Independent Research Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25uyFwWPOZg

SOC 250 – Independent Research Project

‘The View’

Season 14: October 14, 2010

Veronica Clifford

Tutor: Matt Dallas, Thursday 3:30

 

‘The View’ is an American talk show consisting of an all-woman panel discussing current news and events and includes an array of celebrity guests and politicians. The episode chosen to be studied is from season 14 when political commentator Bill O’reilly discusses a Muslim community Centre and Mosque being built two blocks from ground zero in New York (See Appendix A). 

Unscripted talk shows are a medium where anything can happen and can provide for in depth analysis into social interactions and individual scrutiny.  The clip from ‘The View’ involves a heated discussion in front of a live audience and will be used as an example to analyse various theoretical frameworks.   The structure of the show is arranged in a way that allows for all of the co-hosts to have their say, however because there is no specific host, there is no one to take control of the interaction and moderate the discussion. Due to this unstructured form, the discussion in this data very quickly escalates into an altercation. 

 

The altercation begins between Bill O’reilly and the panel of women, Whoopie Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd and Elizabeth Hasselbeck, in front of a live audience when he states that it is “inappropriate” for a mosque to be built so close to the 9/11 memorial.  When co-host Joy Behar interjects, O’reilly turns to her and states “hold it, hold it…listen to me because you’ll learn”.  It’s at these two statements that the women become defensive and the audience become increasingly involved.  As the discussion continues, it is mainly Whoopi, Joy and O’reilly who are debating between each other while the other co-hosts continually try to interject.

When Bill O’reilly states that the mosque is “inappropriate” because “Muslims killed us on 9/11”, both the co-hosts and audience verbalise their feelings which ultimately leads to Whoopi and Joy walking off stage.  Barbara Walters then condemns her co-hosts behaviour and clarifies to O’reilly that “It was extremists; you cannot take a whole religion and demean them…”

 

Theoretical Analysis:

The theoretical orientations I have chosen to apply to this data are deference and demeanour, dramaturgy and symbolic interactionism.

Deference and demeanour shape identity and social norms by making individuals act in accordance to certain ‘rules of conduct’ which create identities by forming individual decisions on how they act and dress to fit it.  In this particular data there is a power struggle between the shows co-hosts and their guest as they seem to have conflicting views over who is in control.  O’reilly views himself as the one in power due to the suit he is wearing, the centred position on the couch and belittling comments to the women such as “listen to me because you’ll learn.”  O’reilly’s demeanour is displayed through his non-verbal cues just as much as his comments, his use of hand gestures and positioning on the couch allow him to garner some control over the interaction whilst also being used to stop the co-hosts from speaking.  By putting his hands up and over the women and his blatant disregard for what the panel of women have to say, he is implying that his stance on the subject matter is non-arguable.

When the interaction starts to become almost inaudible, each person involved are reaching out in front and talking over the top of one another in order to regain control over the situation and redeem their positioning within the group.  The rules of conduct within this situation have been broken and all individuals impose the risk of being discredited through their actions.  Goffman (1971) suggests that how we present ourselves to others is aimed toward “impression management,” which is a conscious decision on the part of the individual to reveal certain aspects of the self and to conceal others, as actors do when performing on stage.   When the two co-hosts, Whoopie and Joy, walk off the stage because they disagree with O’reilly, they risk losing their credibility and their presentation of self is slightly altered.  This breaking of social conduct occurred due to conflicting definitions of the situation and the actions of the individuals. 

Goffman (1967) suggested that there are two types of social rules within societies which govern the rules of conduct so as to guarantee that everyone acts appropriately and receives his due. One of those social rules is etiquette, which governs ceremonial rules and expressions.  Where some degree of social etiquette is to be expected from the co-hosts and their guests, instead it is abandoned when Whoopie and Joy walk of stage and when O’reilly uses demeaning language and actions to argue his point. 

Barbara Walters condemns their behaviour and attempts to rectify the situation by putting herself in the role of mediator.  When Whoopi and Joy return to the stage, they are in a sense ‘saving face’.  This is then where dramaturgy and front and back stage performances can be applied to the data. 

 According to Brown (2005) dramaturgy views the social world as a theatre where actors play multiple roles to create and express their identity and construct a self.  The setting of this interaction is within a studio and sets the stage for the co-hosts to perform in a certain role.  However in this interaction, the audience witness behaviour appropriate for a back stage performance. 

Goffman (1974 cited in Paolucci & Richardson, 2006) advises that in order to meet an audience’s expectations, it requires the actors to maintain a congruity between their performance and the definition of a situation.  Paolucci & Richardson (2006,) state that actors often want audiences to perceive a consistency between an expected performance and their idealized presentation of self.  In this case O’reilly and the women step out of character and ultimately portray a self which does not match their expected role.  When Walters comments on their behaviour, she turns to the audience and states “I wanna say something to all of you, you have just seen what should not happen! We should be able to have discussions, without washing our hands and screaming and walking off stage – I love my colleagues – but that should not have happened!” Paolucci & Richardson suggest that greater complementarity between expected performances across various settings makes it easier to negotiate them.Throughout the debate we see the individuals slip out of their front stage character and into a back stage performance as they seek to navigate the situation which challenges their credibility.  According to Goffman (1959) dramaturgically, communication is largely purposive and strategic, requiring competency in impression management in successfully staging a character.  In order to save face, Whoopi, Joy and O’reilly make the decision to clarify what they meant and justify their actions, so in a way they switch roles and provide an appropriate deference to their demeanour.

