A Note: Before I start this I'll let you know just what it is. I did an essay in my second year at university which looked at genre and how over time it really doesn't change, so I looked at the American sitcoms Friends, Scrubs, The Class and How I met your mother. Looking back I should have only really compared Friends and How I met your mother, guess I got carried away, but I do enjoy writing about my favorite shows. ^_^
‘A Genre is always the same and yet not the same, always old and new simultaneously’ (Bakhtin qtd. In Threadgold, ‘Taking about Genre: Ideologies and Incompatible Discourses’, p. 115). Discuss.
Bakhtin (1984: 106) goes on to say that ‘Genre is reborn and renewed’. This means that a genre will always be in use, be it in literature, film, performance or style. It may be broken down and parts of the genre may be used, this is called hybridity. This essay will look at the television sitcoms “Friends” (E4, 1994 -2004), “The Class” (e4,2006-2007) “Scrubs” (E4,2001-Present) and “How I Met Your Mother” (HIMYM) (E4,2005- Present). These four case studies will show how over time genre stays the same yet as time goes on it changes, for the better and worse.
The television show “Friends” (1994) was first aired in America in 1994 and went on to make ten series all of which were incredible popular and have been shown on television screens all across the world. The premise of the show is about a group of twenty something’s dealing with life, sex, love, work, family and above all friendship. It is Jillian Sandell (1998: 144) who wrote ‘I see Television offering a space where social anxieties are resolved in a kind of fantasy wish-fulfilment’ this is common in the sitcom, we have a group of characters who are first in one situation and are seeking a better one, this is very common in American sitcoms as it relates to the ‘American dream’ where one wants to own their own land, house, career. Jane Freuer (cited in Sandell 1998:146) suggests sitcoms are defined by “the half-hour format, the basis in humour, [and] the ‘problem of the week’ that causes the hilarious situation and that will be resolved so that a new episode may take its place the next week” It is in this half an hour format that the characters face a challenge that disrupts the equilibrium in a comical tone and resolve the disruption this episodic structure is essentially a sitcom.
‘A Genre is always the same and yet not the same, always old and new simultaneously’ (Bakhtin qtd. In Threadgold, ‘Taking about Genre: Ideologies and Incompatible Discourses’, p. 115). Discuss.
Bakhtin (1984: 106) goes on to say that ‘Genre is reborn and renewed’. This means that a genre will always be in use, be it in literature, film, performance or style. It may be broken down and parts of the genre may be used, this is called hybridity. This essay will look at the television sitcoms “Friends” (E4, 1994 -2004), “The Class” (e4,2006-2007) “Scrubs” (E4,2001-Present) and “How I Met Your Mother” (HIMYM) (E4,2005- Present). These four case studies will show how over time genre stays the same yet as time goes on it changes, for the better and worse.
The television show “Friends” (1994) was first aired in America in 1994 and went on to make ten series all of which were incredible popular and have been shown on television screens all across the world. The premise of the show is about a group of twenty something’s dealing with life, sex, love, work, family and above all friendship. It is Jillian Sandell (1998: 144) who wrote ‘I see Television offering a space where social anxieties are resolved in a kind of fantasy wish-fulfilment’ this is common in the sitcom, we have a group of characters who are first in one situation and are seeking a better one, this is very common in American sitcoms as it relates to the ‘American dream’ where one wants to own their own land, house, career. Jane Freuer (cited in Sandell 1998:146) suggests sitcoms are defined by “the half-hour format, the basis in humour, [and] the ‘problem of the week’ that causes the hilarious situation and that will be resolved so that a new episode may take its place the next week” It is in this half an hour format that the characters face a challenge that disrupts the equilibrium in a comical tone and resolve the disruption this episodic structure is essentially a sitcom.
It is possible “Friends” did so well was because the characters were all friends with each, they enjoyed each other’s company, they had their ‘in’ jokes which over the series the audience picked up on and knew about for example the recurring character Janice and her catch phrase ‘Oh My God!’ audiences pick up on these jokes and imitate as do the main characters, mocking her voice. While the show is very main stream it is the ‘in jokes’ that give it a cult like following.
