The history of sitcoms Essay Example

The history of sitcoms Paper My Family are immediately recognised as an upper middle-class family, as they are typical of West London, the soft underbelly of the South. The sofa and living room are used as the main setting in both of these 2 sitcoms, but the way that props and cameras are positioned further reinforces their different social classes. The Royles cramped living room is shown at awkward angles and no windows or open spaces are shown. This gives the impression of a pokey terraced house. The living room of My Family is airy and spacious, a wide area of it being shown and lots of carefully placed ornaments and windows. The Simpsons is also a working class family, whose standards lie between those of the two extremes; My Family and The Royle Family. The big difference, however, is that The Simpsons is set in a fictional area of America Springfield. As with the two English sitcoms, the living room is the main scene, but more of the outside world is explored than in My Family or The Royles, which are both quite inward. OCCUPATION: In this sense, the Simpsons and My Family are more conventional in work than the Royle Family. Ben and Homer the men of the families, both earn money for the rest of their family with quite advanced jobs (Ben works as a white-collar dentist and Homer as a blue-collar nuclear power plant controller). However, Jim, (the leading male of the Royles), is unemployed. His wife Barbara is the main earner, a blue-collar worker in a bakery. Both of the other women are between jobs, although sometimes Susan works as a tourguide, and rely on their husbands as a main source of income. Each of the three sitcoms have at least one child in school. We will write a custom essay sample on The history of sitcoms specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The history of sitcoms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The history of sitcoms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Bart and Lisa, the child characters of The Simpsons, are young and both attend primary school. Anthony of the Royles and Michael of My Family are the only child characters of these two sitcoms, and are in secondary school. Another similarity in occupations is that one character in all three sitcoms stays at home; The Simpsons baby Maggie, My Familys unemployed son Nick, and the retired Nana Royle. PRODUCTION BACKGROUND / AUDIENCE READINGS All three sitcoms are now shown on the BBC channels, but originally they were made in very different ways. My Family, the most recent of the three, was first shown in 2000, and was written as a BBC in-house production. The Royle family debuted in 1998 as a Granada production and The Simpsons, which first started out as 48 shorts in a separate program, first made its appearance as an independent sitcom in 1987, on American television. It is a C20th Fox Production. The Simpsons and MY Family are designed to appeal to the whole family, and are thus shown pre-watershed time. They are shown on mainstream channels, and entertain with more than one genre of comedy to suit children and adults alike. The Simpsons is probably the most widely enjoyed of the three, as it is a cartoon so it relates most to children, without losing out on adult viewers. The Royle family, however, appeals to a much more specified genre of people. It is shown late at night, and is put in the alternative comedy slot along with programs like Alan Partridge and The Office. Although its audience is small, the Royle Family has developed a loyal cult following with its unconventional situations and controversial humour. Some aspects of production, however, are true to all 3 sitcoms. An example of this is the inclusion of well-known actors. In each sitcom this is done for different reasons. Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston play the Royle Familys Barbara and Jim. This adds to the realism of the sitcom as these actors previously acted the realistic soap Brookside. The producers of MY Family have included a well-known cast aswell, for example Zoi Wanamaker starred in Harry Potter. The reason for this is to boost My Familys ratings and make it more popular. Adding familiar faces causes more people to relate to the sitcom. The producer of the Simpsons uses celebrities to add humour. As this sitcom is a cartoon, caricatures and deliberately bad voice-overs can be used to make the sitcom funnier to watch. CREDITS/TITLE SEQUENCE Each sitcom introduces their characters by showing them in their typical environments. Both the Simpsons and The Royle Family include the couch scene in their opening sequences, this Simpsons including originality by showing a different humorous sofa scene every time. My Family, however, ends their title sequence more conventionally, showing a family portrait of the characters. All three-title sequences are accompanied by music. The Simpsons and My Family are both introduced to an upbeat theme tune, whereas the Royles dreary Oasis song immediately sets the depressing mood. The lyrics, half the world away, suggest the Royle Families cut off, inward status from the outside world. Also, the Royle family uses black and white shots to complement this mood, whereas Simpsons and My Family are less explorative, shooting their credits and title sequence in colour. TYPES: Generic characteristics have been shown since the start of sitcoms MY Family, The Royle Family and The Simpsons being no exception. This point is most clearly portrayed in the men of the families. This point is most clearly portrayed in the men of the families. Ben of My Family is arrogant, cynical and delusional, and holds the dominant place in the family, as does Homer Simpson. Homer is blundering, immature and stupid, yet still a character that audiences sympathise with. The Royle Family is probably the odd-one-out, with its leading male Jim. Jim is seen mostly on the sofa watching television, therefore in that sense he is domesticated, and he also doesnt work, unlike the men of most sitcoms. Subtle role reversal is used with Jim and his wife Barbara, for uniqueness and humour. However, he is the dominant person of the household, as he has his own particular seat on the sofa whereas the other family members dont, and also has permanent possession of the remote control. These two characteristics are needed to establish Jim to the audience as the head-of-the-house man. The women of these 3 sitcoms also share generic characteristics. They are all domesticated, and hold their families together, but some of their traits are very different. Marge Simpson is a typical affectionate mother; she cleans, tidies, cooks for and looks after her children (and husband), trying to make hers the perfect family. She is also seen as the stereotypical nagging housewife, her discerning moaning acting as her motif throughout shows. Barbara, of the Royle Family, also cares for her family, but in a different way; she goes out to work. Given this, she is less domesticated than Marge, spending more time socializing with her family or working than cooking and cleaning. It could be said that she tries harder to hold her deficient family together, as she has the burden of an idle husband and immature yet adult children, and doesnt moan about it. This is effective as Barbara is a character that the audience will sympathise with and respect. Susan, of My Family, has very little maternal or loving characteristics and therefore doesnt make a very strong bond with the audience. She is not very domesticated, as she often states she cannot cook, and also she is more the head of the household than Ben, instructing her children and husband on what and what not to do. The fact that she works also takes any maternal nature out of her character, and her sarcastic, tempestuous and sometimes-immature nature is used to get laughter from the audience rather than to make a bond with them. In fact, there is no palpable affection shown between any of the rest of the Archer family either. Every character contains an element of sarcasm, and the main entertainment from My Family comes from The Families ridicule and general intolerance of one another. One thing that most sitcoms have in common is the inclusion of one normal voice a character that possesses no prominent qualities. This is effective in keeping some reality to a sitcom especially if in all other aspect its is unlikely that any of its situations would happen.