The third theoretical orientation, symbolic interactionism, looks at social encounters through observing the meanings people give to social situations, objects and events, the setting of social interactions and the exploration of the nature of social interaction itself. 

When the women disagree with O’reilly’s statement that “Muslims killed us...” they debate over the meaning of the words extremists, terrorists and radicals.  They all have a different interpretation of these words and have placed different meanings on each of them.

This is where social interactions can result in altercations, as the meanings of words are crucial to the understanding of communication between people.  Meanings differ depending on how we define and respond to them; in this case the word ‘extremist’ has differing connotations.  Once Walters explains to O’reilly that their view on who ‘Killed us on 9/11’ differs from his, they then discuss the different words that could be used to describe the ‘Muslims’.   

 The live audience also have an impact upon the co-hosts and O’reilly as their reactions have an immediate effect on the interaction.  In reaction to the comments made, the audience showed their response by either cheering or booing.  An example of when the audience was able to affect the interaction was when O’reilly turned to Joy and stated “Listen to me because you’ll learn”, to which the audience booed, showing their immediate rejection of his comment and then cheering when Joy defended herself by calling O’reilly a “pin head” and using her hands to gesture behind his head. 

 Although ‘The View’ is used as a platform to discuss controversial political and current issues, it is also a staged production, whereby there is a front stage performance by the co-hosts and an certain level of expectations from the audience.  This data depicted an interaction where front stage performances and expected roles were abandoned and the women and O’reilly were at risk of being discredited.  It allowed for various theoretical orientations to be analysed throughout the interaction and was a depiction of how people can slip from certain roles and display back stage worthy performances and also showed attempts of preserving their presentation of self through saving face and switching roles. 

 

References:

Brown, R E, 2005, ‘Acting Presidential: The Dramaturgy of Bush Versus Kerry: PROD’, The American Behavioural Scientist, vol.49, no.1, pp78-91  

Goffman, E 1967, ‘The nature of deference and Demeanour’, Interaction ritual: Essays on face to face behaviour, Doubleday, Garden City, New York, pp47-95

Goffman, E 1971, ‘Performances’, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Harmondsworth, Penguin, pp28-82

Paolucci, P & Richardson, M 2006, ‘Sociology of humor and a critical dramaturgy’, Symbolic Interaction, vol. 29, no.3, pp331-348.

 

Appendix:

A - Full Transcript

Source: http://lybio.net/whoopi-and-joy-fight-with-bill-oreilly-walk-off-the-set-of-the-view/people/

William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr
Macroeconomics is not my deal, I’m just explaining why his numbers are down. So the people see a trillion dollars of tax money and nothing to show of it, yet. But they also see a widening Gulf between the President and them personally. And that’s what I write about in Pinhead and Patriots.

[Barbara Jill Walters I know

[William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr.]
I’ll give you an example, the mosque, the mosque down here on 9/11, that’s inappropriate, its, its, its, sure, they have a right to do it, and, and, and the constitution, but its inappropriate cause a lot of 9/11 families who I know say: “Look we don’t want that, that that, that shouldn’t be there.”

[Barbara Jill Walters
What about the discussion? That doesn’t affect everybody….

[William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr]
No! No, no, there’s the President going: “They have the right to do it.”

[Barbara Jill Walters ]
Yes

[Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar ]
This is America

[Bill O'Reilly]
Hold it, hold it!

[Joy Behar]
This is America

[Bill O'Reilly]
Listen to me because you’ll learn!

[Audience]
(boo) Source: LYBIO.net

[Joy Behar]
Pin-head, pin head (puts rabbit ears behind Bills’ head)

[Bill O'Reilly]
So he says to the press: “Yah, they have a right to do it, and that’s true.”

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Ya

[Bill O'Reilly]
And the question is: “What about the wisdom of it Mr. President?” And he goes: “I’m not gonna comment.” Where-upon everybody in the country goes: “What!”

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Wait a minute. Let me ask you this,
Source: LYBIO.net

[Bill O'Reilly]
Come on, that is the gulf between it

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Let me ask you this. Your saying that Americans are not smart enough to recognize that while it is part of our Constitution, to say freedom of religion, and freedom to worship, and there were 70 families who are Muslim, who also died in that building.

[Joy Behar]
In the building, ya.

[Whoopi Goldberg]
So your saying, that we, we, that: His saying that they have the right to do it, and not saying anymore than that is why his approval rating has gone down.

[Joy Behar]
Really, that’s so Un-American!

[Bill O'Reilly]
I’m showing, I’m showing that there is a Gulf between – they want – Americans wanted to know what his opinion was on the issue, and he wouldn’t give it. Source: LYBIO.net

[Joy Behar]
We’re American, we agree with him

[Barbara Walters]
But, but

[Bill O'Reilly]
You agree with him! Most American’s ….

