Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Last Word: Reality Into Fiction - 1984, Nancy L. Street

Bridgewater Review

Television programming In the United States is transforming our society. Unaware of its incursions, Americans literally “buy into” dramatized patterns of behavior. From the evening news to advertising to prime-time drama like “Dynasty” or “Matt Houston” the distinctions between reality and fiction are blurred if not obliterated. Drama becomes reality; reality, e.g., the news, becomes drama. Contemporary American television posits a world view impacting on interpersonal interactions, family structure, cultural transmission, political decision-making, war and what it means “to know.”