Learn How to Conjugate Gagner (to Win) in French

Learn How to Conjugate Gagner (to Win) in French French verbs tend to be a challenge for students. While the conjugations of  gagner  are rather common, remembering that it means to win or to earn is a bit more difficult. Yet, by the time youre done learning how to conjugate  gagner  to mean won or will earn, it will be implanted in your memory. Conjugating the French Verb  Gagner Gagner  is a  regular -ER verb  and it follows a very common verb conjugation pattern. In fact, the majority of French verbs use the same endings youll learn here and that makes each new one just a little easier to remember. Whenever we begin a conjugation, its important to recognize the verb stem. In this case, its  gagn-. With that bit of knowledge, we can add a variety of endings that match both the subject pronoun and the tense of the sentence. For instance, I am winning is je gagne and we will win is nous gagnerons. Subject Present Future Imperfect je gagne gagnerai gagnais tu gagnes gagneras gagnais il gagne gagnera gagnait nous gagnons gagnerons gagnions vous gagnez gagnerez gagniez ils gagnent gagneront gagnaient The Present Participle of  Gagner The  present participle  of  gagner  is formed by adding -ant  to the verb stem, giving us  gagnant. Its a very useful word that stretches beyond the verb usage. You may also find it helpful as an adjective, gerund, or noun. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà © The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a common past tense form used in French. To construct it, begin by conjugating the  auxiliary verb  avoir  to match the subject pronoun, then attach the  past participle  gagnà ©. For example, I won is jai gagnà © and we earned is nous avons gagnà ©. More Simple  Gagner  Conjugations to Learn While those forms of  gagner  are most important, there are a few more conjugations you should consider learning. In conversation, for instance, you can imply a degree of uncertainty or dependency by using either the subjunctive verb mood or the conditional. If you read a lot of French, you will encounter the passà © simple. Likewise, the imperfect  subjunctive is a literary tense and its a good idea to be able to recognize these. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je gagne gagnerais gagnai gagnasse tu gagnes gagnerais gagnas gagnasses il gagne gagnerait gagna gagnt nous gagnions gagnerions gagnmes gagnassions vous gagniez gagneriez gagntes gagnassiez ils gagnent gagneraient gagnrent gagnassent To use  gagner  in short statements, use the imperative form and skip the subject pronoun. Instead of tu gagne, use gagne alone. Imperative (tu) gagne (nous) gagnons (vous) gagnez

