" I'll be there for you... "

One of my "all-time" favorite television shows is Friends.

I think the show is hilarious! And I could totally watch it for hours; in fact, I have. I began watching the show sporadically throughout Junior High and High School. I found the characters and plots of each show to be just soooo funny. And then finally, during my sophomore year at BYU, I watched all 10 seasons in a few short months with one of my own friends. Sitting inside a cozy townhouse, laughing for hours made the cold winter months much more enjoyable. Since then, I have purchased a few of the seasons and will catch random episodes on TV.


This past week, I have coincidentally been at home or at the gym when Friends has aired on one of the many stations.

Jackpot!


Since the start of the school semester, thanks to Dr. Coyne's Media & Human Development class, I have recognized how the media has fully saturated my life. It wasn't a surprise to me when we took a questionnaire to get an idea of how much of our time is spent involved with some type of media, that my average was much higher than the norm. I like television, I watch movies, I listen to music, I read books/magazines, etc... so what? Now because of Dr. Coyne's class, I can at least recognize certain aspects of the media and what is being portrayed, more than I did before. And the semester has only begun.


So as I watched all the episodes of Friends this week, not only did I laugh, but I was able to distinguish how certain parts of the show may have an effect other viewer's way of thinking; particularly concerning sex.


Sex is viewed as being extremely casual on the show. No preconceived morals seem to affect each character as they are faced with decisions concerning sexual acts. One of the episodes I watched this week, involved Phoebe and her desire to sleep with her boyfriend. Throughout the episode she was frustrated that he was not acting like other men she had been with previously, by not trying to sleep with her. Because of this, Phoebe began to "throw herself" at her boyfriend, in hopes he would sleep with her. Also throughout the episode, Phoebe would discuss this "dilemma" with the other 5 characters on the show.


Even though certain parts of the show were entertaining, the idea of Phoebe's plan and motives was a bit unsettling. Phoebe made herself appear to be desperate with a lack of moral values. Other viewers of the episode may assume Phoebe's actions to be normal and through the information processing theory, may act different in their own life when in similar situations.


Personally, I feel as though I am firm in my moral values and to watch a show like this would not leave me in question. Sadly, this is not the case for all Friends viewers in the world. As for now, I will most definitely continue to watch Friends, but I cannot help but recognize all the sexual references and think about how they may affect other viewers.