...Have Black Sitcoms Really Changed the Black Community for the Better? Through time, blacks in television have been able to abolish many of the pervious stereotypes from past generations. However as media progresses and blacks are becoming a more predominate part of American television, the effect of black sitcoms is being called into question when it comes to their effect on the black community. The early 70’s through the 90’s were the golden age for black sitcoms, both the good and the bad. Blacks were still portrayed as both ignorant, poor, mammy and uncle type characters in shows such as Good Times, Stanford and Son, and more recently, Tyler Perry’s house of Payne. However, many shows promoted the educated, independent, affluent black family such as The Cosby Show, The Jefferson’s, and A Different World. Do these shows truly have an effect on the black community, and even more importantly do they effect how the rest of America views them? For blacks portrayal on television perception is reality, many preconceived notions of how blacks act and carry themselves in everyday life have been eliminated, nevertheless, black sitcoms still reinforce stereotypes that have plagued the black community since the beginning of slavery. Background: * “From Mammy to Miss America and Beyond: Cultural Images and the Shaping of U.S. Social Policy:” A brief summery of the history of blacks on television and how this has effected the community in general. * In “Television Media as a...
Words: 1044 - Pages: 5
... Television Programs and its Future Introduction After reviewing the fact about television programs it takes a brief step into our lives and brings humorist and realism for a moment. When I think of sitcoms, I imagine 30 minutes of me time relating to comedic program that reveals the most intimate details of our lives. But reality on the other hand is just a broader term for programming that is not scripted. Although reality television has been formed since 1950’s, its weight has skyrocket and is taking over mainstream programming. Is it a fact that reality television is taking over networks or are sitcoms loosing its luster? Television programs are one of the most influential things out there and are continuing to grow. Programming is a huge part of life for many people. It is used in many ways for stimulation, comfort, or means of information. Everyone seems to have there own opinion as what programming they prefer to watch. Whether it a child humming to there favorite children program, or a teenage repeating a funny phrase, or Perhaps a young woman watching reality show or an elderly viewing a documentary on life changes Theses programs often associate particular emotions that people are feeling when watching reality show or an elderly viewing a documentary on life changes. Theses programs often associate particular emotions that people are feeling at that time. Television is a cultural reference point for most...
Words: 846 - Pages: 4
...Humor in Television Sitcoms While watching television sitcoms there are lots of humor in various parts of the episodes. The humor can all relate to communication class in different ways. These include verbal and nonverbal messages, facial expressions, listening skills, diversity with communication and abstract and specific language. Humor in The Office is presented by the use of language, nonverbal communication and listening. These factors that create humor are the main reasons why the show is so popular. Listening skills are very important along with the others that were stated. It makes up forty-five percent of one’s communication time. Listening is a complex process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to verbal and nonverbal messages (Beebe, 115). There are five activities that factor into listening and they include selecting, attending, understanding, remembering and responding (Beebe, 115-7). Conquering these five activities is important to becoming an effective listener for your friends and others. Also, being a good listener means you have to stop all competing messages in your head, step away from your own thoughts and try to experience the thoughts of others and look and listen with your eyes. Lastly six strategies to improve one’s listening skills are, identify the listening goal, mentally summarize details, link details to major ideas, practice with difficult material, transform listening barriers into goals and listen actively...
Words: 879 - Pages: 4
...“All in the Family” Archie Bunker, America’s favorite old school racist is standing in his kitchen star struck by the presence of Sammy Davis Jr. The musician agrees to pose for a picture with Archie and as soon as the countdown to snap it ended, Davis puckered up his lips and laid a kiss on Archie’s cheek (All in the Family S02E21)! The look Archie Bunker had on his face said it all, it was the kiss heard around the world and one of televisions funniest and most profound moments. The television sitcom “All in the Family” aired on prime time CBS from 1971 to 1979. The 1970s were a time of social unrest; a social war between the old school and the new schools of thought. This was a time where racism, homophobia, and gender were fiercely debated in every household across the country while they were ignored on television. Archie Bunker was played by Caroll O’Connor and he was the main character. “All in the Family” used the forever hot topics of racism, homosexuality, and gender inequality in America as an overarching theme, which taught to people just how ridiculous and baseless those beliefs were while keeping viewers of all backgrounds entertained. As the story goes, Archie Bunker is a working class family man with a very strong set of conservative and often unfair views of the world. Bunker clashes with just about every person he comes into contact with on the show including his wife, strangers, random people and most of all his son in law, Mike Stivic or “Meathead” as...
