lull I used qualitative methods to achieve my results. I carried out observations and interviews so that I could try and interpret the family's use of the television. The family that I carried out my research on is one known very well to me, this could cause biases and difficulties but I felt that knowing the family very well my presence would not really make any difference as I am treated as an insider as I have known them for over 15 years. I observed the family for a period of a week over the Easter holidays, this ensured that I would see them over a period of days and as it is a busy household I would be able to catch some glimpses of patterns in their behaviour. The case-study may be slightly slanted as the child of school age in the family was at home due to the school holidays so this will raise her consumption levels as she is home for longer periods of time then usual. I talked to individual members of the family about their own television use and also that of other family members. This was to ensure that I had a clear picture of each individual, both from their perspective and from that of other family members.
The family that I chose to use for my case-study consisted of five members, father (47), mother (44) and two daughters (20 and 11) and one son (17). The father's occupation is as a self- employed caterer, the mother is a State Enrolled Nurse. The eldest daughter is in University, the son in the Army and the youngest daughter still in primary school. Both parents originate from middle class backgrounds: the mother originates from a small town in South Wales and the father from a small village just outside London. The house contains eight television sets and two VCRs. The sets are located in the kitchen, the three reception rooms and each bedroom. The VCRs are located in the two larger reception rooms. The eldest daughter takes her television set to University but when the son is away in the army he has no set of his own, with the only contact via large television rooms in communal blocks. The televisions are the focal point of each room with one room made into a 'den' simply for the children to have friends over and to be comfortable. This is a common factor as O'Sullivan (1991) '...reports that, with television's installation, there were various re-arrangements of domestic lay- out as well as disagreements about which was the most appropriate room in the house for television' (Moores 1993:90).
The observation that I carried out showed that for the majority of the time '...the television is kept on continuously, as a kind of 'filler' going on continuously behind conversations and domestic events. It will be watched for quick snatches, listened to in moments of quiet then ignored' (Morley 1986:24). This is true of the domestic setting that I observed. Although there are many television sets in the house the main ones use are those in the bedrooms and the one set in the 'den' which is said to be the children's room but should be more aptly titled the family room as it is in this room that the family crowd into whenever they are all watching the television. The main times that the whole family watch television together are at around 6pm until 7pm. It is at this time that the family eats their evening meal, this is most usually eaten in the 'den' with the television as the focal point. It is at this time of night that the national and local news is on the television and as both Lull and Morley's studies show the father insists on the national news whilst the mother insists on the regional news. Even though at this time the television is tuned into a specified programme, there is a continuous chatter. This is the main time of the day that all the family are together and this is the time for catching up on the news of the day.
It is very rare that at any other time the entire family sits down together and watches a programme. Mainly it is a combination of parent and child, with usually the parent watching their choice of programme. Although an exception to the rule is the youngest daughter, she tends to watch the most television and often had the choice over what to watch unless it happens to be the primetime viewing slot. In line with research findings the father tends to have the most control over the remote control device, although it is the mother who really has the control over what is being watched. She is the person who decides over what the youngest child should watch, so it can be seen that it is the mother who is in charge of deciding what is watched.
There seems to be a gender spilt within the house, stereotypically so. The males tend to enjoy the sporting programmes and wildlife documentaries. They also make the most use of the VCR, whether it is to watch pre-recorded films or to watch programmes they have decided to video from the television. Within the household the use of the video by females is virtually non-existent. The only incidences during the week that the females used the VCR was to video a favourite programme that would have been missed due to work commitments. It seems that the women use the video out of necessity rather than because they seek further entertainment. When watching the television the females of the household tend to watch more soap operas, comedy shows and dramas. The youngest daughter also watches the television programmes aimed at her age group although this is usually only at the weekend. The parents enforce a strict homework before television rule so many of the early evening programmes are missed. Although the house did possess a television listings magazine it was not used much at all. The family seem to be content with switching from channel to channel to see what is on. This is with the exception of the mother who knows when her favourite programmes are on and needs no reminder of the time.
