Nerds on television and the lessons they teach

This thesis is a qualitative analysis of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory where friendships and romantic relationships on the show are analyzed. The research question being addressed is which lessons about personal social relationships are taught on the sitcom. The Big Bang Theory is an interesting case because the most characters on the show fall into the social category of nerds and fulfill the stereotypes associated with that image such as social awkwardness and physical unattractiveness. One of the key assumptions of this thesis is that television is a relevant factor within society where meaning is constructed and norms and values are discussed and spread. The role that television is assigned is therefore the role of a teacher. This thesis also values the scientific relevance of popular fiction and connects it to reality and its relevance for society. Several approaches of television influence are discussed at which the encoding/decoding model with its conception of a separate media text and active audience is the most important one. Formal aspects of a sitcom are also taken into consideration. The analysis conducted to answer the research question about the lessons of personal social relationships question is a qualitative content analysis. The methodological background draws upon the tradition of Cultural Studies and general scientific canons. The empirical analysis was conducted by applying Grounded Theory because it is an open approach useful for a valid qualitative analysis. This analysis is based on transcripts of the first season of The Big Bang Theory (consisting of 17 episodes) as well as analysis tables designed to fit this thesis’ objectives. There were five themes found for friendships and five for romantic relationships along with several sub-topics for both relationship types. From the discussion of these themes, four main lessons about personal social relationships were derived: they are based both on sameness and difference, they have to be resilient, they are based on honesty and sincerity and the last lesson about personal social relationships concerns the fact that everyone benefits from it.