Lesson+3


 * //The Transmission of Values in __Friends__ – What are we supposed to take away from the series?//**


 * Background Knowledge**

Many long-running television shows create a fan-base that forever holds on to the characters, plots, and ideals of a show. Shows ranging from M*A*S*H to I Love Lucy, even to The Sopranos can leave a seemingly permanent mark on the people who have invested years of viewing time and dedication. When faced with a similar situation to Lucy's, how many female viewers have wondered “What would Lucy do in this situation?” Do men channel their “inner-Tony Soprano” when they are confronted with difficult family decisions? Whether or not we admit it, we, as loyal viewers, sometimes turn to television to help us make decisions in life. Television shows, particularly multi-season, long-running shows, provide die-hard fans with additional perspective. Has anyone ever stopped to think about what this perspective might be? What values are being transmitted to audiences when watching television shows, specifically shows that might be part of a viewer’s life for extended periods of time? It is important to recognize – and acknowledge – the assumptions and cultural values present in popular television.


 * Purpose**

As noted above, long-running television shows become an icon and staple of popular culture. Shows like //Friends//, which lasted an amazing 10 seasons, have drastically infiltrated popular culture. Whether you are an avid watcher or a casual rerun viewer, nearly everyone is familiar with the characters, the theme song, and the hairdos. For some viewers, this show could have been a way to unwind each week; for others, it could have been a show that took a viewer successfully through adolescence. When the series finale aired in 2005, people across the United States (if not other places) tuned in to see what would happen – Would Ross and Rachel finally get together? Would Chandler and Monica be good parents? Would Phoebe suddenly realize her comedic wit was perfect for Joey and that she should get with him before his spin-off begins? (I doubt that was popular theory.) Glued to the television set, over 52.2 million viewers watched as many of their //Friends'// hopes and dreams were realized. But just what dreams were viewers hoping for? Why did viewers hope for them? And, more importantly, what did the show leave viewers with? The purpose of this specific lesson is to reflect on the values presented in the series, beginning with the pilot episode, stemming through various episodes watched in class, and wrapping up with the series finale. Just what values did //Friends// try to promote? Did the values from the start of the show hold true to the finale? And, whether the values remained the same or not, what values did the show leave its 52.2 million finale-viewers with? In short: what were viewers supposed to learn to value from //Friends//?


 * Objectives**

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to

-identify and define social values. -identify and define dominant, traditional, emerging, alternative, and oppositional values. -analyze the thematic and character development trends in a television series. -synthesize information to make an assertion about the values disseminated in sitcom television.


 * Sunshine** **State** **Standards**

LA.1112.1.6.1: The student will use new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly LA.1112.1.7.1: The student will use background knowledge of subject and related content areas, prereading strategies (e.g., previewing, discussing, generating questions), text features, and text structure to make and confirm complex predictions of content, purpose, and organization of a reading selection; LA.1112.1.7.2: The student will analyze the authors purpose and/or perspective in a variety of text and understand how they affect meaning; LA.1112.1.7.7: The student will compare and contrast elements in multiple texts LA.1112.2.1.4: The student will analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, providing textual evidence for the identified theme


 * Unit Background Information**

Throughout the //Friends// unit, students have been exposed to many elements of television and television analysis. Students have viewed several episodes from the start to end of the series, specifically focusing on the plots, character developments, and the effects of those elements on the viewer. In the classroom, students are familiar with many of the major season plots, tracking them in journals and assignments. The assignments have been kept in a television section of their in-class binders for reference during discussion and analysis.


 * Overt Instruction**

To continue with the use of outside resources, students read //Through the Wringer: Teaching Social Values with Print Media// by Michael Considine for homework the night prior. Students have also become very familiar with Carlos Cortes’ article //How the Media Teach//, as well as the various narrative structures presented in media (including literature, television, and short film). In class, students will receive a short PowerPoint presentation with further examples (only a few examples have been presented in their readings) from the Considine article. Students will learn the definitions of dominant, traditional, emerging, alternative, and oppositional values through advertising examples. Students will also review the examples and situations about the dissemination of values from the Cortes article (values about family, sexual behavior, and marriage, specifically). During the overt instruction, students should take notes on both the PowerPoint and the discussion that follows with each new example presented (specifically noting how values are disseminated in modern society through advertisements).


