Informative Essay: The Tonight Show

People argue television has increased awareness of politics to create more fair and accessible elections. However, I think TV has had a negative impact on politics because it promotes a superficial image of candidates and provides dumbed down content mainly to boost a TV station's ratings.

The show Friday Night Lights gives viewers an inside look into the lives of high school football players of a small town in Texas. The show is astonishing on many levels, from it's unique camera styles to the complex characters. Many people usually dismiss athletes as dull characters and some think of sports as something pointless or shallow. The show disproves these thoughts by giving viewers a perspective into the lives of the players, coaches, and fans of the Dillon Panthers football team. This show ultimately builds empathy for the lives of the football players in the show, which helps in understanding real life athletes and their coaches.

Vaudeville was very popular from the late 1800s to the early 1900s in North America. Vaudeville shows were made up of many random acts that were placed together in a common play bill. Some acts were, for example, plays, clowns, jugglers, comedians, etc. Once the radio was introduced, vaudeville’s started to become less popular as the radio’s popularity started to increase. The radio started out with maximum five programs but as the demand for radios increased so did the amount of programs, which went up to almost 500. Radios was the place families and friends gathered to hear the news, sporting events, music, entertainment, etc. One show millions of people listened to was The Burns and Allen Show, starring George Burns and Gracie Allen.

Slavery was first introduced in the United States in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 and became an integral part of American society for many years. Ira Berlin says that “[A]ny attempt to address the question of race in the present must also address slavery in the past.” This in fact is true as we must be able to understand years and years of different viewpoints and ideas to come to an educated conclusion as to why it began and continued to exist. Racism is still a hot discussion topic in the modern world with constant reminders that there is still tension. The biggest reason racism is the way it is today is due to slavery and its conflict in the United States. The popular show Friday Night Lights has an episode in which race is addressed. One

Born in New York City on September 28, 1901 Ed Sullivan became the host of the well-liked and popular long-running TV variety show “The Ed Sullivan Show”. The show was at the peak of popularity in the 50s and 60s. There were a great many popular entertainers who appeared on the show like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Rudolf Nureyev, Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope.

H.G. Bissinger tells the story of the obsessive town of Odessa, Texas in his book, Friday Night Lights. This town has a toxic obsession with high school football and wastes away the week, only seeking the excitement of Friday nights that are filled with Panther football. The expectations held for the athletes of Odessa are suicidal and the preparation for life outside of high school is almost non existent. The town of Mount Vernon, Iowa also lives for Friday nights, however it has a healthy balance between the thrilling football nights and ordinary, day to day life. Mount Vernon athletes are held to reasonable standards and are thoroughly being prepared for a successful future. The town of Odessa is an insane town with twisted ideas that

Sustaining the ambitions of not only themselves but the alumni and town of Odessa, Texas is a lot to ask from a young adult. That’s exactly what Permian football provides to the people of Odessa, where the post economic boom of the oil business has left the town in a racially tense, economic crisis. The lights on Permian High School’s football field are the only sanctuary for the west Texas town. Socially and racially divided, Odessa’s mass dependence on high school football constructs glorified expectations for the football team to temporarily disguise the disappointments that come with living in a town tagged as the “murder capital” of

Previously, in the textual analysis of the E! TV show WAGS, I discussed if the show itself contributed to the idea that women mean more in society if they are in relationships and that women should always be in competition with each other. This theme is very prevalent in my audience analysis as well, but instead it is looking particularly at the audience’s reaction to the series. My specific research question was how does the audience incorporate the WAGS’ relationship goals and dynamics into their relationships, both platonic and romantic? The audience might not at all incorporate these mentalities into their life. This analysis looks into the impact that the show has and if it actually has the power to influence relationships. Specific aspects about the relationships that I researched in WAGS, was the hierarchy of women. The hierarchy stands; wives at the top, following girlfriends (in serious relationships), and dating or single women at the bottom. This analysis looked to see if the hierarchy is played out in actual reality. Through this interview with this WAGS follower, she did not find the show applicable to her life. This audience member views reality shows, such as the Kardashian’s and WAGS, as a pure entertainment instead of a construction of reality due to the basis of the shows being strictly about love and drama.

It seems that you can’t turn on a television set anymore without a reality show being on. All networks have recently started to pump out reality shows left and right. And why wouldn’t they? Reality shows are highly rated, with three of them being in the top ten on the Nielsen ratings chart. In fact, these shows are becoming more popular than the sitcoms and dramas aired. New sitcoms and dramas struggle to get attention of the public when going against a reality show. Programs such as The Beast and Go Fish, which critics loved and raved about, are victims of the wrath of reality shows. These shows are now cancelled.

The film Friday Night Lights, released in 2004, provides a visual representation depicting the sources of pride and success for a small Texas town. Odessa, Texas is where the film takes place, and its unique values and culture is what enables the town to be so infatuated to a high school football team. When the camera pans the city of Odessa throughout the film, it is clear that the town does not have much to brag about. The town contains family diners and small businesses, showing the small stature of the town; however, these same images provide a sense of closeness between the community. Due to the fact that Odessa may not be considered a “vacation spot”, the community collectively bonds and gains pride through the success of the towns high school football team, The Permian

Television is a wonderful window on the world. It appears as an excellent opportunity for citizens to be entertained when they have free time on their hands. Several genres are available including comedy, action, and many more. There are a variety of shows available worldwide, yet The Office is an extremely popular television series that could possibly be the show of the century. The show holds an outstanding amount of awards, including the best television series in 2006 and 2008. The Office is a mockumentary about the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This television series consists of nine seasons with about twenty episodes in each season. The show contains several immature office workers who behave inappropriately with ego clashes. The Office is the most outstanding comedy of this generation because of its use of humor, characters, and plot.

Claim: Forman claims that racial profiling is an ineffective way to enforce the law and should be stopped.

MTV can be defined as “a cable and satellite television channel which broadcasts popular music and promotional music videos.” (oxforddictionaries.com.n.d.). Launched on August 1st 1981, MTV’s programme started out by helping musicians gain exposure through music videos. This helped TV audiences connect with music by new means. As MTV became more recognised, the network branched out by creating new means of entertainment. MTV has remained relevant by continuously adapting throughout its existence to meet their audience’s entertainment requirements. (International MTV and Globalisation).

     Is High School football a sport, or is it more than that to some people? Recent newspaper headlines include such items as coaches abusing student athletes; fathers of athletes murdering coaches, and mother’s disabilitating cheerleading candidates to assure their daughters make the cheerleading team. In Odessa, Texas high school football is a major contributor to the society of a small town in Texas society. Every Friday night, 50,000 people fill the stadium to see high school students put their lives on the line to win a football game. H. G. Bissinger writes a novel called Friday Night Lights, about a year in 1988 where High School players prepare and play on the High School team, and what an impact they have

Television shows that I believe are “quality” programs, breaking bad, being nominated for 58 industry awards but winning a total of 28, the critically acclaimed show always kept its storyline fresh and unpredictable, as well as the characters in the show. Since Bryan Cranston’s performance alone was outstanding and thrilling, it kept the viewer at the edge of their seat wanting more. Because people wanted more, the show received high ratings which led to the growth of its popularity that catapulted the show to one of the top shows of the decade. The second program to be quality worthy is Game of Thrones with 248 industry awards from Golden Globes to Emmy awards, the scenery in the show is vibrant, the level of detail of it’s beautiful castles,