"...'preferred reading,' which would simply take the program at face value, accepting its representation of family life as normative and natural. The oppositional reading, on the other hand, proposes an interpretation that resists the normative view, seeking to uncover a political subtext. The fact that so many cultural signifiers appear normative and natural, as transparent images of an apolitical social reality, can make oppositional reading look 'unnatural,' or like 'reading into' your topic a meaning that isn’t there. After all, isn’t a sitcom simply a trivial entertainment that distracts viewers from the concerns of everyday life? But from a semiotic perspective, everything in everyday life is potentially meaningful, a sign to be decoded, and the fact that something is entertaining is only the beginning of the matter. The next question is, 'Why is it entertaining and what does that say about
those who are entertained by it?'"(Masick and Soloman 12)
-Signs of Life in the USA