Words: 2105 - Pages: 9
...“Network entertainment television has served as one barometer of racial inclusion and sentiment.”. (Squire 97) The stereotypical images of Blacks on television began in 1939, until then, Blacks have been portrayed as maids, servants or clowns. These negative perceptions started to appear in sitcoms such as in Amos and Andy in 1951, which were the stereotypical backs who never took things seriously. All those views changed during the 1970's with the black sitcoms. The explosion of Black faces on TV in the 1970’s and 1980’s laid groundwork for Blacks and became more reality based. Blacks continued to have been, and often still, portrayed in a negative way on TV. There was some improvement of stereotypical images. In the fall of 1984, a new show arrived on the scene by the name of “The Cosby Show”. Few could have predicted that ''The Cosby Show" would become a phenomenon. Loosely based on Cosby's own family, it was the highest-rated show for five consecutive...
Words: 792 - Pages: 4
........................................................................ 5 2. Humour and Culture…………………………….……………………………...… 6 3. What amuses Britain?……………………………….…….……….………...…… 7 4. Comedy…………………………………………………………………………… 8 4.1 British Comedy………………………………………………..………………..… 9 5. British Television Comedy.……………………………..……………………...… 9 5.1 Sitcom - situational comedy……………………………………………………. 10 5.1.1 Britcom……………………………………………………………….…….…… 11 SECOND PART 6. What makes Britain laugh?..……………………………………………..…… … 11 6.1 Madness & Surrealism………………………………………………………….. .12 6.1.1 Monty Python's Flying Circus…………………………………..………….…… 12 6.2 Political Satire…………………………………………………..…………….…. 14 6.2.1 Yes, Minister……………………………………..………………….……. …….. 15 6.3 The Race……………………………………………………….…………….. …. 17 6.3.1 Da Ali G Show……………………………………………………………….. … 18 6.4. The Family………………………………………………...…………….…… … 20 6.4.1 Only Fools and Horses………………………..……………..……... .. 21 THIRD PART 7. It’s Monty Python!.………………………………………………... ….… 24 8. Manipulation in Political Life……………………………………… ……. 26 9. “Boyakasha!”..................................................................................... 27 10. "This time next year, we'll be millionaires!"………………………. .… ….. 30 Conclusion…………………………………………………………. 33 Appendices Appendix A……………………………………………………………….. 35 Appendix B……………………………………………………………….. 37 Appendix C………………………………………………………………. 38 Appendix D……………………………………………………………… . 40 Bibliography………………………………………………………………...
Words: 12139 - Pages: 49
...The Begging of Broadcast Television - Broadcast Television on a national level began on July 1, 1941, - 1947 had only 60,000 TV sets in the USA, in bars, malls, and upper class homes - In 1951, over 10 million TV sets existed in the USA, virtually owned by everyone Technical Considerations - RCA-NBC pushed for black and white broadcasting in VHF (Very High Frequency) - CBS pushed to establish colour broadcasting in UHF (Ultra High Frequency) - RCA-NBC & VHF prevailed, surpassing its competitor, but could only appear on a limited amount of screens simultaneously - This caused them to stop selling licenses from 1948 – 1952, until the problem was fixed, and more stations were able to operate in different towns & cities. Political Considerations - Non-profit and educational broadcasting suffered in 1934, when the Wagner-Hatfield Bill was rejected by congress - The Bill was made so that 25% of broadcasting frequencies would be reserved for educational and non-profit broadcasting. Economic Considerations - Creating a national broadcasting system was too expensive to support non-profit & educational specials - Thus, already established commercial radio networks undertook financing of the development of broadcasting television in the US. - Television became a means of selling products with some entertainment to fill out the time between advertisements Analysis on Lipsitz and Haralovitch Readings: Lipsitz: “The...