It is Gunther (Cited in Martin,N. 2003:33) who suggests ‘The viewer countered and imagined by NBC closely resembles the average character on a given Thursday night comedy – that is to say, an employed white (ostensibly) straight twenty- to thirty year old with money to spend in the big city’ as Gunther points out the audience members that watch the show could themselves be a character in the show, it is this aspect of the show that could be another reason for “Friends” being so popular, relating to the characters that are shown on screen could draw a viewer, perhaps seeing Monica struggle to find a boy friend and a job is comfort for those viewers who are in the same situation. It is Lacey (2002:156) who brings up the points of the uses and gratifications theory ‘Personal Identity: we can get a sense of ourselves and our peer group from media representations.’ So while the characters in the show may be exaggerated but it is the kernel of truth keep within the character that the audience member picks up on and connects to. Groups of friends who have their own personal ‘in’ jokes can also relate to the show as they see the same group dynamic on the television as their own, seeing this on television could empower friendship groups, seeing aspects of their personality’s portrayed on the screen could make them feel as if they were as funny, witty, ironic and ‘cool’ as the characters on the show.
Another sitcom of the similar genre is “Scrubs”. The show does have its differences from the “friends” set up for example the show is lead by the main character JD; the characters are not friends they have chosen but instead co-workers who eventually grow strong bonds. The hospital is simply just a backdrop to the show, at the heart of it still deals with the same issues as “Friends” does, sex, love, work and friendship. Like “friends” the characters in “Scrubs” all have their roles. Lacey (2000:46) points out Props idea of the ‘spheres of action’ where he puts forward the different character roles that are in every story. As “Scrubs” is a sitcom where the equilibrium normally returns back to the same starting point the main characters all play the part of the hero while at times play the villain (a villain in the sense that they either get in the way of others stepping forward in the work place or getting in their own way through fear or lack of confidence) which is very much the same in “Friends”. Taking on Props idea of the character roles one could place the characters’ into stereotypical roles found in the family. JD plays the role of the son, Turk the older cooler brother, Elliot the girl next door, Dr Cox the father, Dr Kelso grandfather, Carla the mother and Jordon the role of the evil step mother. While the characters are not related and the sitcom is away from the family unit within the show we can still see the roles of the nuclear family, this shows how the show differs from the typical genre of the family sitcom but the dynamics are similar.
It is Gunther (Cited in Martin,N. 2003:33) who suggests ‘The viewer countered and imagined by NBC closely resembles the average character on a given Thursday night comedy – that is to say, an employed white (ostensibly) straight twenty- to thirty year old with money to spend in the big city’ as Gunther points out the audience members that watch the show could themselves be a character in the show, it is this aspect of the show that could be another reason for “Friends” being so popular, relating to the characters that are shown on screen could draw a viewer, perhaps seeing Monica struggle to find a boy friend and a job is comfort for those viewers who are in the same situation. It is Lacey (2002:156) who brings up the points of the uses and gratifications theory ‘Personal Identity: we can get a sense of ourselves and our peer group from media representations.’ So while the characters in the show may be exaggerated but it is the kernel of truth keep within the character that the audience member picks up on and connects to. Groups of friends who have their own personal ‘in’ jokes can also relate to the show as they see the same group dynamic on the television as their own, seeing this on television could empower friendship groups, seeing aspects of their personality’s portrayed on the screen could make them feel as if they were as funny, witty, ironic and ‘cool’ as the characters on the show.
Another sitcom of the similar genre is “Scrubs”. The show does have its differences from the “friends” set up for example the show is lead by the main character JD; the characters are not friends they have chosen but instead co-workers who eventually grow strong bonds. The hospital is simply just a backdrop to the show, at the heart of it still deals with the same issues as “Friends” does, sex, love, work and friendship. Like “friends” the characters in “Scrubs” all have their roles. Lacey (2000:46) points out Props idea of the ‘spheres of action’ where he puts forward the different character roles that are in every story. As “Scrubs” is a sitcom where the equilibrium normally returns back to the same starting point the main characters all play the part of the hero while at times play the villain (a villain in the sense that they either get in the way of others stepping forward in the work place or getting in their own way through fear or lack of confidence) which is very much the same in “Friends”. Taking on Props idea of the character roles one could place the characters’ into stereotypical roles found in the family. JD plays the role of the son, Turk the older cooler brother, Elliot the girl next door, Dr Cox the father, Dr Kelso grandfather, Carla the mother and Jordon the role of the evil step mother. While the characters are not related and the sitcom is away from the family unit within the show we can still see the roles of the nuclear family, this shows how the show differs from the typical genre of the family sitcom but the dynamics are similar.
