Active viewing - Girls' interpretations of family television programs

This study uses reception analysis based in cultural studies, which argues that audiences actively view media and critically and socially create media meanings and interpretations. Examining data from individual interviews an d focus groups, the author identifies how nine- to thirteen-year-old girls individually and collectively interpret family situation comedies. The resu lts indicate that girls use their own individual experiences to critically evaluate television families. Second, girls incorporate the morals and valu es of each program into their collective talk. Third, girls actively assess humorous sequences and attach particular salience to humor involving body control and body image. Fourth, television is used as a shared cultural exp erience and social capital in active collaborative talk, and media meanings are socially constructed through interaction. The author argues that the g irls are active viewers and that family television sitcoms can be a positiv e, prosocial farce in girls' lives that fosters social interaction and enha nces social relationships.