“The Simpson’s” is about the satiric adventures of a working class family in the city of Springfield. “The Simpsons" is an example of an American sitcom. A sitcom is situation comedy, which is when the same setting and same characters appear in every episode. Sitcoms surfaced in the 1950's in America showing the "ideal" family. Slowly sitcoms started to show the reality of life and dealt with social issues such as divorce and unemployment. Sitcoms have become very popular because people could relate to the program, since they show problems that happen in every day life. In this essay, I am going to analyze "The Simpsons" and demonstrate how it follows the conventions of the sitcom genre.
The opening sequence of "The Simpsons" introduces us to the main characters. One of the main devices used in this show, are stereotypes. In the opening sequence, Homer is shown at work. This is the stereotypical role of a father. Marge is shown shopping and looking after the baby Maggie. Marge fits the stereotypical role of a mother in the sense that she is a housewife and takes care of the kids. In the program, Marge sometimes goes against her stereotype because she assumes the role as the authority figure in the household, which is usually held by a man. Bart is shown in detention in the opening sequence. Bart does not fit the stereotypical role of a child. He should be a good schoolboy but he is naughty and mischievous. On the other hand, Lisa is shown as clever and intelligent but in the program sometimes outsmarts her parents. Maggie is shown as an ordinary baby who sucks on a pacifier. She fits the stereotypical role of a baby. In the opening credits authority figures such as the police are made fun of by being shown as lazy. This stereotyp...
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...animation you can do anything with it. The characters can do wild stunts, which real life actors can't. With animation you can get away with anything. "The Simpsons" makes many rude jokes about people and makes fun out of people and cultures. They get away with it because it's a cartoon. If "The Simpsons" were a real life program it would probably be taken off the air because people would take offence to it.
"The Simpsons" is a very successful program and has been running for a very long time. Many people have different views on "The Simpsons" some think that it is rude and stupid others think that it is funny and realistic. I think that "The Simpsons" shows the reality of life in a light hearted way. "The Simpson" is a sitcom because it has the same family, characters and setting in every episode. It conforms to stereotypes in a way that presents comedic value.
Family comedies have evolved throughout the past century. What was once revered as classic has completely changed forms and turned into the comedic experience we witness today. Family sitcoms in particular have been converted to show a broader picture of how family’s interact in today’s world. This greatly appeals to today’s audiences and is what people want to see. Modern family specifically has tapped into what nontraditional families are all about and even with being so alternative has resonated with every type of family, making it one of the most popular shows on TV at the present moment. The pilot episode of Modern Family uses hyper-irony, allusions and uses references to technology to enforce comedic impact.
McCarthy, Tyler. “Sitcom success a reflection of changing society.” Daily Campus. 29 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Sitcoms like The Simpsons, are used to show that the traditional family is not what it is played out to be on other shows like Father Knows Best, The Jetsons and Leave it to Beaver. The Simpsons challenges and upholds the traditional sitcom while representing the American nuclear family as a unique and lovable family. Like most shows that come out of Hollywood, The Simpsons is pro-Democrat and against Republican views. This show suggests that not following the traditional family roles will you give you a happier life. Gender roles are often used in the show to demonstrate masculinity and femininity. Through satire and parody, The Simpsons addresses gender roles and the typical problems and behavior of an average American family.
Move over Jetson there is a new beloved animated family in town, the Simpsons. The Simpson’s originally aired on December 17th, 1989 and has yet to make us stop laughing. The Simpson’s follow a not so typical American family from the fictional town of Springfield. The episode follow the satirical lives of Homer (Dad), Marge (mom), Bart (brother), Lisa (sister), and Maggie (little sister). Though this is a satirical TV show many episodes provide excellent points and example of material covered in a sociology class. The episode “Marge not be Proud” gives multiple examples of deviant behavior and this essay will discuss two of them.
