Wedding Media and the Meaning of the Perfect Wedding Day
According to media researcher Erika Engstrom, the bridal industry in the United States generates $50 to $70 billion annually, with more than two million marriages a year.1 Supporting that massive industry are books, magazines, Web sites, reality TV shows, and digital games (in addition to fictional accounts in movies and music) that promote the idea of what a wedding should be. As these media outlets suggest what a “perfect wedding” is, what values are wrapped up in their wedding narratives?
1 DESCRIPTION. Select three or four bridal media and compare. Possible choices include magazines such as Brides, Bridal Guide, Modern Bride, and Martha Stewart Weddings; reality TV shows like My Fair Wedding, Bridezillas, Say Yes to the Dress, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding, and Four Weddings; Web sites like the Knot, Southern Bride, and Project Wedding; and games like My Fantasy Wedding, Wedding Dash, and Imagine Wedding Designer.
2 ANALYSIS. What patterns do you find in the wedding media? (Consider what isn’t depicted as well.) Are there limited ways in which femininity is defined? Do men have an equal role in the planning of wedding events? Are weddings depicted as something just for heterosexuals? Do the wedding media presume that weddings are first-time experiences for the couple getting married? What seem to be the standards in terms of consumption—the expense, size, and number of things to buy and rent to make a “perfect” day?
3 INTERPRETATION. What do the wedding media seem to say about what it is to be a woman or a man on her or his wedding day? What do the gender roles of the wedding suggest about the appropriate gender roles in married life after the wedding? What do the wedding media infer about the appropriate level of consumption? In other words, for all of the interpretation, consider the role of wedding media in constructing hegemony: In their depiction of what makes a perfect wedding, do the media stories work to get us to accept the dominant cultural values relating to things like gender relations and consumerism?
4 EVALUATION. Come to a judgment about the wedding media analyzed. Are they good or bad on certain dimensions? Do they promote gender equality? Do they promote marriage equality (i.e., gay marriage)? Do they offer alternatives to having a “perfect” day without buying all of the trappings of so many weddings?
5 ENGAGEMENT. Talk to friends about what weddings are supposed to celebrate, and if an alternative conception of a wedding would be a better way of celebrating a union of two people. (In real life, if there is discomfort in talking about alternative ways to celebrate a wedding, that’s probably the pressure of hegemony. Why is that pressure so strong?) Share your criticisms and ideas on wedding Web sites as well.