SITCOMS CONFLICT RESOLUTION
TELEVISION 2. Select 2 Situation Comedies. As we examined in class, “The Mindy Project” is considered a situation comedy since the workplace / doctor′s office is its setting. “All in the Family” is a situation comedy set in a home (see Chapter 6). Workplace and Domestic comedies are both situation comedies, programs usually 30 minutes long, and on major networks. “Parks and Recreation” and “BoJack Horseman″ and “Mom” are examples. When you have chosen your shows, look for patterns and differences concerning conflict in the ways stories are told in the two programs. At a general level, 1. what are the conflicts about? (roommates versus roommates, men versus women, managers versus employees, tradition versus change, individuals versus institutions, honesty versus dishonesty). 2. How are problems resolved? These types of programs are well known for “returning everything back to normal.” Characters end where they began. But what do you think this style of storytelling says about North American culture (if you select a domestic program)?[unique_solution] On “The Simpsons” for example, the family sometimes gains the offer of money, and then loses it, ending up in the same place they were—usually home on the couch. For a career show, like “Parks and Recreation” and “The Mindy Project” or ″Mary Tyler Moore″ or even ″Friends″ (at the cafe) how is the central woman’s career treated? Does the conflict produce personal progress in the end? Select 2+ scenes from each show and describe them in detail. Focus on the people and their conflict. Write a Compare and Contrast style essay, showing how the 2 shows present and resolve the conflict. TELEVISION 2. Select 2 Situation Comedies. As we examined in class, “The Mindy Project” is considered a situation comedy since the workplace / doctor′s office is its setting. “All in the Family” is a situation comedy set in a home (see Chapter 6). Workplace and Domestic comedies are both situation comedies, programs usually 30 minutes long, and on major networks. “Parks and Recreation” and “BoJack Horseman″ and “Mom” are examples. When you have chosen your shows, look for patterns and differences concerning conflict in the ways stories are told in the two programs. At a general level, 1. what are the conflicts about? (roommates versus roommates, men versus women, managers versus employees, tradition versus change, individuals versus institutions, honesty versus dishonesty). 2. How are problems resolved? These types of programs are well known for “returning everything back to normal.” Characters end where they began. But what do you think this style of storytelling says about North American culture (if you select a domestic program)? On “The Simpsons” for example, the family sometimes gains the offer of money, and then loses it, ending up in the same place they were—usually home on the couch. For a career show, like “Parks and Recreation” and “The Mindy Project” or ″Mary Tyler Moore″ or even ″Friends″ (at the cafe) how is the central woman’s career treated? Does the conflict produce personal progress in the end? Select 2+ scenes from each show and describe them in detail. Focus on the people and their conflict. Write a Compare and Contrast style essay, showing how the 2 shows present and resolve the conflict.