My aim with this piece of work is to show how archetypes and genre conventions are used in sitcom through the use of text and film form. For example, how a scene is effected depending on whether you choose to film it as a multi camera based studio sitcom, a duel camera on location sitcom or a single camera on location and how the writing can be used to subvert the preconceptions of the audience using these camera setups. To explore the possibilities of this piece I have filmed three scenes in the three different setups and plan to illustrate my points through these and several professional sitcoms. As sitcom has developed over the past 70 years the tropes and jokes have become cliche, this has lead to a surge in post-modern sitcom. This sub …show more content…
I explored this practically by filming three separate scenes in the three film forms stated above, the scripts are from Men Behaving Badly (MBB) (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 1992) Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (TPLPC) (BBC, 2001) and Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (WOVPIC) (BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, 2012). Because MBB and TPLPC are written for the studio based sitcom I chose to film these two in dual and single camera respectively, in an effort to illustrate how the text is …show more content…
American and British sitcoms have proved to be extremely exportable around the world, using a formula so ‘transparent’ that they could stand in for “‘indigenous’ programming for the local audience.” (Olson,1999) This mass market appeal for American and British sitcoms cemented the structure of the sitcom being shown all over the world, either as a self contained show or as a showpiece for a specific comic actor like John Cleese in Fawlty Towers (BBC, 1975) or Rowan Atkinson in Mr. Bean (ITV, 1990). Typically there are two forms of sitcom writing, one reflects on the the homelife and the interconnection therein be that a sibling rivalry or the connection between parents and children. Whereas the workplace sitcom tended to be more tongue and cheek, ‘Are you being served’ (BBC, 1972) was one of the first sitcoms to use the format for flirtatious innuendo and raunchy story
Younger generations and the more vulnerable in society can be influenced in avoiding peer pressure, but for the individuals filled with wisdom, the shows can reflect based on American modern society. Everybody Loves Raymond and Full House are great shows who faces similar life obstacles a typical person living in the US has today. As a result, most modern family comedy sit-coms are reflecting our society’s generations and the more vulnerable. Based on the success of early family sit coms, American’s adapted to a fast pace lifestyle with the help of modern
The word sitcom is short for Situation Comedy. A good sitcom story idea places the star (or supporting character) into a situation in need of a resolution, which will cause the character to respond in unexpected, exaggerated, and hugely sidesplitting ways (Rannow, pg. 13). A comedy now days are different from how they were in the 1960's and 1970's though. Today directors use sexual content and foul language to make people laugh and do not usually have a purpose or point to get across to the audience with each show. In earlier comedy, such as The Brady Bunch, Director Jack Arnold tried have a lesson learned in each episode while still maintaining a sense of humor, minus the foul language and sexual content. Although the show is not extremely funny to most people it is still a classic show that deserves to be remembered.
This essay will examine my thoughts and those of David Sterrit on the critically acclaimed television show The Honeymooners. First, I will talk about the Honeymooners and it’s setting in postwar America. Secondly, the social and cultural issues the series portrayed. Next, would be the psychological perspective and the aesthetics of the show. Finally, the essay would conclude with my thoughts on how the Honeymooners were impacted by these aspects, but also how the show managed to leave a legacy in television today.
NBC network’s The Office is definitely a show that a lot of youth watch nowadays or well, used to at the least. Some people are amused by the show’s style of humour, however many are not so entertained. Personally, I find that the style of humour in this particular show is used to depict hegemonic relationships and stereotypes that exist in modern culture. Thus, for this specific reason, I will attempt to apply and analyze the theme of cultural hegemony to The Office.
Nelson, R. (2009). Modernism and Postmodernism in Television Drama. In: Creeber, G Televisions: An Introduction to Studying Televsion. 2nd ed. London: British Film Institute . p.90.
Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the “genre cycle”. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage.
“The Simpson’s” is about the satiric adventures of a working class family in the city of Springfield. “The Simpsons" is an example of an American sitcom. A sitcom is situation comedy, which is when the same setting and same characters appear in every episode. Sitcoms surfaced in the 1950's in America showing the "ideal" family. Slowly sitcoms started to show the reality of life and dealt with social issues such as divorce and unemployment. Sitcoms have become very popular because people could relate to the program, since they show problems that happen in every day life. In this essay, I am going to analyze "The Simpsons" and demonstrate how it follows the conventions of the sitcom genre.
