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Literary analysis
Two kinds of literary analysis questions
Literary analysis
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I decided to review and observe my current favourite TV show, Gilmore Girls, through the archetypal literary theory lens. It's so interesting how you can miss the archetypes. However, while watching and actively looking for them, they clearly present themselves. (Warning: some spoilers ahead!) While the Gilmore Girls themselves are wild cards, I'd like to focus on the secondary characters and their transparent archetypes. Firstly, there's Sookie, the classic sidekick and, eventually, nurturing mother archetype. She's encompasses the goofy laughs of a sidekick and the warmness and strength of a mother. There's April, Luke's daughter, who's easily a quirky, yet intelligent kid. Next, there's Michel, the sarcastic and hot-tempered character.
There are many times in which a reader will interpret a piece of literature in a way that was completely unintended by the author. In her article, “In the Canon, for All the Wrong Reasons”, Amy Tan discusses people telling her the meaning behind her own stories, her experiences with criticism, and how this has affected her approach to writing moving forward. While this may seem ironic, considering the topic, I have my own interpretations of this article. Firstly, Amy Tan addresses how people will often tell her what her own work means and the symbolism in her writing.
Archetypes are a common theme in many ancient mythologies across the world, and have become a common characteristic in modern day pop culture. A popular archetype is the Trickster, which has a strong influence in the popular T.V. show Supernatural. The trickster archetype in Supernatural is similar to the tricksters Loki in the Prose Edda and Prometheus in Roman culture because they share similar powers, they experiences a battle of wits with the gods, and the outcomes of the trickster’s deeds lead to their punishment. The trickster in Supernatural is also very similar to the god trickster Loki in the Prose Edda because of their relationship between the other gods.
In conclusion, this show focuses on many aspects, particularly gender roles and sexism. Although this show could have more diverse characters, it focuses on male and female stereotypes very well. I appreciate that there are several strong female characters who aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves and perform typically masculine
Orenstein, Peggy. “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” The New York Times Magazine. 4 Dec. 2006. Rpt. in Writing Communities and Identities. Ed. Cynthia Debes et al. 6th ed. Plymouth, MI: Hayden-McNeil Publishing, 2009. 50-54.
Tan, Amy. “Two Kinds.” Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama and The Essay.4th e. Ed. Frank Madden. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. 253-261. Print.
The creator of Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino, thought mother-daughter relationships would make a compelling television series. She had always been fascinated by the “everyone knows each other’s business” characteristic of small towns. When she decided to combine the two, Gilmore Girls was born. On the surface, it is a simple show about a self-absorbed single mom trying to raise a daughter while coping with her own overbearing mother. By more closely analyzing each character’s witty banter, one can see the philosophical aspects of the show. One of Sherman’s main goals was to create unique characters. As a result, she gave them all extreme personalities. Lorelai, the single mother, usually only thinks of herself. Her daughter, Rory, exhibits the voice of reason. She employs logic in her every day life and uses it to counteract Lorelai’s impulsiveness. Emily, Lorelai’s people-pleasing mother, engrosses herself with society’s views and rarely considers her own or anyone else’s happiness. When examining these characters, one can see that they closely relate to conflicts that arise in our own mind on a day-to-day basis. The main characters in Gilmore Girls parallel Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis of the mind.
One of the literary archetypes I could find was, of course, adventure. I think the adventure really starts during
...and how we perceive ideas about what writers are trying to get across. This story is a clear representation of family values and true inheritance.
Archetypes are pivotal in the structure of any story. Without archetypes, individuality is not expressed. The story will fail to have a characteristical context if not knowing the individual classification of personality for each character. It is as if reading an open book with blank pages. Using The Oddessy, by Homer. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho I will prove that without archetypes, stories will be bland and difficult to finish. There will be a shortfall of captivation, engagement of the readers, interest in the plot, and unknowing of what will happen next.
The archetypal literary criticism centers itself around archetypes. Archetypes represent the first model of something. Writer and literary expert Elémire Zolla explains archetypes appear as patterns and exist in an intangible fashion. Another interpretation describes them as patterns of “instinctual behavior” (LaLlave and Gutheil). In literary terms, they appear in the form of characters, traditions, events, stories, or images existent in other works. Regardless of different cultures or time periods, archetypes remain present in literature.
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
For this assignment, I chose the show Penny Dreadful which is an American-British drama series. I chose this show because it involves many aspects that intrigue me on another level besides just entertainment. Penny Dreadful entails historical and biblical references; each questionable reference to these attributes of the show always leads me to think deeper and to do my own research about the statements. This habit to double check facts in a fictional show is something I think others find odd, but it is a habit that I just fell into, I do it with fiction books as well. There are other attributes of the show that remind me of things about my family and that also go against my beliefs, that also make me second guess whether I should be watching
With WB becoming so popular especially in the last year, advertisers gave the network money to come up with more family-oriented series like 7th Heaven. The network was given 1 million dollars, which will be used for developing scripts. Many people considered this movie dangerous but the Hollywood community felt it was a good idea, so executives started looking for new scripts. The WB executives came up with three pilots out of eight and they believe all three may actually end up on the networks fall schedule. The three series first is called Finally Home, which stars Melissa Gilbert who plays a mother who lost her twin daughters and now councils children who lost siblings or relatives. The second is Gilmore Girls, which is a mother/daughter drama set in a small town in Connecticut. The last one is called DIG, which goes behind the scenes of a Los Angeles School Department.
It is proving difficult to portray homosexuality without some form of stereotype in media. This is because this very standard life allows easy identification of homosexuality in media. Therefore, in television shows, when a homosexual character is presented, the orphan seen in a stereotypical fashion. When the audience sees the stereotypes present in a certain character in a television show, they get a general idea of what to expect from the show, even if the idea is vague, it is based on an extension of the stereotype it's in. This is simply because what was earlier considered invisible, has been cast brought to the visible screen. Hence, the basis of this essay is to explore gay archetypes which exist in media. An archetype can be described
I would argue that the television we watch says a lot about who we are, not only as individuals, but also as a society. So, what do the most popular TV shows have to say about the history of our society and its gender norms, and is it possible to identify these norms when watching the most popular sitcoms of each decade? Discovering this will not only provide insight on how our ideas of gender have evolved,