[Joy Behar]
I’m an American!

[Bill O'Reilly]
Let me break this to you, 70% of Americans don’t want that Mosque down there!

[Joy Behar]
Where’s that Poll?

[Bill O'Reilly]
Don’t give me the “we” business!

[Joy Behar]
Where’s that Poll?

[Audience]
(claps)

[Joy Behar]
I wanna see that Poll?

[Bill O'Reilly]
You wanna bet on that?

[Joy Behar]
(nods head)

[Bill O'Reilly]
I’ll show you that Poll in a minute!

[Joy Behar]
All I’m saying is I’m American too.

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Americans don’t want –

[Bill O'Reilly]
70% don’t want it there!

[Whoopi Goldberg]
then why is that? Why aren’t we saying…

[Bill O'Reilly]
Cause it’s inappropriate!

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Why is it inappropriate?

[Joy Behar]
What are you talking about!?

[Bill O'Reilly]
Because Muslims killed us on 9/11
Source: LYBIO.net

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Nooooo!

[Joy Behar]
Oh MY GOD!!!

[Whoopi Goldberg]
“That is such bullshit!”

[Bill O'Reilly]
Muslims didn’t kill us on 9/11, it that what your saying?

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Excuse me! Extremists! Excuse me!

[Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Barbara Walters]
[inaudible - because everyone responding to Bill]

 [Bill O'Reilly]
What religion where they in?
Source: LYBIO.net

[Barbara Walters]
It doesn’t matter what they are!

[Whoopi Goldberg]
What religion was Mr. ?MacVee? Mr. ?McVee? was an extremist and he killed people. Bill…. b.s.

[Bill O'Reilly]
Alright, I’m telling you 70 percent of the country…

[Joy Behar]
B.S. (gets up and leaves the stage)

[Joy Behar]
I don’t want to sit here now, I don’t!

[Whoopi Goldberg]
Yes, yes
Source: LYBIO.net

[Joy Behar]
I’m outraged by… headline

[Bill O'Reilly]
Your outraged by, Muslims killing….

[Audience]
(applauds)

[Barbara Walters]
I wanna say something to all of you, you have just seen what should not happen! Source: LYBIO.net We should be able to have discussions, without washing our hands and screaming and walking off stage – I love my colleague – that should not have happened!

[Audience]
(applauds)

[Barbara Walters]
Now, let me just say to you in a calmer -

[Bill O'Reilly]
Sure

[Barbara Walters]
- voice

[Barbara Walters]
It was extremists, you can not take a whole religion and demean because of some of …

[Bill O'Reilly]
Not demeaning anybody

[Barbara Walters]
Yes, you are!

[Bill O'Reilly]
No, I’m not
Source: LYBIO.net

[Barbara Walters]
When you say that it was….

[Bill O'Reilly]
If that’s what you think, Muslim extremists killed them

[Barbara Walters]
Extremists

[Barbara Walters]
You didn’t’ say it ….
Source: LYBIO.net

[Bill O'Reilly]
Here’s the issue

[Sherri Shepherd]
You gotta make a decision Bill

[Bill O'Reilly]
This is what needs to be understood

[Bill O'Reilly]
If anybody felt I was demeaning all Muslims, I apologize!

[Elisabeth Hasselbeck]
Do you think the problem Bill, if we go back in time, early in this administration, the President himself said we weren’t allowed to use the word “Terrorist” early on. So he started using the word

[Bill O'Reilly]
There’s a reason

[Elisabeth Hasselbeck]
Hang on! He started saying, saying the word: “Radical Islamic”, “Radical Muslims” so there was a then a closer association with what happened, and the religion. I think if he would just let us say: “Terrorists”, because they are terrorists across all religions and all faiths, then this wouldn’t even be a problem

[Audience]
(applauds) Source: LYBIO.net

[Sherri Shepherd]
Your blaming. No! No!

[Barbara Walters]
Okay

[Bill O'Reilly]
We only have a minute left!

[Barbara Walters]
We have Joy coming back

[Bill O'Reilly]
Here comes one of them back

[Joy Behar]
Now back, cause you apologized.

[Bill O'Reilly]
But that’s not the issue, the issue is, that its inappropriate because of the context of what happened on 9/11. And if I – if I was in-artful in explaining. Source: LYBIO.net

[Barbara Walters]
Yes

[Bill O'Reilly]
But Muslim Fanatics, terrorist, whatever word -

[Barbara Walters]
That’s different

[Bill O'Reilly]
– killed us

[Bill O'Reilly]
There are one hundred mosques in New York City, okay!

[Barbara Walters]
Okay
Source: LYBIO.net

[Bill O'Reilly]
They can move it away

[Barbara Walters]
Okay

[Bill O'Reilly]
And nobody’s gonna bother

[Barbara Walters]
Okay, the issue of the mosques, which is an issue that seems to some degree to have dissipated and we are talking about Obama in general, may not be the major issue as to why his popularity is down