For a large part of the history of TV sitcoms women have been portrayed as mothers or as having to fulfill the woman's role in the private sphere. Family based sitcoms were one of the forms of sitcom that keep women in these roles, but what is interesting is that even in other forms of sitcoms women do not truly escape these roles. Sitcoms, like Sex and the City and Murphy Brown showcase women whom have seemingly escaped these roles, by showing liberated women, but that does not mean that both do not fall into the gender role showcased in family sitcoms. It draws the similarities between ensemble sitcoms and family sitcoms when it comes down to the role of women. The starring women in both Sex and the City and Murphy Brown, and even the Mary
The more familiar of the two modes of self-reflexive cinema make use of a comedic style, and what's more, many contemporary comedies embody comedic self-reflexivity (Prince 291). These comedies do so because it facilitates a more personal rapport between the characters and the audience, thus amplifying the humor that can be seen in the narrative. However, there are certain limitations to comic self reflexivity. By presupposing the audience’s familiarity with the humor or references in the narrative, the mode risks reaching an audience that does not relate to the material presented. Some films are unable to meet a large audience because their narratives are constructed from “inside” jokes that can not be understood by all who will see it. (Prince 290)
Television would not be successful if there was not a controversial aspect to it. TV would be boring without it, and isn’t the whole point of television to magnify human emotions and situations, and to make their lives seem more appealing than our own. Everything that is aired on TV has some sort of sexual aspect to it from Pinocchio running around in thong underwear in the hit movie Shrek, to the homosexual relationship qualities of Sponge-Bob and Patrick on the TV show Sponge-Bob SquarePants, and the profanity found on the cover of The Little Mermaid. It almost seems like a game to the producers of certain shows; who can push the limits so far on TV before the show will get banned. TV shows known for this are the vulgar South Park, the highly racy Simpsons, and Family Guy who has been cancelled twice since the series premiere in 1999. Mature television shows are okay for mature adults to watch, but children should not be exposed to mature media because it can potentially harm them in the future. One child television show like this is Sponge-Bob SquarePants, and in this essay I will be analyzing the origin behind the characters of the show, its understated sexual and homosexual humor.
Sitcoms are commonly seen as one of the most popular programs on T.V, across Australia and the world, but what makes sitcoms so engaging to the masses? Fox 8’s The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom and is appealing to the masses due to its hilarious humour and the unidentifiable fact that the show draws you in and makes you feel as if you are part of the Simpson family, Matt Groening and James L. Brooks innovative episode of the Simpsons, ‘Lisa on ice,’ supports the argument, that sitcoms should not be pulped. From the start to finish of every show there are many comedy and humor techniques, character stereotypes and camera techniques show to help give the show a more original prospective.
National identity through sitcoms greatly influences how a nation or culture represents its shared unity within humor and determining how successful a TV series will be. Identity plays a major role in the media world especially in television. Nevertheless, the successful sitcom “Modern Family” is the best example on how American culture interprets humor based upon the shows context of how a typical family operates on a daily basis. “Modern Family” is the first family show to be filmed as a “mockumentary”, which is a television show viewed through a documentary style that creates a parody (New York Times). In each episode it shows different perspectives that can easily relate to the American viewers and how most of our families function with internal conflicts. Modern Family is successful because of how well it connects with its audience through internal monologue and the diversity shown throughout the show, which in turns represents our national identity.
For the past 60 years television has had a powerful impact on all sides of life from our entertainment to forming stereotypes against people. Modern T.V. Situational Comedies portray men as clumsy fools.
Americans tend to believe there is an explanation for the success or failure in their lives. Since the country allows them the freedom to create their own paths, citizens predict situations to happen a certain way. It is common for people to feel the desire to gain complete control over future outcomes, and this is especially true in American society. Television shows portray many different aspects about society. The series How I Met Your Mother and the episode “Lucky Penny” in particular from season 2, describes the relationship of typical American friendships and reveals various cultural issues such as American superstition. Creators of the television shows present arguments about society by appealing to their audience within the context of entertainment. How I Met Your Mother makes satirical arguments about the character’s lives by appealing to an audience that enjoys comical entertainment.
The art of comedy essentially is to make your audience laugh and to connect with you through the way that the jokes are delivered. Comedy offers an insight into sensitive political and social issues that are happening at that given time. Therefore at a time in which Britain’s views of the growing black community were not highly positive, the humour used in sitcoms wasn’t used to effectively represent them. The construction of jokes in situational comedies in the 1970’s, had more of a purpose to connect with its white audience – even though there had started to become a presence of black performers on television. This would be seen as a positivity for black communities because they were starting to see black performers on television, however it was also a setback because of the negative light that was put on them in regards to the language being used. When exploring the presence of black performers in Britain, the ‘comedy drama/sitcom’ plays an equally important part as stand-up performance does. Since the 1970’s, there has been numerous situation comedies that feature characters of a black ethnicity. But it wasn’t until the early 1980’s that, there was a situational comedy commissioned that specifically addressed the lifestyle of the black British community.