<<Categories and Frequency

Hypothesis:
A certain amount of cultural knowledge is needed to “read” the text and derive meaning from it. The more cultural involvement, the deeper the meaning.

Conclusions:
Following Herrmann’s arguments in his article, “Do we learn to ‘read’ television like a kind of ‘language’?”, one’s cultural assimilation can make a text more or less readable to the viewer. One’s cultural knowledge and experiences may be seen as a “language” to interpreting the television text. He says, “As we have to learn the alphabet and language to be able to read a book, we also have to learn to interpret the world we live in and the ‘television reality’ as well.” Similarly, while "Fraier" may be interpreted and enjoyed on even the most basic level, the more social and cultural knowledge of the viewer, the greater satisfaction she will derive.

“Fraiser”, a prime-time comedy, centred around two self-involved psychiatrist brothers, is a satire evaluating our North American values and lifestyle. “Fraiser” critiques our culture using clever jokes familiar cultural references. The seven categories portray these prevalent issues in our lives. By living in this society, we are able to recognize and interpret the meaning in the show according to our shared experiences. While the show can be “read” and interpreted on different levels, the clever humour and wit of the writers’ allow for deeper meaning or a deeper “reading” experience. The other categories confirm our cultural membership and add to our viewing satisfaction.

Humour is used in “Fraiser” to entertain and create an audience/culture bond. The viewer’s membership in the culture is confirmed each time the viewer “gets” the joke. The various types of humour in the show appeals to a wide range of audiences causing varied experiences depending on the viewer. While slapstick humour is used for superficial laughs, play on words and puns require greater degrees of consideration. Since the play on words category has the highest rating, it suggests that “Fraiser” is targeted to a more sophisticated audience. However, perhaps the enormous success of the show lies in its ability to cater to a wide range of audiences.

The most prevalent theme of the show is Materialism. The main characters in “Fraiser” are used to criticize the materialistic mentality of our North American society. The contrast of the two snobbish brothers to their down-to-earth father is used to poke fun at society’s elitists. We recognize the satire because we understand the absurdity of the situations the show depicts. While the main focus of this particular episode deals with relationships and not directly with materialism, it was the second highest rated category. The snobbery sub-category swayed the overall score. The other sub-categories are widespread issues in our society that we think about everyday.

The next three categories, Emotions, Personal relationships and Conflict balance out the materialistic attitudes of the characters. While the subject of the narrative deals directly with these three, they are used to contrast the true feelings of the characters such as more superficial emotions like prestige. Emotions, Personal relationships and Conflict are all issues that we deal and identify with.

Popular culture is embedded in this episode, and all the episodes in this series. Sports, shopping, art, theatre and music are often referenced both subtley and more obviously. It is through popular culture that we bond with other members of our society. Whether it is cheering for the same hockey team or attending the same concert, it is a common activity in which we share a common interest. Depending on your involvement and knowlege of the various cultures, you will recognize and appreciate the references to this popular culture in "Fraiser". If you understand the significance of the reference, usually made by Fraiser and Niles, it often exposes their arrogance.

The lowest rated category was Sexuality. This is most suprising since our society is sex-obsessed and the main content of the episode is about dating and relationships. Perhaps the low sexual content is due to the time-slot at which the show is aired (6:30pm EST). This category did have a rating of 5, of which the sexual references were mild. The references to sex were perhaps used to pique the interest in the older audience members, but subtle enough not to offend the younger members.

By decomposing the episode into smaller components, the surface content of the text is analyzed to understand the symbolic significance of the text. The categorization ultimately revealed the main themes of the show which mirrors the prevalent issues in our North American culture. The themes of Materialism, Emotions, Conflict, Personal relationships and Sexuality were eloquently conveyed through humour. Depending on one's understanding and knowledge of these themes, determined their insight into the show.

Mia Fisher
York University
Toronto, Canada