American culture of lower class reflected in American TV series Shameless

1. The background of American TV series

American TV series can be classified as an emerging creative industry， which aims to provide culture and art， mental psychology， leisure products and the service to the public， this is also a industry based on the newly creation which sources from its wisdom， emotion and creative experience. As a symbol of cultural industry， its fully connection of arts，culture and economic technology has formed its own characteristic.

2. The brief background introduction about Shameless

Shameless is an American comedy-drama television series which airs on Showtime.

The series depicts the dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher， a single father of six children. While he spends his days drunk， his kids learn to take care of themselves.The shows producers sought to distinguish it from previous American working-class shows by highlighting how Frank?s alcoholism affects his family.Its got a much graver level of poverty attached to it. Its not blue collar; its no collar. （Margy.New York Times.Retrieved January 12， 2011） When John Wells， the show runner， began pitching the show， he had to fight efforts to place the show in the South or in a trailer park.

3. Main characters in TV series Shameless

3.1? Frank Gallagher， the father of six children. He is a deadbeat alcoholic， drug addict， and morally-deficient freeloader who relies on schemes and stealing to barely get by. He pays little attention to his children but can display care and concern for them in drastic circumstances. He often spends most of his time developing schemes to cheat the system and take advantage of others in order to get money.

3.2 Fiona Gallagher， the eldest of the Gallagher children. Most of the responsibility for child-rearing falls on her shoulders and forced her to drop out of high school in her junior year. She works a few dead-end minimum-wage jobs to support her five siblings.She takes care of the family.She sometimes needs to be reminded to look out for her own happiness as well.

3.3 Philip， “Lip” Gallagher， the second Gallagher child. He was a straight-A student throughout high school and uses his intelligence in various money-making schemes. Despite his above-average intelligence， hes fairly self-destructive; he smokes cigarettes and marijuana， drinks alcohol， pursues casual sexual encounters with any girl， and even steals vehicles.

3.4 Ian Gallagher， the third of the Gallagher siblings. He is Monicas but not Franks biological child. He participates in Army JROTC at school， and is gay， the latter fact he withholds from some of the family. Still under age， he enlists in the Army under his brother Lips identity. At the end of season 4， Ian is diagnosed with Bipolar disorder.

3.5 Debbie Gallagher， the fourth Gallagher child. She is wise beyond her years， intent on making a positive impression， willing to cover for others. She is very mature in some ways and therefore has trouble making friends with people her own age. Debbie is also physically unimpressive and self-conscious.

3.6 Carl Gallagher， the second-youngest Gallagher child who shares a room with older brothers Lip and Ian， who try to keep their more-adult interests from him. Carl is often in trouble at school for attacking other students and not obeying the rules. He displays several psychopathic tendencies such as mutilating his toys and killing stray animals.

4. Conclusion

The research on the formation of American underclass from the TV series Shameless could partially review the situation of underclass from America， it also has great theoretical value and practical significance.The research of underclass people like Gallegars could help us look better under the new situation， to broaden the horizons of historical research， enrich the theory of class structure. Also，the underclass them self is important to characterize the intensification of twentieth Centurys problems in American society，such as poverty and unemployment， abnormal expansion of social welfare， American teenagers drug crimes， young unmarried mothers of the United States on solving the underlying problems of class formation.Also， it has important reference significance for the people to provide appropriate social security， to minimize the generation of abnormal welfare state of mind and so on.

References：

[1]Emmy Rossum （July 3， 2011）.@emmyrossum on Twitter[J]. Twitter. Retrieved July，2011，18.

[2]Rochl. Its showtime for‘Shamelessstars in Chicago[J]. Chicago Tribune. November，2011，13.

[3]Margy. The Family That Frays Together[J]. The New York Times. Retrieved January，2011，12.

[4]Showtime Greenlights Shameless to Series[J]. The Futon Critic. April 8，2010. Retrieved December，2010，7.

【作者簡介】丁文婷，陜西師范大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院。