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media representation of young people
media representation of young people
social implication of television
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Seinfeld – Much Ado About Nothing
We like to label things in our culture. Those over the age of 65 are called senior citizens. Those under the age of 18 are called children. Anyone falling in between those ages are considered adults and there are certain expectations placed on that demographic. Adults are the backbone of society, responsible for basically just about everything. Television reflects that responsibility, as adults are usually portrayed as hard-working, career-oriented, and often married and raising children. With television reinforcing these expectations, many young people have probably felt that they need to grow into these roles and become responsible adults. A decade ago, however, NBC’s sitcom Seinfeld debuted challenging these social preconceptions of what an adult should be.
Seinfeld’s catch was that it was “a show about nothing.” But the only real truth in that statement was that it was a show about nothing in particular; it was a situation comedy without a specific situation. What made the show unique and revolutionary was that it focused on the lives of four adults who were anything but what television and society itself had taught us to expect adults to be. Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer resembled more closely four children who never grew up, or never learned what it meant to be an adult. By the age of 40, none of them had spouses, children, or serious careers (I say ‘serious’ because Jerry did have a career, but it was very non-traditional—he was a standup comedian). Yet it can’t be said that they were unfulfilled or less happy in their situations.
There may never have been an overt proclamation endorsing the lifestyle of these characters, but a life devoi...
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...eir behavior or attitudes should in no way be emulated. While the characters’ ultimate fate could be seen as a reinforcement of social expectations, the lifestyle the characters live is portrayed in a positive context (after all, the callousness isn’t a function of their singleness), and that is what is important in a society where alternative lifestyles aren’t (or at least were not at the time) given equal time in entertainment and the media. The downside of Seinfeld is that its legacy has created an opposite, though equally negative situation in entertainment to that which it alleviated a decade ago: now the airwaves are dominated by shows about single people. Family sitcoms have fallen by the wayside. Perhaps one day there will be show that is equally appealing to all demographics. In the meantime, I suppose I can survive with reruns of a show about nothing.
Now, the new sitcoms have introduced new family situations, and controversies around them. However, these family members aren’t the sweet, funny, semi-normal characters that were adored in (Full House). They seem to have very different, weird and somehow funny personalities. (Modern Family) introduces the typical “mom, dad, and three kids” family along with an old man married to a younger Columbian woman and gay men with an adopted Asian baby. These new sitcoms like Modern Family introduce family diversity, something that wasn’t exactly present in older sitcoms. Another difference between the old sitcoms and the new is that the humor is a bit more old school. Now the older sitcoms were very seldom and profane and they relied on more classic, clean cut direct humor. Current sitcoms often include less G-rated humor, relying on crude humor to get laughs. There’s not much harm in that though, as long as it doesn’t go overboard. Older sitcoms were based on more functional families, where newer ones tend to be based on dysfunctional families; new sitcoms, Modern Family especially, rely on this dysfunctionality to make their viewers laugh. Older sitcoms, like Full House, had a lot of feel-good moments of bonding between family characters, but new sitcoms seem to take away from that
The concert that I attended last Friday was an interesting one where I got to have some new experiences and learn about classical music.
In today’s culture, the number of issues that the average person has to face on a daily basis, are astronomical. Millennials, in particular, have been greatly affected by this, so much so that a new phase in the human lifespan has been created just for them! Dubbed “emerging adulthood” by psychologist Jeffrey Arnett, plopped smack dab in the middle of adolescence, and adulthood, this phase captures any, and all doubts that 20-29 year olds are plagued with. From their economic standing, to racial, ethnic, and identity issues, and to disabilities ranging from both mental, and physical, this phase captures every single uncertainty, fear, and qualm that one person can possibly have in a neat little package.
We depend on plants to obtain our oxygen. Plants produce glucose that assists in its living and growing and we contribute by releasing carbon dioxide. In order for us to live, we need the oxygen that plants produce by making glucose.
Jerry Seinfeld's television sitcom, "Seinfeld," which went off the air in 1999, is still one of the most culturally pertinent shows today. The show dealt with little nuances of American society. A puffy shirt, for example, could be the main subject for an entire show. This show, which was derived from Jerry Seinfeld's observational humor, was voted as the "Greatest Show of All Time" by TV Guide in 2002. According to the show's official website, the ratings for the syndicated version of Seinfeld are ahead of many of the current primetime comedies ("Seinfeld" 2/5).
