Narrative Paradigm Theory: Home And Garden Television
According to Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm Theory, humans, at their cores, are storytellers. Through narratives, we create and recreate reality. Television is by far the most prominent way these stories are communicated to us today. When the Home and Garden Television (HGTV) network launched in 1994, it revolutionized the way people viewed their homes. Though HGTV wasn’t the first to make television about the home rather than have a plot take place in the home, it has been the most successful and solely devoted to the topic (Page, 2006). Today, HGTV’s influence has spread to other channels (such as the DIY network) and is one of the most popular channels on cable television.
In 2005, the programming on HGTV shifted from more informative …show more content…
Home has become synonymous with family. It is the core of the society and it teaches us what’s acceptable. However, many people have noted that society values have begun to change. Just this past year, how American legally defined marriage changed thanks to the Supreme Court ruling on homosexual marriage. There has also been an increase in talk about single parent families, as divorce becomes chronic. Out of necessity almost, American values about family and what makes up a home has had to change to keep up. HGTV has embraced and reinforced these changes. The characters on HGTV programming are often diverse. They feature a wide range of couples. They show unmarried couples looking for a home, newly weds searching for their first home, large families searching for a larger home, and empty nesters looking to downsize. There is also a wide range of diverse types of couples: heterosexual, homosexual, mixed, and single parent families. By seeing these people represented as normal in a story that is meant to reflect everyday life, it reinforces the normalcy of these things in everyday life. By telling stories that are inclusive of people who have been historically excluded from them, HGTV is rewriting the American standard about who gets to turn a house into a
In 2005, the programming on HGTV shifted from more informative …show more content…
Home has become synonymous with family. It is the core of the society and it teaches us what’s acceptable. However, many people have noted that society values have begun to change. Just this past year, how American legally defined marriage changed thanks to the Supreme Court ruling on homosexual marriage. There has also been an increase in talk about single parent families, as divorce becomes chronic. Out of necessity almost, American values about family and what makes up a home has had to change to keep up. HGTV has embraced and reinforced these changes. The characters on HGTV programming are often diverse. They feature a wide range of couples. They show unmarried couples looking for a home, newly weds searching for their first home, large families searching for a larger home, and empty nesters looking to downsize. There is also a wide range of diverse types of couples: heterosexual, homosexual, mixed, and single parent families. By seeing these people represented as normal in a story that is meant to reflect everyday life, it reinforces the normalcy of these things in everyday life. By telling stories that are inclusive of people who have been historically excluded from them, HGTV is rewriting the American standard about who gets to turn a house into a