Words: 400 - Pages: 2
...Media’s Affect on Youths Youths today are constantly watching television shows. Some spend the majority of their free time sitting down on the couch and watching reality sitcoms such as “Jersey Shore” or “Big Brother”. This impacts today’s young greatly by teaching them negative behavior and language, making them insecure about their physical appearance and making sexuality more essential. Reality sitcoms have a greater impact on today’s youths then we would like to believe. The negative language and behavior of youths is mostly being learned from these reality shows. Six major professional societies in the United States- the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Psychiatric Association-… concluded [in 2000] that “the data point overwhelmingly to a casual connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children” (Anderson, Craig and Bushman, Brad 11-12). This comes from the fact that male and female equality has gotten much worse; most women are being viewed as something they are not when they are referred to as “bitches” or “sluts”. When this sort of name calling escalates it can lead to greater things such as a verbal or even physical fight, “Recent large-scale longitudinal studies provide converging evidence linking frequent exposure to violent media in childhood with...
Words: 583 - Pages: 3
...exploration of postmodernism through textual analysis of Arrested Development. This essay will consider the postmodernism within the television programme Arrested Development through postmodern theories, postmodernist techiniques and textual analysis. Through historical context, genre conventions, intertextuality and continuity; the essay will investigate the use of pastiche in modern satire. As popular situation comedies fulfil the generic conventions of using multiple cameras, linear narratives, stand alone catchphrases and aspirational ideologies, the essay will deliberate whether post modernism is legitimate in television comedy. "As Hollywood agents worry about the demise of the town's lowing cash cow, the multi-camera, staged sitcom, here to save the day is Arrested Development, a farce of such blazing wit and originality, that it must surely usher in a new era in comedy." —Alison Powell, The Guardian (UK), March 12, 2005 Television situation comedy has always appealed to mass market audiences. From ‘The Brady Bunch’(1969 – 1974), which centred on a blended family, perhaps the best-known domestic comedy in US television history to ‘Cheers’(1982 – 1993), the show set in a bar in Boston. Sitcoms usually consist of recurring characters in a common environment such as a home or workplace. Sitcoms provide the audience with iconic moments in television history. The longitivity of this genre of programming allows the audiences to build up relationships with the characters, therefore...
Words: 3725 - Pages: 15
...I love watching sitcoms. From the newest season of ‘Ugly Betty’, ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’, ‘That 70’s Show’, to ‘Scrubs’. I love watching them all. And my all time favorite sitcom would be ‘Friends’. I think most television viewers are familiar with the show’s six main characters that live and work in New York City. Those six characters would be Chandler and Joey whom share an apartment across the corridors from the apartment shared by Monica and Rachel. The remaining two friends comprise Ross and Phoebe. Ross is Monica’s brother who has his own place, while Phoebe is full-time masseuse and a part time singer who sings the most unmelodic songs which she composes herself. When each half-hour show starts, we hear the title song ‘I’ll Be There For You’ which is a really catchy tune. Love and friendship are the themes of the sitcom. In fact, although they might bicker with each other over some things, all six of them are wonderful friends to one another. This friendship is sometimes complicated by the fact that Ross has always been in love with Rachel, or when Monica and Rachel fall for the same guy. However, every time one of them gets into some kind of scrape or sticky situation, the others are sure to rescue him or her. What makes this sitcom so appealing is the cast. The actors and actresses in the show are all very good-looking and talented. Of course, the fact that ‘Friends’ has many witty scriptwriters who give the cast wonderfully clever lines to say helps a lot...
Words: 330 - Pages: 2
...successful career as a comedian in the 1960’s ("Bill Cosby." Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 59.). Cosby stood out from the other black comedians of that time. Cosby...
