Family/Comedy TV Drama

Examples/Clips:• Modern Family (US)• Outnumbered (UK)• Friends (US)• The Middle (US)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvlfNwe1UvY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYaG851TpXM

Typical Narrative

• Usually follows the lives of a typical everyday family.• Events that happen are similar to those which happen in real life

except they are exaggerated so that it is more comedic.• Parents are often shown to be really embarrassing in front their

children and their friends and often come across as overprotective.• There are often arguments within the family.• When other family members come to visit, it usually causes

something eventful to happen within the family.

Common Representations• They often encompass very stereotypical characters:• The dad of the family is always laidback and has the job which

brings in the most money for the family whilst the mom is usually a housewife and is the worrying, caring one.

• With the children, you often get one that is really popular at school whilst the other often gets bullied as the stark contrast between the two often brings a comedic element to the show. Siblings are very often shown to argue with one another.

• Characters are usually of a middle or low class to make it more relatable to viewers.

Verisimilitude• Episodes are usually set over the course of a day/couple of

days which creates a sense of realism as we follow the events of the family.

• This creates a greater sense of realism than other texts as it makes it more relatable for an audience as things are shown to happen over a similar period of time as they do in real life.

Codes of Conventions• Step brothers is a good example of a family/comedy film. These types of films often

show the main characters hurting each other doing simple things like cutting the lawn and tidying the house. Some storylines include slapstick comedy where hurting each other innocently is found funny by the audience. As for the setting of the scene it is mostly in the workplace or a realistic scenario such as the household. This allows the audience to relate to the characters and their situation, for example in step brothers it allows them to have the same sort of relationship as blood brothers.

Binary opposites• Binary opposites are the way opposites are used to create

interest in media texts. For example is some films the theory of good vs bad are used to make the sub genre more interesting. Usually the evil character is doing things to make fun or laugh at the other, at their own expense. Furthermore other films can use the binary opposite of age which is youth vs old age. The older is usually cunning and witty with their comedy where the younger more naive character is usually the victim of the elder's humour and falls for his stories or jokes. A contrast between gender can also be shown in a comedy film. Male characters in comedy's often make friends with women and form a bond with them the female being the more dominant in many cases.

Stereotypes and Archetypes• Stereotypes-• Main character-This character just lives to make fun of others (not usually

mean-spirited, like The Bully) or to find the humour in any given situation.• Bully- Despite the name, The Bully is often not an actual bully, but is usually

very unlikable to the audience. The bully constantly attempts to dominate the others sometimes having a motive.

• The geek- The geek is usually dorkey by appearance and personality, stereotypically wearing glasses and constantly being made fun of.

• The air head- This role is often referred to as a ditz and is usually a women which is very gender stereotypical of the producers. Unlike the dork the women is seen as good looking and well dressed usually the youngest of the characters.

• The charmer- This can come in two forms being the player which dates many girls and gets on generally with most girls they come across. Where as they can be represented as an old fashioned gentlemen which therefore receives a lot of attention off the women.

Stock Characters• The Heroic Coward: People who want to be heroic but are usually too

cowardly to do so, they nevertheless manage to pull themselves together in situations that truly matter, or they do heroic deeds out of fear of something even worse if they don't.

• The English Butler: often present if the main character is upper-class or wealthy. Very proper, well-mannered, skilful, and loyal to his employers and always comes to their aid when needed. Usually speaks with a posh English accent and may have a dry sense of humour or may be prone to making cynical remarks about his employer’s behaviour.

• The Fool: a clown or joker who speaks in riddles and puns.• The False Hero: A usually arrogant and not very intelligent individual who

is full of false confidence in their abilities• The Fop: a person that tries to be highly fashionable and aristocratic.• The Trickster: often supernatural or mysterious.• The Comic Relief: Cowards who bring some humour into the plot, though

they can also prove to be heroic.