Lacey (2000:225-226) ‘when any text becomes popular you can be certain that ‘follow-ups’ will not be far behind.....producers’ attempts to get on the ‘band wagon’ with their own versions of these texts. These versions, inevitably take their cue from the genre.’ Lacey points out that when a show of a certain genre is doing well others will try to copy this style in order to make money from the same audience. “Scrubs” was similar to “Friends” however there were enough differences to it so that it couldn’t be compared to it and be categorized as a copy. In 2006 premised the show “The Class” which was created by David Crane Jeffrey Klarik the same people who created “Friends” so already the show was going to be compared to “Friends”. “The Class” is about a group of people who all used to be in the same school class, years have gone by without any of them seeing each other. The show starts with one of the main characters calling his old class mates trying to get them together to celebrate his anniversary with his fiancé. Eventually some people turn up, to see how people grew up, to show off their great lives and for one character because it was better than killing himself. The show was canceled after only one series. This could have been because the show was too much like friends and at the same time it wasn’t, while the group is bunch of good looking, young, white people all with apartments just like “friends”, the characters in “The Class” aren’t friends and barely remember each other from school. They are a group of people who been thrown together through bad situations, while the show has a few funny one liners however the jokes feel they are just being recycled from “Friends” and some are ones that have been done before. Another problem with the show is that there are far too many characters to deal with in a half an hour show. In “Friends” there were six main characters who were a close group who either spent their time mainly all together. Where as in “The Class” there are eight main characters with partners, not all of these characters mix or like each other and don’t get the time they need to develop their stories. It could be this lack of connection between the characters that the audience can’t pick up on and just can’t relate to the characters.
However an example of a show working from the same genre of “Friends” is “How I Met Your Mother” (HIMYM) a show set in New York about five friends who deal with the issues from the set genre deal with sex, love, work and friendship. While there are many similarities to “friends” the show is different enough to not just be another copy. It takes on board the narrative story telling of “Scrubs” by having one of the main character take on the lead in “HIMYM” the lead is Ted. Another difference between “friends” and “HIMYM” is that the show is no longer about who is going to end up with who and what is going to happen, for example in “Friends” the audience don’t know if Ross and Rachel are ever going to get together in the end until it happens where as in “HIMYM” the story is told from Ted years ahead talking to his children about how he met his mother, so from this we know that Ted does in the end meet the women he loves and has the children he wants like he talks about in the show. The show is no longer about what is going to happen but how it going to happen. So relating back to what Bakhtin (1984: 106) said the genre is ‘reborn’.
All of the sitcoms that have been discussed all have differences and similarities between them, at the core of them all they are all about the family we choose. Jillian Sandell (1998: 145) picks up on this when she says ‘the primary focus of the show is the relationship between these men and women who are not only each other’s best friends but also each other’s real “family” ‘she goes to on to mention that “friends” ‘captures and romanticizes the formation of the alternative kinship networks made up of friends and neighbours’ this is can be applied to all of the shows discussed. The genre is more than just a comedy about a group of young twenty something’s, but it also explores their own decisions, wants and desirers. Taking them away from the family unit they were brought up with and allowing them to explore the world for them self and choosing what they want to do without the judgement of what their family might think or believe. It is this escapism that makes the shows so popular while they may have their weak points at the core the audience wish they too could live the lifestyle these characters all have, dealing with situations in an ironic, funny style while surrounded by friends. When a show is able to take an audience member and make them want to live in the shows world then they have won that audience member over. So while audience members continue to watch these sorts of programs this style of sitcom will always be on our television screen. Television studies will always pick up on what audience members like and will exploit this to make more money but not only do the television studies get something out of it but the audience member also gets what they want as well, a show where their problems and dreams are played out, and until the audience members become bored with this set up the genre will continue to grow, adapt and change to fulfil the audiences wishes and desirers.
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