Tyler D. Thompson and Dr. David Hart, Germanic & Slavic Languages
The jumping off point for my research was in Kiev, Ukraine, where I had served a two year LDS mission two years previous. As I deplaned in Borispol (15 minutes outside of Kiev) I found myself almost giddy in anticipation of savoring a bowl of red Ukrainian borcshe, watching the gipsy children run around the center of the city harassing all those who were unlucky enough to be in their path, and just plain basking in the ambiance of the post-Soviet culture that I had learned to love while living in Ukraine two years previous. I did, however, prepare myself to be somewhat disappointed by the changes that had begun to inevitably take place in Kiev as they had in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other major cities throughout the former Soviet Union. But to my dismay, America had long before my arrival permeated Ukraine to a degree I’d never imagined. The sounds of Madonna blared from street side “kiosks” offering an unbelievable variety of American compact discs, young boys played a sloppy version of basketball in homemade jerseys carrying the names Jordan, Barkley, and O’Neil, and the second story restaurant where I was once able to enjoy a great traditional Ukrainian meal was now a look alike American cafe complete with southwestern fare and plastic cacti. These were the new sites I was greeted by and the setting for my research.
The purpose of my research was to attempt to better understand the role that American television programs played and/or continue to play in the rapid process of Americanization so prevalent in Ukraine. Little did I know, however, how overwhelming the project I had undertaken would be. My findings as to the active part American television programs currently play and have played in the process of Americanization and changing behavior and attitudes of the citizens of Ukraine were so broad, that I was forced to focus my research on one of the age groups influenced by the television programs. I chose to focus my efforts on those in the 10-25 age group. They seemed, at first glanced, to be most influenced by this wave of American culture, or what they perceived to be American culture, that was flooding their land.
I felt compelled, before I commenced with my formal research, to validate my theory pinning American television programs as one of the driving forces behind the revolution of Americanization that had the attention of the entire country. Why, if at all, were these American television programs so influential? And what, if anything at all, empowered them to take such a hold over the youth of Ukraine? I found my answer moments after I began searching in a thesis written by Thomas Hafen. He wrote, in conducting a similar study with German youth years before, that television companies weren’t targeting the youth of the world with the hopes of controlling their thoughts or actions, in fact, “however hard the industry may try through market research, promotion, advertising, and scheduling to influence popular choice, its failure rate is enormous.”1 The consumers themselves choose what will succeed. The consumer is always looking for answers to their problems and an easier way of life. When they sit in front of the TV they want to see love, riches, and to feel a sense of adventure. They want to see problems that can be solved. They want don’t want to see life as it really is, only that which is idealistic. Television is simply the self-contained world we all wish for somewhere, a world that will probably never exist.2 Because of all of the economic and social hardships that are so prevalent in Ukraine, Ukrainian adolescents not only used their time in front of the television to escape, for a moment, from the troublesome world they lived in, but it also acted as a classroom of sorts teaching what they felt to be realistic methods to solve, to one degree or another, the problems they encountered daily. Ukrainian adolescents were not watching an occasional program either, they were in fact watching 16.5 hours of television a week on the average, of which 90% of the programming was American. In this manner, American television became a leading factor of change in Ukraine.
My research was conducted in two manners. First, I organized a discussion group of ten people taken from a large cross-section of people ranging in age from 15-25 and coming from all walks of economic and social life. This group was organized to spark conversation amongst the group members concerning the degree of influence that television claimed in their lives. Also discussed were the noticeable changes that had taken place in their behavior or thinking as a result of the American television programs they had viewed.
Secondly, I conducted thorough interviews with volunteers from age 10-25. I also interviewed a number of adults such as teachers, business owners, and youth detention officials who worked closely with adolescents age 10-25. The candidates interviewed were asked to candidly describe their opinions and observations concerning the degree of influence American television had in the adolescents’ lives and to concretely describe the manner in which the television programs influenced them.
The two points which were made very clear during both of my courses of research were first, the understanding that Ukrainian adolescents on the whole were able to discern between what was fiction and what was reality in conjunction with the programs they were viewing. However, the ability to discern did not dissuade them from taking the majority of what they were viewing, fictitious or not, very seriously. They watched the programs with great intent, careful not to miss a detail. Some even admitted to adopting what they knew to be fictitious and using it their lives.
Secondly, the general feeling from both the discussion group and those interviewed was that American television had been a negative influence in their lives as well as the lives of their peers. However, I shouldn’t fail to mention that there were positive aspects mentioned in both the discussion group and interviews. The most common of which was the feeling of self-importance that they received seeing people on the television screen taking control of their lives and being successful. This gave them a senses of hope. Otherwise, they seemed to adopt traits that were more destructive than helpful. Poor attitudes concerning relationships, schemes to earn easy money, and being above the law seemed to top the list.
In the end, I better understood the process which was taking place in Ukraine. They are a country besieged by troubles and trials, looking for a way out, a better and less complicated life. Easy answers and alternatives came via the television.
References
- Liebes, Tamar and Elihu Katz. 1989. 61. In: On the Critical Abilities of Television Viewers. Remote Control: Television, Audiences, and Cultural Power. Routledge, New York.
- Hafen. 1994. iii. In: Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen.