Page 26 - Pure Life 11

Modern Media and Changing the Functions of Family /25

In other words, first a comprehensive definition of the
functions of family needs to be provided so that the kind
of programs for that family and goals pursued by these
families will become clearer and program production will
be more target-oriented.
If media depicts a blurred and wrong image of family,
contrary to the prevailing values and realities of the society,
the addressees will have great difficulty accepting them.
In some TV series, the phenomenon of working women
are depicted as positive and as a sign of cooperation
between couples, in these series working outside is
depicted as a contribution of women to society while in
some others this issue is depicted as a social plague and
the program strives to create a link and attribute the
shortcomings in children upbringing and coldness in
marital relationships to working women.
In fact, media is obliged to have a unified policy toward
prevalent phenomenon in society. The other
transformation relates to the internal structure of family
relationships, media has brought along some changes in
the roles played by members of the family.
Public media especially TV has depicted these
differences as negative and destructive factors. Depicting
scenes of people living in Ghettos who have very strong
family ties despite their destitute, juxtaposed with rich
families living in best quarters of the city with weak and
broken up family ties is a usual phenomenon in Iran’s
public media.
In fact, public media is showing clichéd pictures of
families, pictures which remains stable and constant while
change is an indivisible part of human life. What is even
more important than change itself is the readiness of
human beings to face the consequences of any change.