Words: 1374 - Pages: 6
...Brendan Lutz Dr. Jakubiak English 110 25 February 2011 Unit #2 Final Draft Not the Typical American Family Many of us love to just sit back and relax on weeknights, and just watch some TV. Popular shows of choice among families were sitcoms. These shows would portray different, unique types of families, and create their day to day lives into comedies. The types and class of families shown on sitcoms throughout the time of television has been widespread. Two shows in particular that I will discuss are “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, and “The George Lopez Show”. Each show is based around one famous celebrity. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was centered around Will Smith, a famous rapper turned actor. “The George Lopez Show” was centered around George Lopez, a famous comedian. Each show was based around a specific ethnic group. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was solely around African Americans, and “The George Lopez Show” around Hispanic Americans. These sitcoms challenged the many sitcoms prior to its time, being about a family that was non-white. Skeptics felt these shows would not be popular due to the fact they do not appeal directly to the average American family. Skeptics were proven wrong, as each show ran for 6 seasons. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “The George Lopez Show” both changed the perception of class and challenged the typical stereotypes that are normally associated with their respective race. The idea for a new show that would premiere on NBC in 1990 would...
Words: 1581 - Pages: 7
...In the pilot of the show, we learn the basic premise of Everybody Hate Chris, a semi-autobiographical sitcom in which Chris Rock recounts his middle-school experience in early 1980's Brooklyn. We learn that the Rock family has just moved out of the projects and into an apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant Young Chris is excited about the move, however his excitement diminishes when his mother tells him that he will be taking two buses every day to become the only black student at Corleone Middle School. In this way, two social issues serve as inspiration for the bulk of the show’s comedic content. In Chris’s home life, the issue of class are largely explored, while Chris’s struggles at Corleone Middle School seem to focus on questions of race....
Words: 1049 - Pages: 5
...1977 to 1998. - Key part of the company's (ABC) rise to competition with two other main television networks (NBC and CBS) in the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. - Created many programs still airing tonight such as Monday Night Football, ABC World News Tonight, Primetime, Nightline and 20/20 Jim McKay An American tv sports journalist. Is best known for hosting ABC's Wide World of Sports Billie Jean King An american former World No. 1 professional tennis player. In 1973, at the age of 29, she won the s0-called Battle of the Sexes match against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs Bobby Riggs An american tennis player who lost to Billie Jean King in the Battle of the Sexes Match What is meant by the relationship between sports and tv being a symbiotic relationship? - Both have derived enormous benefits from the other. - Both have been around for most of the last 100 years. - The world of sports has helped to grow the business of tv, while tv has enable sports ventures, worldwide, to become high-end family entertainment. By the end of the '50s, what happened to sports programming and where during the weekly programming schedule did they find their place? What were the factors mentioned in the text that contributed to this change in programming? Other genres began to mature and develop their own loyal audience, most of which were women. Sports disappeared from prime time tv, settling into a very profitable and successful weekend niche. In the'40s and...
Words: 6482 - Pages: 26
...of the most popular and successful series in television history. It ranked among the top ten shows in the nation during each of its eight seasons, from 1960 to 1968. Over thirty years later, the 249 episodes still remain some of the most frequently watched syndicated shows on television. The series pilot originally aired as an episode of Make Room For Daddy, a popular sitcom starring Danny Thomas. The synopsis of “The Andy Griffith Show” was that Andy Taylor played by Andy Griffith, was a sheriff of a small rural town called Mayberry in North Carolina with a population of 1800. The show depicts Andy's attempts to raise his young son Opie, played by Ron Howard, trying to control his babbling but funny deputy, Barney played by Don Knotts, all while trying to maintain law in a virtually crime-free town. Andy also lives with his Aunt Bee, who helps take care of Opie. There were also a whole bunch of characters that made up the show including scatterbrained Floyd the Barber and the service station attendant, Gomer Pyle. This show portrayed American small-town life during simpler times and where more traditional values were respected. The Andy Griffith Show was a part of a trend in programs at that time in which the main characters were naïve simple minded but honest and hardworking people from the American Heartland. By the late 1960s, however, many viewers, especially young ones, were rejecting these shows as irrelevant to the times they were currently living in. Programs like...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
