Cultivation Theory: The Good isn’t winning.

Around the world, tons of television programs are being aired every single day. From american teen serials to japanese freaky game shows, these programs have infiltrated the lives of the masses. Practically every person from the age of twelve and up follow a serial of sort. Some people love watching programs which provoke their minds, like CSI or The Mentalist, others just fall in love with teenage serial dramas.

In any case, most of the serial programs cause audiences to be passive audience instead of being active. They do not make audience think deep. Shows like Gossip Girls glamorizes the use of backstabbing amongst friends. It really can be dangerous especially for younger audience, when their minds are at a stage where it absorbs everything. Perhaps that is the reason why teens are particularly emotional at these age. As compared to the 70s, teens these days get themselves into unnecessary trouble. For example, the recent teen slashing cases in Singapore became a trend. Its might be because teens have adopted a herd mentality. Whatever people do, they follow. With no one telling them the wrong from the right, its really easy falling onto the wrong side.

Serials must move from engaging audience as being passive to active. They must start encoding the right messages in their content, so that even if their audience are passive, they decode the right message.

A step further would be engaging the audience as being audience. That way, the audience would be able to have their opinions, they can either decode it by Preferred reading, Negotiated Reading or Oppositional Reading. Sadly, there aren’t any serials that do the above mentioned.

One can only think of Sesame Street as engaging the audience as active ones. The great thing about Sesame Street is that it is timeless and everyone watches it, even Katy Perry.

A twenty three year old has got guilty pleasures in watching Sesame Street. When a child watches Sesame Street, he takes its content in as preferred reading. The adult however may agree or disagrees with what Elmo is singing with regards to saving water. Of course there definitely others who hates Jim Henson’s creation.

How many more timeless classics can the world create? One where it is able to transcend age and capture the hearts of everyone. The world needs to step out of the chains of Hollywood and its makings before we can change the moral erosion of the teens.

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