Evaluate the changes in Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and Essay

Evaluate the changes in Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and account for the recognition it finally gave the PLO in 1993 - Essay Example The various wars and terrorism has made Israel adopt harsh security and military measures against the Palestinians. The emergence of the PLO as a rallying point for Palestinians gave Israel a chance to change their policy toward negotiations, instead of harsh security and military measures. Different Israeli Prime Ministers have created and implemented policy towards the Palestinians. Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon have all had unique views and policies toward the Palestinians. The Palestinians react to the policies, then the Israelis respond to their reactions through their elections of Prime Ministers. This paper will describe and evaluate Israeli policy towards Palestinians. It will also discuss why the PLO was an important factor in these policies changing, the reason for recognizing the PLO, and if recognizing and negotiating with the PLO changed the situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Before World War I, most of the Middle East, including Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire for around five hundred years. Due to the oppression of the Ottomans towards the residents of Palestine, the Palestinians fought for the Allies in World War I in the hopes of liberation (Fraser, 1980, p. 2). At the end of World War I, the British occupied Palestine under the British Mandate of Palestine. During the British Mandate of Palestine, Jews started immigrating into Palestine rapidly. From the beginning, the Jews had a policy against the native Palestinians. When the Jews started coming to Palestine, they began buying land and forming communities. However, due to persecution in their former countries, the Jews created close communities. This resulted in farms, industries, and businesses for Jews only. The Jews prohibited the employment of the Arabs, which upset the local population (Lesch, and Tschirgi, 1980, p. 51). The policy of â€Å"Jew only† communities

Child Labor in Egypt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Child Labor in Egypt - Essay Example Failure of observing ethical stipulations may lead to the incidences of taboos, a common element in the incidents of ethical based violations. However, the task of establishing personal ethics is rather demanding. This is with regards to the essence of ethics in an individual’s life. Adoption of appropriate ethical perceptions is a demand that is laid to the person by his or her immediate community. This makes ethics seem inclusive of an expectation, as well as the desire to protect ones perception of life. Ethical beliefs are regularly challenged, especially during the address of various aggressions in the daily lour daily lives (DiMauro, 2006). Our success in the address of these challenges implies a positive or an impressive performance of our ethical beliefs. The development of successful ethical trends is based on various attributes of our daily lives (Bernardin, 2008). Amongst the factors that contributed in the improvement of my ethical perception includes the influence attributed to my family. A family is central in the up bring of any child. It forms an integral part of our lives. My family contributed grossly towards my adaptation of various perceptions of life. This was achieved via both discipline and emulation. While growing up, I emulated the senior members of my family with regards to addressing the challenges that I encountered in my daily undertaking. I learnt to reason along their perception, and solve a situation via the sourced lessons. My parents played a central role n moderating my ethical perceptions. They established the expected pathway along which I was anticipated to establish them. In addition, they imposed strict regulations on behaviours that prompted the violation of these measures. This eventuated into my possession of a set of ethical beliefs along which I developed the rest of my ethical perception. The rest of the contributors of my personal belief includes the guidance from