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has a website that announces its programs. Anyone can easily find and choose a concert. I chose a concert for Sunday July 25, 2010. This concert was emerging artists from Ipalpiti Festibal 2010. It included the four pieces of music that are described below. One of these was Fantasiestucke, Opus 88, both Romanze and Duet were preformed. This concerto was performed by pianist Luiza Borac, violinist Vladimir Dyo, and cellist Yves Dharamraj. The second piece was Ahnung, a new discovery piece from Kinderszenen. This piece was U.S. Premiere, played solo by the pianist Luiza Borac. The third piece was Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Opus 47. This piece was an Andante cantabile piece. This concerto was performed by pianist Luiza Borac, violinist Conrad Chow and Adelya Shagidullina, and Cellist Kian Soltani. The last piece was Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Opus 44. What I discovered about my own musical understanding by attending this concert is the following thing. I know how to appreciate and to enjoy music that is a little bit familiar, but my understanding stops when a very new type of music is performed. I made a conclusion from this experience. My conclusion is that learning about music will increase the pleasure of listening to music, but that musical learning is not, perhaps, as easy as learning subjects like Math or History.
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
In recent years more and more attention has been placed on the period of development known as emerging adulthood; a period of life from the late teens to late 20s. In many ways emerging adulthood is a period defined by a sense of uncertainty, as individuals try and grasp a better understanding of themselves. A large piece of this puzzle is development in the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social fields; yet in many ways society and the internet work against this young age group in maturing these four domains. The trends, pressures, and stereotypes set my popular culture warp the development of emerging adults in a negative direction.
Post-colonialism is a discourse draped in history. In one point in time or another, European colonialism dominated most non-European lands since the end of the Renaissance. Naturally, colonialists depicted the cultures of non-Europeans incorrectly and inferior. Traditionally, the canon has misappropriated and misrepresented these cultures, but also the Western academia has yet to teach us the valuable and basic lessons that allow true representations to develop. Partly in response, Post-colonialism arose. Though this term is a broad one, Post-colonialists generally agree on certain key principles. They understand that colonialism exploits the dominated people or country in one way or another, evoking inequalities. Examples of past inequalities include “genocide, economic exploitation, cultural decimation and political exclusion…” (Loomba 9-10). They abhor traditional colonialism but also believe that every people, through the context of their own cultures, have something to contribute to our understanding of human nature (Loomba 1-20). This is the theme that Lewis prescribes in his, self described, “satirical fantasy”, Out of the Silent Planet (Of Other 77).
The use of nuclear power in the mid-1980s was not a popular idea on account of all the fears that it had presented. The public seemed to have rejected it because of the fear of radiation. The Chernobyl accident in the Soviet Union in April of 1986 reinforced the fears, and gave them an international dimension (Cohen 1). Nevertheless, the public has to come to terms that one of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. The current largest sources of energy are the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. Fear of radiation may push nuclear power under the carpet but another fear of the unknown is how costly is this going to be? If we as the public have to overcome the fear of radiation and costly project, we first have to understand the details of nuclear energy. The known is a lot less scary then the unknown. If we could put away all the presumptions we have about this new energy source, then maybe we can understand that this would be a good decision for use in the near future.
Aschcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin, eds. 'The Post-Colonial Studies Reader'. London; Routledge, 1995.
This essay will be about a comparative study of the representation of colonialism as a positive or negative force. The texts that are being used are my core text ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad and ‘Collected Poems’ by Rudyard Kipling. The partner text will be ‘Swami and Friends’ by R. K. Narayan.
Jane Austen's writing style is a mix of neoclassicism and romanticism. Austen created a transition into Romanticism which encourages passion and imagination in writing instead of a strict and stale writing style. It is very emotional and follows a flowing not structured form. Mixing these two styles was one of Austen's strongest talents, which gave her an edge in the literary world. No other author in her time was able to create such a strong transition between writing styles. Austen used her sharp and sarcastic wit in all of her writing including in one of her most famous works; Pride and Prejudice. She could create a powerful and dramatic scene and immediately lead it into a satirical cathartic scene. We see these in various locations in Pride and Prejudice. She was able to use her experiences as well as her intense knowledge to create meaningful insights into her words, regardless of what topic she would be discussing. She often talks about marriage, or breaking the roles of what a person should be. She made controversial works that praised imperfections which praised the...
People may feel that plants do not play a significant role in human life. When a human is first born, they take their first breath of fresh air and go to a warm home, adapting to their new environment. They get to sleep in their crib with a stuffed animal and a blanket, waking up to their mother washing their little body and clothing them for breakfast. Everything mentioned ties back to some sort of plant on earth. The baby 's first breath of oxygen comes from trees, the baby then goes to sleep in a crib structured of wood. Then of course breakfast, which is food that can grow from a plant as well. Plants are used universally; its role in society simply goes unnoticed.
the prefix "post"....implies an "aftermath" in two senses - temporal, as in coming after, and ideological, as in supplanting. It is the second implication which critics of the term have found contestable: if the inequities of colonial rule have not been erased, it is perhaps premature to proclaim the demise of colonialism. A country may be both postcolonial (in the sense of being formally independent) and neo-colonial (in the sense of remaining economically and/or culturally dependant) at the same time. (7)