HU200 Module 5: Television's Influence on Perspective

This essay examines the impact of television on shaping individual perspectives, focusing on how creative expressions in TV shows influence viewers' viewpoints. The student reflects on the effects of specific programs like "Hannah Montana," "Wizards of Waverly Place," "FRIENDS," and "Game of Thrones," analyzing how these shows altered their understanding of family, friendship, and societal dynamics. The paper highlights how television, as a powerful medium, can present information and moral lessons that resonate with audiences, potentially altering their beliefs and behaviors. The essay also touches upon the evolution of television viewing, including the use of technology and the impact of TV news, concluding that the fundamental influence of TV shows remains significant. The assignment is a reflection on how television programs have influenced the author's own life and perspective.

Running head: TELEVISION & ART
TELEVISION & ART
Name of the Student: Emma Ngoh_Efretuei
Name of the University
Author note:

1TELEVISION & ART
Since its inception television has historically impacted the world in various ways
including changing of perspectives of the people about issues and presenting information
systematically. Like all other mediums of mass communication, television also had to bear
the brunt of politicisation and authoritarian controls. However recently enough television has
come out as a medium which represents people’s authentic issues and problems. The thesis
statement of this paper is that, television is a very powerful medium which has the potential
to change the views of the people and present information in particular ways.
The two adolescence shows that affected my younger days were Hannah Montana
and Wizards of Waverly Place. Both of these shows were very famous shows being watched
by almost every one of our age group. There are some important lessons that can be learnt
from Hannah Montana and the most important of these is that everyone makes mistakes and
that includes the most famous people, so one should endeavour in correcting those mistakes
instead of becoming depressed (Mayes-Elma, 2018). In the case of Wizards of Waverly
place, it changed my views about family and bond with the siblings. I started to give more
importance to my family (Greenwald, 2007).
The two shows from adulthood that had profound impact on me and my peer group
are FRIENDS and Game of Thrones. Two of the most popular shows in the present day
world these are quite different in terms of theme and story line. FRIENDS have been
effective enough to establish the fact that friendship is very important in the life of a person
and when we are with our friends we can spend some of the best times of our lives (Shattuc,
2014). On the other hand Game of Thrones is a fictional series which depicts the conflicts
among various royal factions with the objective of usurping the throne (Czepiec, 2013). This
has taught about politics in life and how trusting blindly even the very close ones can cost
dearly. In the show I have seen that own family members are going against someone just for
power or money, this is evident in our present society as well, actually TV shows take clues

2TELEVISION & ART
from our daily lives and show us the reality. I have become a more matured person after
watching this show. I have understood that in my academic life and job life I need to be more
careful before trusting people.
Therefore from the above shows it can be understood that television has great impact
on the general population. TV shows centred around particular themes and story lines also
have a general moral lesson, which profoundly impacts the mind of the audience. The
generally held view may be altered by very strong and popular TV shows. TV News also
have impact on the viewers as it depends on the presentation of information that how a
particular audience will react. The four TV shows mentioned above have used creative ideas
and well-built plots to impact the mind of the audience and bring a change in the world. (One
change can be seen from the fact that inspired from Hannah Montana many youngsters
started to endeavour in singing and coming to limelight. FRIENDS have inspired people in
improving their bond of friendship and becoming better in terms of socialisation.
Television has the scope of broadcasting movies, TV shows, series, news, informative
documentaries, and music. Presently, people prefer to watch TV shows or series on their
phones, therefore the phones literally have turned into television sets. Other ways technology
has revolutionised the TV viewing experience is the way reality TV shows are shot and
presented. The style has completely changed and the equipments used are completely high
tech to give better experience to the audience. The televisions are now having 3D technology
by which we can sit at home and experience and view films and shows in 3D. However, the
far reaching effects of the shows being broadcast remains the same.

3TELEVISION & ART
Reference:
Czepiec, J. (2013). Game of Thrones.
Greenwald, T. (2007). The Wizards of Waverly Place. Hollywood, CA: Its a Laugh
Productions.
Mayes-Elma, R. (2018). From Miley merchandising to pop princess peddling: the Hannah
Montana phenomenon. In Kinderculture (pp. 173-186). Routledge.
Shattuc, J. M. (2014). The talking cure: TV talk shows and women. Routledge.