Individual Case Study Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Individual Case Study Analysis - Essay Example Such problems arise between foreign exchange workers and local supervisors and organizations, with psychological, and personal value implications. The Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) from the UK, US and Canada have come into conflict with a supervisor and alienation from the staff at the Soto Board of Education, in the course of their service under the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. There are a number of contributory causes on both sides, having to do with the expectations and perceptions of JET participants and those of the supervisor. A lack of understanding and appreciation of cross-cultural differences, failure of group formation, and misconceptions in decision making processes, are sought to be remedied by supervisory support, program modifications, and clarification of expectations, intended to diminish the adverse effects of these circumstances. 2.0 Introduction – The Case Situation Kelly, a Canadian, had been working for six months at the Soto Board of E ducation office in Japan as an Assistance Language Teacher (ALT). She is one of four ALTs, the other three being from the US, the UK, and another from Canada. The main complaint of the four was the breach of their work contracts when the reduction of their vacation leave credits for those days they were ill, which should have instead been properly deducted out of their sick leaves. This event was only the most recent in a progression of other incidents, which generally involve the imposition by the group’s supervisor, Mr. Higashi, of his unilateral decisions on the working conditions and assignments of the four ALTs. Mr. Higashi’s orders were apparently inconsistent with the stipulations of the Contract of English Teaching Engagement under which the ALTs were employed, and were felt by them to be attempts to intimidate them into complying with the more onerous work ethic customary of the typical Japanese worker (Lewicki, et al., 2003). 3.0 Relevant decision and issues The relevant decision to be made is: What steps should upper management take to relieve the periodic tensions between ALTs and their Japanese supervisor and create greater symbiosis between them, in order to achieve the goals of the JET? The relevant issues to be discussed are the following: (1) Personal values and culture; and (2) Psychology of the JET supervisor (the decision maker) 4.0 Analysis 4.1 Requisite to comply with the JET contract At the outset, it should be clarified that Mr. Higashi may not arbitrarily assign absences due to illnesses to vacation leave credits because (a) Article 12 Section 1 of the contract defines the sick leave as the holiday properly for the purpose of illness or injury; and (b) vacation leave may only be granted upon the election of the JET participant (in this case, the ALTs); it should be applied for by the participant at least three days in advance, pursuant to Article 11 Section 2. Nowhere in the contract does it state that a supervisor may un ilaterally apply vacation leaves at his own discretion. The ALTs must therefore be

