Drinking, Sex, and Violence on Television: The Cultural Indicators Perspective

This article explores the portrayal of alcohol, alcoholics, and drinking in annual week-long samples of prime-time network dramatic programs. While references to alcohol and drinking have increased rather steadily since 1969, the number of alcoholics in each yearly sample has remained stable. The harmful effects of drinking alcoholic beverages were rarely mentioned. Programs that mention alcohol were also likely to have references to sexual behavior. The characters seen drinking alcoholic beverages—about 37 percent of all major characters—do not differ dramatically from other major characters. Alcoholics, however, are treated quite negatively. Respondents, especially whites and those who have been to college, from the 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1983 NORC General Social Surveys who watch four or more hours of television each day are somewhat less likely to reply that they occasionally drink alcoholic beverages than respondents who watch less television. Data from these surveys also reveal that smoking is positively related to television viewing-those respondents who say they watch four or more hours of television each day are also likely to respond that they smoke.