 * Situated Practice**

Once students are comfortable with the terms and can relate the terms to new examples, the class will generate ideas regarding modern values held by society. Students should reflect on the following question: What are the dominant values held today by society? As a class, the teacher will write these ideas on the board (this will act as a thought generation activity). Students should take notes for future reference. After the thought generation activity, students will break into groups and review their notes from the pilot episode. Students have already seen the pilot episode however, depending on how the class handles the thought generation activity, the pilot may be viewed again (in other words, at teacher discretion). In their small groups, students should reflect on the plots that start in the pilot episode, specifically analyzing these plots for the //values// they emit. Each group needs to determine at least one value (although there are many more) regarding family, sexual behavior, and marriage. The students should also try to make an overarching value judgment about the pilot episode. Each group will write their conclusion on a piece of poster paper to be displayed on the walls of the room. After each group has presented their poster statement, the class will work as a group to identify the main values of the episode to create a list of at least 5 values for the //entire// series (just based on the first episode). Then, as a class, the students will discuss other values that have emerged in latter episodes viewed in class.

The class will then watch the series finale episode (Season 10, Episode 20) in class. Students will need to take notes while they watch the episode. Students can request to see the episode again, by appointment, if they need individual clarification or if they want specific details. Once the episode is viewed, students will write an analytical paper regarding the values displayed in the series finale. The paper should focus on what values are dominantly held by //Friends//, particularly the values that are presented at the start of the show, and how those values are either upheld, rejected, or altered throughout the series. Students can use the information from the pilot discussion in their paper as support. Students should also utilize the information provided in the Cortes and Considine articles. Overall, this final analysis paper should explore what exactly the sitcom //Friends// valued with regard to family, sexuality, and marriage and why.
 * Critical Framing**

Assessment will happen early and often in this lesson. Students have been working with the concepts in the Cortes article for several weeks and the ideas presented in the Considine article should not be entirely foreign. It is important that in all of the class discussions, students properly use the vocabulary and make connections to modern popular culture. If students struggle to see the underlying messages and themes in modern advertisements, it is important that the instructor focus on these ideas until the students more firmly grasp them. Similarly, while there are many values presented in the pilot episode, students should be able to easily pull out values about family, sexuality, and marriage. Using formative assessment, If the teacher notes that some group examples are weak or if the students struggle with one area in particular, the instructor will focus on the pilot episode as an example. At this point in the unit, this type of activity should be second nature to the students; if they struggle with this, their final papers will most certainly suffer as well. Once the students successfully master the skills necessary in the overt instruction and situated practice portions of this lesson, the assessment for the final paper should be entirely formal. Students are familiar with pulling evidence from outside materials (the class articles, discussion, and from television shows themselves). Students should be able to utilize the vocabulary and, in some cases, direct quotes from the Cortes and Considine articles. In their papers, students need to include a thesis statement that explains whether //Friends// upholds, rejects, or alters the values from the start to the end of the show; provide examples of the values presented at the start of the show and explain what social message those values send to viewers; and present examples of the values shown in the series finale, noting whether these values were present at the start of the show or not. Students should analyze the values presented in the finale – whether they are new or embedded throughout the series – noting what these values say about society. Students should include personal opinion (in third person format) regarding the success or failure of the show to properly maintain the values presented in the series, specifically noting if the values in the finale coincide with many of the plot and character developments in the show. Although this lesson's episode is the series finale and students have been working with this show for so long, it is important that the students analyze the show as a whole, not necessarily just the pilot and the finale episode. To ensure students will cover the specific points mentioned above, students will be given a detailed handout and rubric explaining what is expected of them in this assignment. The handout will also provide information on the number of outside sources, quotes, and examples are necessary for a passing grade (this is to encourage the students to go above and beyond – this unit was long enough to make their paper a small dissertation if the students wanted!) This assignment will be worth 100 points and will serve to wrap up the //Friends// television unit.
 * Assessment**