The Types And Definitions Of Stigma

The Types And Definitions Of Stigma Stigma is a Greek word meaning mark, cut or burn into the skin, to identify criminal slaves as polluted and shunned in public. However, in a simple term stigma are classed as being represented for persons who are usually excluded from society due to a condition they themselves did not choose or over which they may have little control over, thus suffer from existential stigma; such as sexual identity, mental retardation or even in such cases, marital status. Moreover, there are other cases whereby a person may experience some sort of achieved stigma to which he or she have somehow contributed to their inclusion in a stigmatized group. Such form of stigma could range from homelessness, immigration, achievement or prostitution. Unsurprisingly, many of us fall into at least one of any categories (some not mentioned) yet no one seems to be accepted from association of some stigmatized group. In sociology term Erving Guffman described stigma as an attribute, behaviour or reputation which is socially discrediting in a particular way. Guffman also defined the meaning of the word stigma as a special gap between vital social identity and actual social identity. Guffmans meaning on vital social identity relates to the way we represent ourselves with people we dont see and for is take on actual social identity he explains it as the way we deal with people in real life. Social Stigma Guffman named abomination of the body (physical deformities) as a character (dishonesty, mental disorder, and homosexuality) tribal (race, sex, religion) as the three types of stigma. In the case of abomination of the body people living with the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) are venerable to stigmatisation; this is because our society has built up our perception to live in fear and to regard such virus as a fatal sin. Unsurprisingly, in this modern day people live in the fear that being around someone living with HIV virus enhances the chances of them being contaminated by them. Some have the belief that the virus is contagious by being around or sharing a cup from the person affected with the virus will virus. Generally the forms of stigmatization usually associated with HIV are groups of people such as homosexuals, ethnic minority such as Black people and drug users, as they believe such groups are the ones who carry the virus around due to the kinds of activities they pursue or the way they live their lives. Possibly in some case you may find that are person within this group requiring medical assistance for whatever reason leads to negative impacts towards their care and health. In some cases you may find that individuals that are infected with the virus are more often shun by families and friends, forcing them to move from their home and sometimes suffer from physical violence or in some extreme cases are even murdered. Unfortunately this is quite evident in third world countries, whereby HIV patients may encounter difficulties and are denied health care, employment and the ability to move from one country to another. In such situation, this fear of stigma causes those affected to ignore sickness test to determine whether they are affected and require treatments, consequently deciding to remain silent about the virus, leading to them being denied the essential treatment and social care. In the long run they eventually deteriorate painfully. Mental Stigma Drug addiction, alcoholism impressments are mental illnesses that relates to all part of the character of being stigmatised. This is down to the individual being dishonest. Personally I believe the media plays a vital role in people suffering from mental illness in to being stigmatized, as I am lead to believe they allow it to happen through the negative views they air out to the public. For people that suffer this mental illness really goes out of their way to commit gruesome crime, whilst a majority of mental illness patients live a quiet and peaceful life others experience something of an unimaginable life, which merely cause them to their death. We learn about this disease in rare cases when a person may decide to discuses their experiences with others. Within some families this is kept as a taboo, as to not allowing other families to discover that a member of a family suffers from mental illness whether it be alcoholic or any other forms of mental difficulty. Such situations are avoided due to what is said or written in the media that becomes their perception of what mental illness means. Whenever we hear about gruesome crimes being linked to mental illness we tend to gain a stronger stigma surroundings mental illness. It is also common for people with this disease to be an easy target for criminals as mental illness interferes with the sufferer ability to socialise with people, thus leaving them unaware, vulnerable and careless of their surroundings; not forgetting homeless. At times such stigmatised group may experience difficulties of having no access to jobs, education and sometimes even a home. As Bill Clinton once said mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all Physical Stigma Tribal is another form of stigma, which can be in the form of race, sex or religion. A good example of such stigma would be the albino race for instance; a hereditary condition caused by the lack of pigmentation (melanin) which leaves the skin whiter. As like Black (and other ethnic minorities) may experience some form of stigmatisation within their lifetime. Albinos, just like many other races may usually find it difficult, living within society. Sadly, albinism in Africa for instance is widely regarded as a form of deformity, for reasons that are non-explanatory. Living as an albino in such country is horrifying, as such race are treated like outcasts, and are made to feel as an underdogs; unable to find jobs. Undoubtedly they are made to feel unwelcome in such community and are very much rejected by their own people. Living in Africa, in many cases you will mostly find albino women end up being single parents because, as most man in some African countries believe in the perception that albino women will have albino children, and also believe that by sleeping with an albino woman they will end with the HIV virus for some reason or another. Which is why you will most likely find albino women dropping out of school due to the immense discriminated, therefore in many cases they may end up selling fruits in the streets due to the lack of education they may have received. As you can imagine, albino children find it hard adjusting to school life, as they are frequently picked upon, cursed at and most times ends up at home with no education to look forward to. Albinism in Africa is regarded as a curse from God (BBC News), a type of stigmatisation that sometimes leads to an unimaginative future as an individual. Physical stigma Obese individuals face different forms of discrimination and prejudice, one of the mostly commonly known stigmatisation. Men as well as Women are faced with such condition due to the way they look as suppose to an average size body, whereby usually in some cases a diet is regarded as a cure to overcome such physical deformity. People suffering from such stigmatisation would tend experience refusal of being hired on a job, and in extreme cases being told to pay for two (rather than one) seats on an airline in order to travel. Attitudes of obese people have become more stigmatised, so much so that people feel it is one that can be excused, of telling someone they are worthless because of their weight. Stigmatizing on weight has become so common that someone has even commented on the heavier a person is on an airline means that that they require more fuel to take the required weight. Unfortunately most people never seem to realize that a weight of a heavy person is linked to uncontrolled heath problems, but usually have a strong belief that it is due to the persons fault; and the person lacks exercise and eats far too much than required. An obsess individual experiencing stigma would no doubt go through life being referred to as either ugly, unattractive or awkward and that it is the personal responsibility of the individual of not being in such a way . Unknown to most, such stigma leads to the obsess individual of gaining even more weight due to the intense stress such person way go through, and by this I mean; they way find that the lack of courage may enhance such weight to be added on. You would usually find that the higher a persons body mass is then the less respect they may gain from society, some would even go as far as telling you that sitting next to an obsess person is a shame and a sickening though because they are perceived as unclean and smelly people, who are unable to wash and look after themselves. No matter what anyone may think, fat stigma affects everyones health, fat, thin or in between. Recently a story was told of how an overweight teenage girl whose school was going through a wellness campaign. Hallways were plastered with posters saying Prevent teenage obesity. After the posters went up, the girl said, schoolmates began taunting her in the halls, pointing at the obese girl on the posters and saying, Look at the fat girl. The moral to this story is that heavier girls at the school were now made to feel conscious about what they consumed, yet the thinner girls were able to eat there choice of lunch without the aid of some snide nasty and disrespectful comment, even if the lunch were similar to the children deemed to be the heaviest. Stigmatization gave the thinner children permission to think theres something wrong with the larger children, which doesnt help them look at their own health habits either. In Goffmans theory of stigma he distinguishes three categories; the own, the wise and the normal (Guffman 1963). He describes the own as a group that represent stigmatized society. the wise in Guffman term are people who assign stigma and feels that life is better to them with few complains. Whereas the normal are people with empathy towards others and therefore help them fit into society.

