Coloured televisions were originally established in the 1960’s and were seen as an exciting and popular new media for the era of late modernity to gain. When they were first introduced they were quite high priced and gained you social dominance and cultural capital within a community. By having a coloured television when they first came out showed your wealth and power in your society. My dad’s granddad was wealthy and seen as a prominent figure in the community and one of the first to purchase a coloured television. He and his family used to drive to his granddads ‘large house on top of a hill’ to watch the Match of the Day and the Snooker in colour. This was seen as an exciting and new phenomenon due to the fact that it seemed like a luxury to be able to afford a coloured television and although not wealthy himself he could gain a part of this social dominance by being related to someone who owned a lot of cultural capital. As coloured televisions became more popular and consumerism became more apparent the ideal audience for coloured television moved to the working class. Due to the fact the majority of the working class, such as my dad, couldn’t afford a television, payment plans were enforced such as renting a TV and paying monthly for it. The introduction of this scheme can be seen as an introduction to the idea of popular culture and consumption of the working class. This in turn reduces the importance and cultural dominance of owning a coloured television.
The ideology of national identity came to light quite apparent while interviewing my dad. He had always been very patriotic towards his country and he clearly remembers watching when England won the world cup in 1966 on a black and white television. ‘As England scored their winning goal everyone was dancing in the streets and waving their flags while chanting England England.’ The world cup was a regularly viewed experience in my dad’s household. As England got further and further into the competition my dad’s sense of national identity seemed to grow. You could argue that by having a TV and watching the experience as it happened increased his identity in terms of his patriotic views to England.
My dad’s dad can be seen as representing a hegemonic stereotype of masculinity. One way, in relevance to the aspect of the television, in which he reinforces this stereotype was through the programmes they watched which, according to my dad, was predominantly sport related. When they first got their television the idea of family values increased as they would all sit down in front of the television with their tea and watch shows as a family. However their household was very male dominated and patriarchal themes came to light. The men in the house got to choose what they wanted to watch while my dad’s mum used to wait on them hand and foot ‘bringing them tea and toast.’ My dad’s mum and dad both conformed to their traditional stereotypical roles which in turn reinforced my dad’s father’s social dominance.
Media Culture and Practice 