Television programming serves as a catalyst to the coarsening of civility in American society. When children and adults view television programs there is a certain amount of retention that occurs. Those who say that it is just "television" and viewers should know not to carry out what is seen are ignorant towards reality. The show "Married With Children" portrays an excellent example of the coarsening of civility in today's American society. "Married With Children" contributes to coarsening by allowing society to view a distorted family.

The show centers on a particular family that consists of a father, mother, daughter, son, and of course, the dog. Where we come to a problem is the different portrayals of the characters. The father has a job as a shoe salesman who dislikes his occupation, and when he arrives home every evening, he kicks his feet up on the coffee table, pushes his hands in his pants, and begins watching television. A child or youth viewing this may ponder on the idea that he or she will not have to carry out many responsibilities, only the responsibility of having a job, whether they like it or not. When a father arrives home from work, he does n

The body language on the show reflects the lack of respect each family member has for one another. As the father arrives home every evening with a face of disgust, it shows that he is very unhappy, unpleasant, and does not want to be bothered. The mother is always prancing around in very revealing clothing, which depicts her character as an individual who cares only about her beauty. Wearing torn clothing, being represented as not taking baths and a non-caring attitude is what the son's body language suggests. The daughter gives off the impression that she is an airhead who cannot think for herself, and also wears very revealing clothing. An individual's body language has to do with how others show them respect. If I were to meet this family, they would receive no respect due to the way they carry themselves. When viewing characters such as these, viewers are shown that they may carry out what is projected from the show. This will vastly coarsen our society.

A prime example of the coarsening of civility in the American society would be that on the show the daughter was babysitting and could have easily corrupted the minds of the children she was babysitting, as well as the mind of the individual watching the show. She began by telling one of the kids that she was sick of them and held his head over the toilet and kept flushing it. This incident caused the child to be afraid of flushing the toilet. Another incident was that she told one child that if he squirted her with the squirt gun one more time that she would kill him. Due to speaking to the children in a harsh manner, they began to pick u

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)