Sitcom Tropes

Man has always looked up to others who are smarter, wealthier, or more important than he is for a guide on how to live. In modern times these roles are often thrown into the laps of celebrities. Since the understanding of celebrities come from the productions they endorse, man 's trust is now in the hands of fictional characters. Because he is so impressionable, an ignorant man can easily become an imitation of the people he watches everyday. There are many messages conveyed in the media, good and evil. Sometimes, one can gain insights from the things he allows to enter his mind, but this is a rare phenomena because of how secularized the modern media is. When every show aimed at young, impressionable girls features 'models, ' it can easily be assumed that these girls will then want to mimic that same look. This situation does not cause immediate harm to the girl, but overtime will teach her that having the looks of those models and nothing but that will bring her beauty. This is also true for the push of sex into almost every tv show or movie. It is extremely rare to find a top-ranked movie without sex appeal. Sex is then portrayed as a trivial act of maturity. The Mindy Project on the CW reveals the life of a young, Indian OB/GYN in New York City. The main character, Mindy Lahiri, is constantly battling problems in her relationships. The Mindy Project can benefit viewers through her message of self-acceptance, but can also damage them by showing the idea of casual sex as

When was the last time you experienced a good laugh? Maybe you were watching a show, reading a book, or even hanging out with friends. Either way you were probably observing, comedy. Which in literary terms is a genre of literature that is created in a humorous nature for a purpose of making people laugh. A television show that can be categorized as a comedy is Parks and Recreation. The show is about a crew members that work in a parks department for the government in a small town called Pawnee, Indiana. The main characters consist of Leslie Knope who later in the show marries Ben Wyatt. April ludgate who later marries Andy. Ron Swanson, Donna, Tom, and Garyy. They all work together trying to make the city of Pawnee a better place. They play pranks on eachother, but also have strong friendly bonds.

The representation of the LGBT community in the film industry has long been a topic of much debate. In her article, “It Ain’t Easy Being Bisexual on TV,” Amy Zimmerman addresses this topic with specific interest on bisexual representation. By appealing to the logic of her audience, using an informal tone, and referring to relatable content, Zimmerman constructs an argument which persuades readers of The Daily Beast that the film industry is unfairly and inaccurately representing bisexuals. However, her argument holds little influence over those who are not movie fans or The Daily Beast readers.

Television now is a lot different than many years ago. If you think to yourself, how has it changed over the years? Well, one thing to say is there is many more minority acting on TV than before. While watching TV, minorities are still playing stereotypical roles of their race even if they are one of the main characters. When people watch, Modern Family, The Mayor, Fresh Off The Boat, and other shows with minority, people see the stereotypes of each race play a part of the show.

A sitcom is a situational comedy, which is when the same setting and same characters appear in every episode. In terms of sitcoms much has changed between time and a good example of that is, I Love Lucy and The Simpsons. I Love Lucy first premiered in 1951 and for television viewers of the fifties; Lucy and Ricky could have been well known neighbors from down the street. Many people are able relate to this young couple, the Ricardo’s, who were experiencing the hard times and trails of marriage as typical Americans were. They lived in a brownstone in Manhattan with common struggles such as paying the rent and affording household materials. The humor and jokes came along when ordinary situations were amplified as Lucy managed to get herself into trouble time and time again, and

Due to the resurgence of feminism in contemporary society, entertainment has evolved and comedies in particular have become more inclusive of women. There is a rise in television shows incorporating feminist ideology, and in those shows come new types of humor focused on female identities, experiences and values. Rather than laughing at women through the use of tired clichés, sitcom creators are inviting audiences to laugh with female characters. HBO’s comedy-drama Togetherness deviates from gendered comedic stereotypes and creates moments in which both men and women are funny. The show, created, written and produced by brothers Mark and Jay Duplass, explores humor through the unique relationship and complexities of the four main characters. At times, the main female characters, Michelle and Tina, may have stereotypical desires (for intimacy, motherhood etc.), but they themselves are far from stereotypical. Both Michelle and Tina reveal contradictions in their personalities that make them relatable and funny. Although the creators are men, Togetherness provides an honest portrayal of a modern female perspective— women can do whatever men do, but both are capable of failing. The flawed females of Togetherness navigate life in unconventional yet recognizable ways, providing audiences with laughter in the form of relief— unlike the female stereotypes found on the vast majority of other television shows.

