Tuesday 28 January 2014
Sunday 19 January 2014
Unit 6 Assignment 1 Prezi Notes
The Big Bang Theory: The Itchy Brain Simulation
Audience
The target audience would be male and female as there are four main male characters and 3 main female characters. The age of the target audience would be 16+ because the humour is more suitable for this age as there is a lot of sarcasm which i think people of this age would find easier to understand.
I think the people who could have an oppositional reading to the big bang theory are religious people because of the nature of the show, four young scientists who aren't religious, mainly working within physics which is all about the actual big bang theory and the creation of the world. The show's title also is a big give away to the fact that it isn't a very religious show.
Mode of Address
The mode of address of the big bang theory very comedic but it has an underline tone of some seriousness because there are some issues tackled in the show that you wouldn't naturally realise first hand. For example the character Sheldon has issues of obsessive compulsive disorder, minor autism and social anxiety. He likes to stick to a set routine, he can't understand sarcasm, he's very much a perfectionist within everything he does right down to simplest of things such as where he would sit on the sofa. He also finds it hard to have relationships with the opposite sex and also it takes him a long time to trust and class them as friends.
The big bang theory makes me feel happy because even though the main characters are scientists with very complex jobs which the show often shows us you can still understand what's going on in the show, you don't have to be a physicist, a biologist or an engineer to understand the characters or the jobs that they do because of the comedy that you see in the show.
Genre
The big bang theory is a situation comedy. A generic convention of a sitcom would be a catchy, memorable title sequence and theme tune and the big bang theory definitely has this. Also a lot of where the show is set are the same few locations with the odd new or one off location in different episodes and series. For example, the set locations that we see in every episode would be places like Sheldon&Leonard's apartment, Penny's apartment and the hallway with the infamous broken lift that is an iconic part of the show and a generic convention of a sitcom as we see it in every episode. With this, the cinematography in the big bang theory is also very generic as the shots used in all episodes are pretty much the same throughout because if the locations are the same, the shots need to be the same because it is all a part of the show's identity.
We know the big bang theory is a comedy because there are a lot of long running jokes for example Sheldon often brings to light the fact that everybody but Howard have PhD's and that Howard's profession as an Engineer is inferior to his job as a physicist. Another generic convention of this sitcom is the costume that the main characters wear. They all wear the same out fit but change it with different colours, Sheldon wears a short sleeved slogan t-shirt over a plain long sleeved t-shirt, Howard wears a shirt or polo shirt over a turtle neck with an alien broach on the collar of it, Leonard wears a plain t-shirt with a casual cotton type jacket with a combat style jacket over the top and Raj wears a shirt with a golf style jumper with a jacket over the top.
Challenging the generic conventions of a sitcom is a good thing because it means that more people are likely to watch it because the big bang theory has elements of drama and romance which will appeal to a wider audience.
Narrative
The big bang theory has a non linear narrative. We know this because each character has different narratives within episode. For example, in the itchy brain simulation episode we can see that we have one narrative of Sheldon and Leonard and the rental DVD that Sheldon wants Leonard to return after 7 years of having it and the dilemma Leonard has with trying to return it. And then there is another narrative about Penny confronting Raj's ex girlfriend about her breaking things off with Raj and how Raj finally gets over her after she tells him she's moved on.
But on the other hand you could also say there is an overall linear narrative as the show is about four young male scientist and a young female waitress and unsuccessful actress.
Representation
The main characters could be seen as stereotypical geeks, into sci-fi films, science and their personalities are conventional of a geek, scared to talk to girls, don't have a lot of friends etc. But some aspects of the characters aren't stereotypical. For example Leonard has an on and off relationship with Penny who would stereotypically be seen as out of Leonard's league because he's a geeky scientist and she's a beautiful blonde bombshell who isn't geeky at all and is quite dumb and very headstrong which can sometimes be intimidating to somebody like Leonard.
One way we can tell that the characters are through their costume. Sheldon is often wearing t-shirts with superhero logo's on them and Howard always wears an alien broach and superhero belt buckles. Also the sets on the show are stereotypical of where a geeky kind of person would be for example the comic book store set is a prime example of this. People who like comics are seen as nerdy. Also in Sheldon&Leonard's apartment is jam packed with sci-fi and superhero film memorabilia and scientific objects.
The representation of women in the big bang theory is quite positive, two of the three main female characters are highly intelligent scientists. But women could also be represented negatively through the character penny. She's a stereo typical blonde, busty and dumb girl who is looked down on by some of the characters.
