Tradycyjny etos czy refleksyjny projekt tożsamości? Obrazy ról społecznych kobiet w serialach telewizyjnych i w dyskusjach internetowych
Traditional Ethos or Reflective Identity Project? Images of Women's Social Roles in TV Series and Internet Debates

Summary/Abstract: I would like to demonstrate the connection between the medium and the contents of the message. On the one hand, televison as the traditional mass medium presents messages adapted to the viewers' expectations; on the other, it wields a great persuasive power, possibly used to manipulate public opinion. Therefore, the female roles presented on TV seem to combine stereotype public notions with the intentions of the message sender. By contrast, Internet is a medium allowing women to speak for themselves. The picture emerging from Internet debates shows that an increasing number of issues become questions of choice, while woman's identity becomes less a result of a rigorous role model than an individual reflective project. Both TV series and Internet discussion groups take note of the postmodern confusion and indicate the necessity of making choices in spheres previously controlled by various customs or institutions. But TV messages create the illusion that these choices are based on women,s traditional role model, since such are the expectations of the viewers and the intentions of the senders. However, in Internet discussions this role is clearly questioned and we observe some attempts to define it anew. The analysis of images of women presented on TV and the Internet not only provides a comparison of different types of media discourse, but also illustrates the confrontation between traditionally formulated woman's role and its reconstruction in postmodern context.

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