The High Cost of Discount Culture - Assignment Example

Visual Arts and Film Studies Culture defines the configuration of a peoples acquired way of life. It describes how they do things and their general behavior (Shell 4). Different communities share elements of culture transmitted through its people. Movies and television offer both entertainment and information. This paper will show how television shows formed the American culture more than the movies before 1960. Prior to the invention of the television in the 1930s, Americans had to go to cinemas and theatres for entertainment, which they had to pay for.

However, in the late 1950s, 90 percent of American households owned a television set, bringing entertainment to their living rooms (Thompson & Joseph 24). Since buying it was the only expense incurred, watching television became the preferred leisure activity for almost half of the population. Executives at the television broadcasters were more concerned with advertisers than the viewers because advertisers brought in revenue. The biggest revenue generator was the cigarette industry (Thompson & Joseph 19).

The advertisers influenced the entertainment with the potential to attract most viewers. With free home entertainment, the movie industry saw a diminishing number of audiences. With endless soap operas, comedies and advertisements, television discouraged the reading culture and shortened attention spans while promoting violence (Thompson & Joseph 19). People all over the country shared a common thing because of the television. In conclusion, television became the monarchy of entertainment. It bore an appeal to the majority middle class who had conventional tastes.

Television offered entertainment they could identify with, thus influencing a cultural bond among them (Shell 9). Those who watched common television programmes adopted a lifestyle from them.Works CitedShell, Ellen. Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.Thompson, William and Joseph, Hickey. Society in Focus. Boston: Pearson, 2005. Print.