Orange County ChoppersWhen I first watched the show, Orange County Choppers, on the Discovery Channel, I was a little confused about the premise. Initially, the show focuses on a family-run business that builds custom motorcycles. But then, as I continued to watch the show, it occurred to me that it needed to be a little more. Unlike traditional texts, “The structure of television makes us watch passively.” (The World is a Text, by Jonathan Silverman and Dean Rader, p.105) Orange County Choppers contradicts this statement. Through the development of the episode, the show's writers force you to start actively analyzing the show's text. Paul Sr., mentions many events that happened within the family, outside of the show. Paul Sr. is the "wise old man" in the show. He is the father of Paul Jr. and Mikey. Mikey does all the basic tasks needed to run the business. Paul Jr. and Paul Sr. do most of the work on the bikes. There are other OCC staff members who are sometimes seen working on the bikes. The three Teutul appear in every episode. In almost all cases, family activities are never shown in any of the episodes. In the episode 9/11 Bike, Paul Sr. mentions a family reunion which subsequently delays the completion of the bike. This tells you that the Teutul family is very loving and they spend time together outside of the show. This world-famous motorcycle shop has built bikes for many celebrities and sports stars. The Orange County Choppers built a helicopter for Shaquel O'Neal in one of the episodes. The dimensions of the bike were inconsistent with other bikes produced due to Shaq's height. After actively reading the show, I realized that many of their family values ​​don't seem to be as one would expect. Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. are constantly fighting over what features to add to a particular bike or how to add them. Mikey, Paul Sr.'s son and Paul Jr.'s brother, is always energetic and joking around. These contrasting personalities make for a great show but are not the typical American family. The whole family works together to run the business, with most of the women in the family working behind the desks and keeping things organized, and most of the men in the family doing the labor.