As I watch my multitudes of television, I cannot help but think about how TV shows have the ability to shape the way people, particularly children, see, think, and experience the world. People and situations that older generations considered controversial (gay people, interracial couples, strong women, etc.) are treated as normal as they are. If they are treated as the norm and not the other, they can become the norm. I do not think it is a coincidence that children did not find the Cheerios commercial with an interracial couple as objectionable as many adults did.
However, this does not mean that all situations should be treated as the norm. Instead, it creates unrealistic expectations for young viewers who cannot differentiate reality from television, acceptable from unacceptable. (I am not even going to go into the whole teacher-student relationship thing or the incestual relationships that have become all the rage lately.)
The particular situation that I have noticed happening time and again that really bothers me is how it constantly shows divorced, separated, and/or estranged parents ending up together. A few examples that come to mind are Crosby and Jasmine on Parenthood (Jasmine kept their son’s existence a secret from Crosby for several years), Emma and Neil on Once Upon a Time (Neil left Emma to be arrested), and Regina and Angelo on Switched at Birth (Angelo abandoned Regina and the child they were raising, believing that Regina cheated on him). Then there’s the oft-hinted at (and you know will eventually happen) relationships such as Rayna and Deacon of Nashville (she kept the truth of her daughter’s paternity a secret because Deacon was an alcoholic) and Tim and Miranda of Heartland (Miranda kept their son’s existence a secret from Tim for several years).
Sometimes couples aren’t meant to be. Sometimes they break up for very good reasons. And even if those reasons are eventually nullified in the future (by someone growing up or getting sober, for example), that does not mean they will instantly end up together again. Life happens. Feelings change. People move on. New loves come into the picture. More often than not, those couples do not get back together, children or no.
For those children who watch on with the hope that maybe, one day, their parents will reconnect and get back together, TV only seems to continually reinforce the message that it is only a matter of time. It does not seem right, or fair, to give them such false hope. I am not saying that if not for TV, kids would give up all hope that their parents will reunite, but if TV continues to treat this as the regular and natural conclusion to divorce, separation, etc. then it will eventually become more than knowing wishful thinking and it will become an expectation. That’s not to say that all divorces should be portrayed as messy, filled with custody battles, and fighting. It is true that some divorces end this way, but sometimes things work out for the best?the kids get two loving, stable homes instead of one and everyone ends up happier.
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