Shameful or Shameless?

I recently started watching the Showtime special, Shameless, which tells the story of a family of 6 kids and a father.  The father, Frank, is an alcoholic who is less than present as a father figure, leaving the kids to come together to take care of their home and each other.  However, the oldest child, Fiona, is a twenty-one year old mother figure and the glue to the mess that is their family.  In the show’s pilot, Fiona meets Steve, who courts her and claims she is the “girl of his dreams.”  Fiona is hesitant to settle down with him at first, but he is able to fight for her affection, and ultimately becomes a part of the family unit.  Last night, I watched an episode that reveals Steve lives two different lives.  In his life with Fiona, he works in Chicago and sells stolen cars.  In his other life, he is part of a family who lives in a wealthy suburb of Chicago, and also believes he attends the University of Michigan (go blue?).  In this episode, it appears as though Steve also has another girlfriend in his alternate lifestyle.

In the first 10 or so episodes of the season Steve appears to be a dream boy.  He courts Fiona and helps her take care of her family, despite her best wishes.  He takes her on special evenings out, he tells her he loves her, and needless to say, he’s beyond dreamy.  He seems to be a very likable character, which now feels very deceptive as I learn about his alternate life.  Fiona sleeps with men frequently.  It does not appear as though she allows herself to get very emotionally invested in the men she sleeps with due to her horrendous trust and attachment history (not to mention, she expresses she has more important things to worry about than dating).  However, with Steve, we as viewers are starting to feel as though she is finally opening herself up and letting him in. 

As a viewer, I have become very attached to their relationship, let alone their sex life.  The sex scenes between the two of them on Shameless are very revealing and steamy.  The passion that the two characters share is made very clear through their sex.  However, now that I have seen Steve’s (is that even his real name?) deception, I am concerned and worried about Fiona.  After reading The Effects of Sex in Television Drama Shows on Emerging Adults’ Sexual Attitudes and moral Judgments (2008) by Eyal and Kunkel, I am thinking more critically about Fiona and Steve’s relationship. Shameless portrays lying and deception between the two, which can eventually hurt Fiona.  This sends a clear message that you should not have sex with someone until you utterly and completely know your partner inside and out (or more simply put, don't have sex before marriage).

Now, I have a new perspective on what the media might be doing to us.  Shameless, for example, has truly made me fall in love with Steve and Fiona as a couple.  The show portrays Steve in an extremely positive light and it seems fairly impossible for any viewer not to like him.  And now, after seeing his deception towards Fiona, I hate him!  I’m mad at Fiona for sleeping with him in the first place.  Not to mention, I’m mad at the show and the producers for making me like him so much (don't get me wrong...I'm going to keep watching...the show is totally awesome).

Perhaps this is happening in the media all over the place.  Not only are we seeing negative consequences of pre-marital sex in television shows, but the media is also setting us up for disappointment.  Television shows are constantly raising our hopes, and letting us down through television relationships.  They made us like Steve, and then they break us.  But, as I write this, I’m pausing.  Do they really mean to do this?  Are they truly trying to tell us to wait until we’re married to have sex, or are they simply trying to tell an interesting story with sex and conflict?  We all know sex makes money, but so does conflict.  If there weren’t these consequences in television relationships, then every story would end with a “happily ever after,” which is just as unrealistic (in many people’s opinions) as getting to know someone fully before having sex with them.  Also, it's boring.  And I know that there are some people in this world who find comfort in seeing television characters go through break-ups and let downs after pre-marital sex.  Sometimes it can be nice to know that a lot of people go through post-sex disappointment, and maybe that’s what these stories are for.

Maybe Shameless really is a "shameless" version of the truth.  They say it how it is...or at least for a lot of people.

Works Cited:

Eyal, K., & Kunkel, D. (2008). The Effects of Sex in Television Drama Shows on Emerging Adults' Sexual Attitudes and Moral Judgments. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,161-181.