That 70's Show: Alcohol and Youth

(from "Cultural Bias in Prime Time Television", pg. 143)

That 70’s Show/FOX

Brooks and Marsh (1999) presented That 70’s Show in the following way:

“Set in rural Point Place, Wisconsin, in 1976, this bright sitcom lampooned the activities of high school junior Eric Foreman and his friends during the height of the disco era. The other featured teens were Donna, the sexy redhead who lived next door and was sweet on Eric; hunky Kelso, who was incredibly naive and gullible; Jackie, Kelso’s spoiled girlfriend; Hyde, a counter-culture conspiracy theorist; and Fez, a wide-eyed foreign exchange student. Signs of the times were everywhere: leisure suits, platform shoes, acid rock, long hair, and streaking.Eric’s mother, Kitty, was a slightly flighty nurse, and his dad, Red, had recently been reduced to part-time work at the plant. His sister, Laurie, was a college freshman who, in February, was flunking out of the University of Wisconsin. Donna’s pudgy, gross father, Bob, owned an appliance store and hired Red to work for him over the Christmas holidays. Much of the action took place in the Foreman basement, where the kids hung out.” (p. 1014)

Mediascope (2004) described the program with a little more candor and mentioned a regular risk behavior element:

“Set amid the fads and culture of the 1970s (an era many teens today find hilariously funny), this half-hour sitcom’s treatment of universal teenage issues has made it extremely popular for both males and females. The show follows the lives of an eclectic group of teenage friends as they deal with the challenges of growing up, smoking pot, and seeking independence from their often clueless parents.” (p. iii)

Mediascope (2004) went on to say about the depiction of marijuana use in a particular episode not sampled in this study:

“The third reference [to substance abuse] was more substantive, and occurred in an episode of That ‘70’s Show, a series with a reputation for its frequent portrayal of implied marijuana use among teen and college-age characters. The show often portrays the kids acting goofy and stoned with lots of smoke in the air-they aren’t actually shown smoking, but it is clear from our observations that the teen audience members “know” what’s going on...The pot use is not glamorized, but neither are any anti-use statements made or negative effects portrayed; the absence of condemnation makes pot smoking seem normal and acceptable.” (p. 168)

Alcohol usage was also a major, regular element of the program’s narratives, supported by research and episodes viewed outside of this study. Program sample analysis revealed no scenes depicting alcohol consumption. The use of alcohol or other drugs was not a primary cultural analytical parameter, but was important enough to report on due to its cultural use in United States of American society by teenagers and its use as a cultural rite of passage for so many teenagers across the country, across class, culture/race and gender (Myers, 1993). Mediascope provided continued information on this element within the narratives of That 70’s Show and reported the following:

“The most problematic from the standpoint of those who would wish to discourage [underage] drinking occurs in That ‘70’s Show, in which the teens of the house and their friends organize a “kegger” in their basement hangout. The kids drink beer and the party is fun. Moreover, when the father, Red, comes down to the party and sees the drinking, he only mutters a fatalistic, “Oh, well, “ in effect shrugging it off.” (2004, p. 169)

This might have been enough perspective on the issue, but Mediascope went on to describe a deeper presence and acceptance of alcohol usage in the show’s narratives:

“It is important to note that alcohol is central to the lives of both Red and his wife, Kitty. In another episode, Red celebrates the time when he and Kitty go together by mixing Manhattans for the two of them (Kitty had been drunk on Manhattans when they met). The overall picture painted by these two episodes (and many others in the series) is that alcohol is a central, enjoyable part of life, and that it carries, at most, the negative effect of a hangover the next day.” (2004, p. 169)

Mediascope’s report was troubling enough as a depiction of a regular and risky behavior in a prime time television show popular with teenagers with aspirational viewing habits. Deeper insight into the relationship between this show’s continued narrative and substance use/abuse came with the observation of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth study (2004) from which the list of programs was found for this study. The CAMY study identified That 70’s Show as the program of the “disproportionate six” that showed the greatest amount of advertisements for alcoholic beverages (2004, p. 7). The only show of the fifteen cited in the study that had more alcohol ads was Fear Factor. The data was clear, though, circumstantial, evidence that, indeed and in deed, the influence of the advertiser was at work in a pernicious and integral way in the narratives of this particular prime time program, a pattern reported by Johnston (2000). This relationship, illuminated by research and practical program analysis, was a negative one when the socio-cultural result was hypothesized.