Insolvent, Ravenous, Fretting! Economical disadvantages leads to the three ideas stated, in layman’s terms, broke, hungry, and worrying. Unfortunately, many African American individuals inhabit areas that display very tarnished living conditions, which includes violent criminals, illegal activities, and very low performing schools, better known as “ghettos”. Consequently, due to the disadvantages and low prosperity in these communities, many young adolescents or student’s education suffers a great deal. Education is one of the most powerful apparatuses to sever the hardships of poverty. The popular 70’s sitcom “Good Times” and modern day sitcom “Everybody Hates Chris”, are two perfect examples of two struggling African American families that values education because of their race, family structure, and family roles, which displays reflection of society.

The magazine article describes the stark contrast in the portrayal of female sexuality between pre-Code and post-Code movies. Pre-Code movies are flagrantly sexual; although some contemporary film critics believe that women were simply embracing their sexual freedom through these pre-code films, the marketing for many of these brazenly sexual films often included derisive comments from males, suggesting that the intent of overt sexuality in films was more crude. Post-code films often used screenwriting strategies to stay within bounds of the Code. Denby argues that this censorship actually created a net benefit for women, who were given stronger personalities and more interesting plot lines instead of simply being sexual objects. The article suggests that censorship led to the inception of the screwball comedy genre, which was forced to “create sex without sex.”

It is common knowledge that the first and most important goal of a television show is to entertain its audience in order to increase viewership and in turn increase revenue through commercial advertisement. The average American citizen understands that a fictional TV shows is usually not a true representation of reality and is meant for pure amusement, but is criticism warranted when a TV show propagates itself as a show that represents a progressive society and attempts to break down outdated social norms but does not fulfill this portrayal? Modern Family is a show that has won countless awards since its debut in 2009, including Emmy awards, Teen Choice awards, Screen Actors Guild awards, Golden Globes, and even NAACP awards. Its combination of witting humor, dynamic

Which is not problematic in itself, but the subjective judgement made by the male comic or writer superimposed onto the stereotype, guides the viewer’s value judgement through the subjective lens of the heteronormative white male. It has been argued that men make women the object of their humour to disable the power of female sexuality (Porter 1998:92, Gray 1994: 34, Porter 1998:92). Miranda and Chewing Gum both simultaneously display and disable their own sexual agency. They are naïve and uncertain when it comes to their sexuality, which does not conform to the male desire of women as sexualised objects, and deviates from the aggressive female sexual agency Rowe discusses in the examples of Roseanne or Miss

This investigation involves the analysis of how gender is portrayed in the American TV sitcom Friends. Friends received acclaim to become record breaking, as one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the outstanding Comedy series award in 2002. Many stated that the series appealed to them as it was "hilarious" and "touching." The demographic of this sitcom is young people, including adults who are single, relating their lives to the show. The focus of this investigation is the depiction of characters according to their gender and stereotype in western comedy.

Historically, sitcom has been used to display an aspiration lifestyle, as stipulated by dominant norms (Brown 1990:18). However, UKS creates narrative complexity by depicting multiple social issues and conflict, which are brought together by the protagonists’ friendships. This includes landlady Lilian’s struggles to resist gentrification in season three, Titus’ continual search for employment, and all the characters’ ongoing negotiation of romantic relationships. The humour derived from these overly familiar topics offers critique on the complexity of contemporary tensions in a society of “employment instability, fast change, and insecure transient neighbourhoods under capitalism” (Wickham 2013:33). The depiction in UKS of friendship reflects

On the same cable networks that act as the home for gay and lesbian television series, America finds its new woman for the new millenium: she’s smart, independent, gainfully employed, sexually confident, and, usually, she’s single. Television finally has room for a woman to fly on her own, without her minivan, Cub Scout den-mother meetings, or workaholic husband to feed and clean up after. The prime example for TV’s new “wonder woman,” is found in the four women of HBO’s Emmy Award winning series, “Sex & The City.” These

The genre of Broad City is comedy, but most sources like to refer to its genre as “female-centric comedy.” There is a new trend in television and movies that revolves around the idea of comedy that is made for women by women. One reason why Broad City has been receiving attention in the media is because of its representation of women on television. Broad City opts for a different kind of feminist expression. It portrays a unique representation that is fresh, different, and feels real. This representation focuses on relatable flaws and the very real imperfections that reflect on how normal women actually

Television networks are continually expanding their programming slates, and many in the past have switched to a year-round programming schedule that makes the phrase “summer return” basically absolute. On every channel, in every magazine, every darken theater, we see the way pop culture limits women’s role- girlfriends, victims, hookers, corpses, sex bombs, and “teases,” but why? Television, for most women, was the first place where they were able to visually see themselves represented. And for quite a while, they didn’t see much besides the loving wife, the dutiful daughter, gossiping girlfriends, fashion models, and the occasional maid, granny, or nanny. In Where the Girls Are: Growing Up