Due to the number of televisions in the house any conflict is soon resolved with usually the younger member having to move to a different room. All members of the family admitted to talking about programmes they had watched to other people with this conversation often making the conversation more interesting, ' In factories and offices across the land people earnestly debate what they saw on the screen last night where once they might have discussed the sales manager's love life, the weather, or the shortcomings of the head of faculty' (Hoggart, cited in Morley 1986:20).
The seating in the room is very important in this family, in the television 'den' there is a sofa, an arm chair and a footstool. There is a set routine in this room where the family sits. The mother prefers one end of the sofa and the father usually sits at the other. The children are then left to fight over where they all sit, often with the youngest child sitting on a beanbag on the floor. It is important to look at the seating arrangements as they help to show who is in control. Against many of the findings, in this household it seems to be the mother. This could be partially explained by the fact that the nature of the father's work is mainly weekend so he has more time around the house in the week, therefore giving up his position of power to someone who has less time to spend in front of the television set.
Again it is the mother who has favourite programmes, one of which is Coronation Street. At the times when this programme is on there must be silence so she can enjoy it to the full. From what I have experienced in this household it is a rare occurance for the room to be totally quiet while a programme is on but this is the exception to the rule. The father watches certain programmes such as The Antiques Roadshow but as none of the rest of the family are really interested in this he gets to watch it alone in silence. The family also tend to watch most of the soaps, not always together and even sometimes watch the same show but in different rooms. Neighbours, one of the Australian soaps is popular with all of the household, but does not have the importance of other programmes, as if it is going to be missed during the day it will not be videoed to watch at a later occasion.
An interesting point that I noticed as I did my case-study was that in this household there are no video games and the only music systems are in the children's bedrooms. It is interesting to note that the 'den' television is often on with no-one in the room, an example of the television being used for background noise and company. They also own very few videos, with the exception of one Disney movie and one Mr. Bean comedy show. There are several blank cassettes that can be recorded on, the mother is the only one that has her own cassette which is used to record programmes that she would miss when in work.
The two older children tend to watch television very rarely during the day, most television is watched after 6pm. This is mainly because they spend a lot of time out of the house or working. They enjoy similar programmes, particularly comedies and those shows aimed at teenagers including TFI Friday and Top of the Pops. Also they tend to watch a lot of late night shows often after coming in late or after the rest of the family have gone to bed. An interesting point to raise here is that all the children in the family set the television to 'sleep mode' so that they can go to sleep with some light and noise in the room and due to the timer the television will switch itself off and not stay on all night. The television is used more for its sound and light here than it is used for its depicted content.
It can be seen that television does have a role to play in this family, although it is one that is hard to define. Each member gets something different out of its consumption of television although this can be expected as no two people are the same. Through the television there is a sense of identity and a sense of belonging, it is often the only time that the family are together and as James Lull notes, television evokes '...a feeling of family solidarity...achieved through television - induced laughter, sorrow, anger or intellectual stimulation' (Lull, cited in Morley 1986:33). It can be seen that the television can serve as company in a house, especially when it is left on for long periods of time with no- one watching it. 'It can be used as a controlling mechanism. It can regulate the environment by providing background noise, punctuating time, or scheduling other activities' (Goodman, cited in Morley 1986:25). It can be seen through the mother that there is control over what the youngest member of the family watches. The mother of this family is interesting to look at as she does not fit neatly into any of the research done already, there are common features but her use of the television is very hard to define in terms of either Morley or Lull's findings. Although my research has been small scale and relatively short term it seems to have shown that there is a gender difference although as Ang and Hermes study in 1991 has shown, 'Gender is...not a reliable predictor of viewing behaviour...media consumption is a thoroughly precarious practice [and]...the way gender is implicated in this practice is consequently equally undecided at least outside the context in which the practice takes concrete shape' (Ang and Hermes, cited in 1992:161). I feel that gender roles do play a significant role but it is not the most important. There are too many other contributing factors that can affect the way a person uses the television to say for definate that gender roles are the most important. Many other outside factors can cause people to act as they do around the television set. Power roles do have a role to play but even this is an unstable factor. It can be seen that there is no one answer to the complex web of rituals and rules that surround the television set, just a set of contributing factors that are unstable in themselves.
Bibliography
April 1998