What is Love? Essay -- Papers Definition Love Marriage Loving Essays

What is Love? Love: What is it? Love, what is it? To many people love means many things. To others, to love is to place their happiness in one another. Others love can be how they feel about that special someone. I'm not talking about the fatherly love or that motherly love. I'm talking about the love that you feel towards someone. That special someone that you could possibly spend the rest of your life with. Webster defines love as a strong feeling of attraction resulting from sexual desire; enthusiasm or fondness. But to me love is not just a feeling, but it is the way that you treat that special someone that you care for. Treating them so kindly so they'll know you care and love them. Love in my eyes, is making that sacrifice for someone, knowing that you might regret it sooner or later. Love is how you make another person feel when you are in their presence. Love is the laughter that you share, the time you spend, and the relationship that you build with that special someone. Many people show or express their love for someone in many and different ways. For instance, there was an ancient Egyptian Poem that captivated my attention. While I was reading the poem it made me realize how more people view love the same way as I do. The poem is named "Love, how I'd love to slip down to the pond." In the poem there were lines that helped me realize that love is not what you say, it is what you do. And in the poem there was a line that stood out far from the rest. It said, "Just for you I'd wear my new Memphis swimsuit, made of sheer linen, fit for a queen- Come see how it looks in the water". Not caring about how she looks to others or how foolish she might feel, she entices her mate with a swimsuit that when w... ...itten by Chung Tzu there is a pome numbered 22 in the text. Part of it reads: Of fair girls the prettiest Gave me a red flute. The flush of that red flute Is pleasure at the girl's beauty. She has Been in the pastures and brought for me rush-wool, Very beautiful and rare. It is not you that are beautiful; But you were given by a lovely girl. In my opinion the moral of the poem is not to cherish what is given to you, but cherish the thought and sincerity of the person. Material items can be lost, broken, or even stolen. But when you see it as an action of ones emotion, the thought of that item ant the person who gave it to you will live on forever. Patterson 5 Today, many people have different out looks and perspectives about love and that what it is or what it should be. But you can't truly love any one until you answer that funny little question? Love: What is it?