Krista - Gerbner's ideas provide insight into a discussion my housemates and I had regarding safety and locking our doors. Two girls raised in rural Africa and another who is critical of television argued that we should always leave our doors unlocked so that friends would know they were welcome. The rest of us who have grown up watching lots of television in America argued that the doors should be kept locked--hospitality could be expressed in other ways. We cited examples of girls on our campus being raped and property destroyed for lack of caution. The other three accused us of relying too heavily on graphic TV images to define our world. We compromised by agreeing to lock the doors at night and when no one is home. We heavy viewers may have an exaggerated idea of a mean and scary world, but if so, there still is something real out there that we are exaggerating about.

Beth - My freshman year roommate and I differ on opinions. She thinks that it is all right for her to drive to Midway alone at night, whereas I believe that it is dangerous for a woman to drive there alone at night. Every time she goes to the airport to pick up a friend I ask her to bring a boy along with her because “it is much safer to have a boy with you.” After reading Gerbner’s cultivation theory, I understand why we differ so much on opinion. Growing up, I loved to watch television. In high school, my favorite shows were ER and Chicago Hope, both of which are set in Chicago and are shows that are violent. Tiffany, my roommate, on the other hand, hated watching television when she was growing up. Even now, she rarely turns on the TV. According to Gerbner’s theory, I have become more cautious about driving to Midway alone at night because of the amount of television that I watched that depicts women getting attacked in their cars at night. Whereas Tiffany sees nothing wrong with it and that could be due to the fact that she watched fewer images of crime on television.