I think the way characters are represented in the big bang theory are quite positive because they have a lot of elements to them that aren't stereotypical of a geeky scientist and i think that the audience will like this.
Audience
The target audience would be male and female as there are four main male characters and 3 main female characters. The age of the target audience would be 16+ because the humour is more suitable for this age as there is a lot of sarcasm which i think people of this age would find easier to understand.
I think the people who could have an oppositional reading to the big bang theory are religious people because of the nature of the show, four young scientists who aren't religious, mainly working within physics which is all about the actual big bang theory and the creation of the world. The show's title also is a big give away to the fact that it isn't a very religious show.
Mode of Address
The mode of address of the big bang theory very comedic but it has an underline tone of some seriousness because there are some issues tackled in the show that you wouldn't naturally realise first hand. For example the character Sheldon has issues of obsessive compulsive disorder, minor autism and social anxiety. He likes to stick to a set routine, he can't understand sarcasm, he's very much a perfectionist within everything he does right down to simplest of things such as where he would sit on the sofa. He also finds it hard to have relationships with the opposite sex and also it takes him a long time to trust and class them as friends.
The big bang theory makes me feel happy because even though the main characters are scientists with very complex jobs which the show often shows us you can still understand what's going on in the show, you don't have to be a physicist, a biologist or an engineer to understand the characters or the jobs that they do because of the comedy that you see in the show.
Genre
The big bang theory is a situation comedy. A generic convention of a sitcom would be a catchy, memorable title sequence and theme tune and the big bang theory definitely has this. Also a lot of where the show is set are the same few locations with the odd new or one off location in different episodes and series. For example, the set locations that we see in every episode would be places like Sheldon&Leonard's apartment, Penny's apartment and the hallway with the infamous broken lift that is an iconic part of the show and a generic convention of a sitcom as we see it in every episode. With this, the cinematography in the big bang theory is also very generic as the shots used in all episodes are pretty much the same throughout because if the locations are the same, the shots need to be the same because it is all a part of the show's identity.
We know the big bang theory is a comedy because there are a lot of long running jokes for example Sheldon often brings to light the fact that everybody but Howard have PhD's and that Howard's profession as an Engineer is inferior to his job as a physicist. Another generic convention of this sitcom is the costume that the main characters wear. They all wear the same out fit but change it with different colours, Sheldon wears a short sleeved slogan t-shirt over a plain long sleeved t-shirt, Howard wears a shirt or polo shirt over a turtle neck with an alien broach on the collar of it, Leonard wears a plain t-shirt with a casual cotton type jacket with a combat style jacket over the top and Raj wears a shirt with a golf style jumper with a jacket over the top.
Challenging the generic conventions of a sitcom is a good thing because it means that more people are likely to watch it because the big bang theory has elements of drama and romance which will appeal to a wider audience.
Narrative
The big bang theory has a non linear narrative. We know this because each character has different narratives within episode. For example, in the itchy brain simulation episode we can see that we have one narrative of Sheldon and Leonard and the rental DVD that Sheldon wants Leonard to return after 7 years of having it and the dilemma Leonard has with trying to return it. And then there is another narrative about Penny confronting Raj's ex girlfriend about her breaking things off with Raj and how Raj finally gets over her after she tells him she's moved on.
But on the other hand you could also say there is an overall linear narrative as the show is about four young male scientist and a young female waitress and unsuccessful actress.
Representation
The main characters could be seen as stereotypical geeks, into sci-fi films, science and their personalities are conventional of a geek, scared to talk to girls, don't have a lot of friends etc. But some aspects of the characters aren't stereotypical. For example Leonard has an on and off relationship with Penny who would stereotypically be seen as out of Leonard's league because he's a geeky scientist and she's a beautiful blonde bombshell who isn't geeky at all and is quite dumb and very headstrong which can sometimes be intimidating to somebody like Leonard.
One way we can tell that the characters are through their costume. Sheldon is often wearing t-shirts with superhero logo's on them and Howard always wears an alien broach and superhero belt buckles. Also the sets on the show are stereotypical of where a geeky kind of person would be for example the comic book store set is a prime example of this. People who like comics are seen as nerdy. Also in Sheldon&Leonard's apartment is jam packed with sci-fi and superhero film memorabilia and scientific objects.
The representation of women in the big bang theory is quite positive, two of the three main female characters are highly intelligent scientists. But women could also be represented negatively through the character penny. She's a stereo typical blonde, busty and dumb girl who is looked down on by some of the characters.
I think the way characters are represented in the big bang theory are quite positive because they have a lot of elements to them that aren't stereotypical of a geeky scientist and i think that the audience will like this.
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