Younger generations and the more vulnerable in society can be influenced in avoiding peer pressure, but for the individuals filled with wisdom, the shows can reflect based on American modern society. Everybody Loves Raymond and Full House are great shows who faces similar life obstacles a typical person living in the US has today. As a result, most modern family comedy sit-coms are reflecting our society’s generations and the more vulnerable. Based on the success of early family sit coms, American’s adapted to a fast pace lifestyle with the help of modern
The word sitcom is short for Situation Comedy. A good sitcom story idea places the star (or supporting character) into a situation in need of a resolution, which will cause the character to respond in unexpected, exaggerated, and hugely sidesplitting ways (Rannow, pg. 13). A comedy now days are different from how they were in the 1960's and 1970's though. Today directors use sexual content and foul language to make people laugh and do not usually have a purpose or point to get across to the audience with each show. In earlier comedy, such as The Brady Bunch, Director Jack Arnold tried have a lesson learned in each episode while still maintaining a sense of humor, minus the foul language and sexual content. Although the show is not extremely funny to most people it is still a classic show that deserves to be remembered.
Socialization plays in important part in the passing on of culture from generation to generation. It is defined as the lifelong process of social interaction through which we acquire a self-identity and the skills needed for survival. The agents of socialization provide the necessary social interactions to teach culture to individuals in a society. The four primary agents of socialization include parents, education, peers, and media. The most pervasive one, media, has a major role in teaching messages about the norms in culture. The purpose of this project was to observe the subtle messages that a TV series, like The Simpsons, send about gender, class, disability/ability, and age.
The Simpsons first aired in 1980 as a hilarious, sarcastic, and exaggerated satire of everyday life. With depictions of politics and politicians, bad parenting, greedy industry owners, and the faults in everyday society. The show really brings to life the thoughts and sometimes unrealistic views we have of everyday people.
For many years, racial and ethnic stereotypes have been portrayed on multiple television programs. These stereotypes are still illustrated on a day-to-day basis even though times have changed. Racial or ethnic stereotypes should not be perpetuated on certain television programs. These stereotypes provide false information about groups, do not account for every person, allow older generations to influence younger generations, create tension between groups, and affect people in many ways.
On television today you will see stereyotypes of male and female roles in society. These stereyotyps are exemplified in many tv shows and even childrens cartoons. Some shows which stereyotype sex roles include, the flintstones, the jetsons, and almost every sitcom on television.
helping. Television is making the shows out to seem like one race is better than another. For
The situation comedy, or sitcom, is a television programming genre that incorporates a narrative of humor within the context of a perception of domestic routine. In some cases the humor is associated with the dynamics of a relationship between a husband and wife, the neighbors, or friends (Roman, 93). The sitcom first appeared on radio and was embraced for its wit, charm,
This essay will examine my thoughts and those of David Sterrit on the critically acclaimed television show The Honeymooners. First, I will talk about the Honeymooners and it’s setting in postwar America. Secondly, the social and cultural issues the series portrayed. Next, would be the psychological perspective and the aesthetics of the show. Finally, the essay would conclude with my thoughts on how the Honeymooners were impacted by these aspects, but also how the show managed to leave a legacy in television today.
After twenty five seasons, The Simpsons continues to be an influential show. With animation as a medium, the writers use satire to point out the stereotypes the media generates. In some instances, they take a stereotype and push it to the extreme, like Apu and his eight children, and other times they go against the social norms, like Lisa being a strong independent woman. Through this the viewers are reminded just how much say the media has in their perception of others and how they are constantly making judgments of any entire group of people based on the characteristics of some. I do not think that stereotypes will ever cease to exist, but I do believe that it is important we, at the very least, are aware of what they are.
The media often uses and misrepresents stereotypes; however, they are significantly accepted by people among society. TV shows such as the Simpsons are packed with stereotypes within its broadcast of half an hour. The Simpsons contains a large number of audience that watch the show daily as it is broadcasted during prime time. Characters such as Apu are highly discriminated and stereotyped. On this show Apu is characterized as an Indian immigrant, who prays to Ganesh, and holds a highly noticeable and dissimilar accent. This is a stereotype which is observed by young children and is perceived as humorous; they apply this knowledge towards those they meet in real-life. Viewers of this show believe this information to be completely accurate for they hold little or no knowledge about that particular group. Though the stereotypes shown on TV are usually misrepresented, they are quite well accepted by the audience as the truth.