uite a number of individuals have asserted that The Sopranos is the best television series ever produced, and one is led to question the statement in view of the controversies the show has created. By what decisive factor is such a conclusion made? Is it because of the commercial success? Could it be the cultural value of the show? Is it due to creative cinematic value or because the number of subscription of the audience? What is so good about The Sopranos?
For openers: it’s brilliantly written, performed and film. Each episode has the polish of an excellent feature film – with tighter yet more complex... The show is also relentlessly entertaining. The characters are engrossing. The plot twists astonishing but coherent, and the dialogue mined with ironies and poetic resonance quite beyond what we are used to hearing on the boob tube or even on the commercial cinema screen these days. (Yacower, p. 12)
The Sopranos may well have been a powerful and positive agent for development and change in television industry. With its exciting storylines, outstanding cast and sensitive cultural observations, The Sopranos is unlike any other show before it. With the show’s
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For an unusual access into the history of television, there is nothing much that got in the way of that; story telling was all that is to it. The Sopranos could not have existed but thanks to HBO’s pay-subscription model. Each and every one of these stories, woven through several episodes, is meant to entertain and amuse, but also to challenge and provoke an audience. They can, at best, provoke the viewers; if not to the point of discussions, probably to the point of reasoning about who we are, how we exist, and what is it about our society we live in and the individual circumstances that make it
This essay will discuss how national attitudes towards the working-class and the impoverished are represented in American Television. The purpose of this paper is to comprehend that television shows are not solely designed to entertain consumers but also contain a hidden agenda whose task is to protect certain ideological perspectives and therefore constant framing strategies take place. The paper will commence the analysis by discussing how males and females are represented in the television show Friday Night Lights, secondly it will look at the
Criticisms (Favourable): Very original, intelligent plot. Well-written characters that aren’t two dimensional and who make human decisions (David’s father, who may seem like a cruel man but who is really just doing what he was brought up to believe is right).
Overall I think that the show was worth seeing, even though I let my parents pick the film--which I will never do again by the way-- I think that it was a good production. It was a little boring at first, which might have just been because I didn’t really want to see it in the first place, but the storyline was pretty good. I personally like humor, so I tend to pick shows that I know will have some humor, but I’m proud of myself for seeing something outside of my comfort zone.
Their family may struggle to get through some problems and some of their gender roles do not meet the traditional way, but they always make it work the best they can (p.115). They are not judgmental, have values, and everyone love each other (p.34). I love that the characters do not always get along and everything is not perfect. When I am a little older, I want to adopt a few children and this show expresses to me a different perspective and objection of life growing up in the foster system with parents that are different (p.35). I have not seen anything on this show that is not relatable to a common family or someone I do not
In conclusion, this show focuses on many aspects, particularly gender roles and sexism. Although this show could have more diverse characters, it focuses on male and female stereotypes very well. I appreciate that there are several strong female characters who aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves and perform typically masculine
It is thought that television producers are just trying to play it safe by sticking to what they know and what they are used to doing. It has been hard for networks to duplicate shows that have satisfied the viewers, such as "The Cosby's", "The Jefferson's", and "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," Creating this kind of "crossover" audience is essential in a show's success(Hall 12).
...ng it in light of Godot, we can appreciate something much more fundamental, that Seinfeld is every bit as humanitarian as Godot because it shows how our human frailties militate against our desire to end all human contact with others. Any critic who out-of-hand dismisses the sit-com as trash should for this reason alone be thoroughly distrusted, because the desperate communitarian cultural function of the sitcom has been completed ignored. I suggest that there are reasons we watch sitcoms that are not all reducible to the notion that we are stupid, cultural dupes. Seinfeld, as well as Waiting for Godot, offers us insights into what makes us human. At some basic level, this is a compelling explanation for why we care to watch television as much as it is for why we go to live theatre.
Whether it’s through its overly upbeat and positive conflict resolving themes or inclusivity of customary morals and values, each show has seen its fair share of critique in terms of it’s realism to society.
Throughout the physical research of this study I have found out a lot more about this show than could have ever crossed minds before, one example being that this show has be premiered and marketed so well to the point that the viewer have almost no resistance to not believe what the show is trying to instill into our minds. These shows also categorize the characters, some are “good” guys and others are bad guys, but who is actually decided these labels? Are the categories fair? Many would say yes based off the plot line of the show, but some wonder if the bad guys have an equal amount of air time to defend themselves. These factors bring up a conflict of narration weather or not every character is portrayed in a way that they could be like-able which not the case in The Blacklist is. This “good” guy, bad guy routine is commonly used in crime shows and movies, but is not a true example of real life that these shows depict to do. In a sense these real-life shows are the complete opposite not giving the audience a real conclusion o...
Television has long been a part of American culture. From its conception until today there have been people who believe that television is a waste of time and energy and there have been those in the opposite camp who believe that television should be a part of every American life. There is also a middle ground of people who watch television to keep informed on what’s happening in the world as well as entertained by the latest sitcom, or more popularly today, reality show.
Fans of the novel found that the way the novel is written, you never want to put it down and the action keeps things moving and is quite entertaining. The novel pulls you in and makes you love each of the main characters in it. This is a great series for anyone to read, and it is audience friendly for whoever reads them. There is quite a bit of suspense that will make the novel exceed readers 's expectations, and the twists and turns keeps you guessing and lets nothing be predictable. Some like the way this group of people bands together when they really need to and keep things together so they can all stop the
Steven Johnson wrote an article for the New York Times in which he argues that back in the days, television shows use to have a very simple plot which was easy to follow without too much attention. It was just an other way to sit back and relax. However, throughout the years, viewers grew tired of this situation and demanded more complex plot lines with multiple story lines that related to recent news topics. He takes the example of the television show “24”. “24” is known for being the first show which its plot occurs in “real-time”, it is also known for not censuring the violence of its topics. It is a drastic change from what Johnson states as an example “Starsky and Hutch” where basically each episodes was only a repetition of the last one. Johnson also believes that there is a misconception of the mass culture nowadays where people think the television viewer wants dumb shows which in response makes them dumber. Johnson does not agree, for him, television shows such as “24” are “nutritional”. He also states that sm...
The Wire moves away from the typical episodic style of television programs and becomes an example of what Jason Mittell refers to as “narrative complexity” (30). Mittell writes about the emerging wave of narrative complexity in television series in the 1990s in his article entitled “Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television”. He attributes new technologies and changes in the media industries in part to the rise of narrative complex television (30).
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.
When asking yourself which media outlet continues to offer the most influential presence on our culture the answer is obvious. Television serves as the leading unifying media instrument in our society. Television has always reflected cultural changes and the increasing popularity of certain networks is due to reality television. This genre of television creates the concept of the “instant celebrity”. One example of a reality show that literally promises its participants fame and fortune is Project Runway.