Wednesday 17 November 2010

Q7. The texts and their readings

The Simpsons

Audiences might take the dominant reading of the text which is to get humor and entertainment from a dysfunctional family- a modern representation of famlies.

Evidence: "With its subversive humor and delightful wit, the series has made an indelible imprint on American pop culture, and the family members have become television icons"

Source: http://www.thesimpsons.com/about/

Oppositional readings would be that it offends an audience with some of its humor and characters.

Evidence: "Bart's rebellious nature, which frequently resulted in no punishment for his misbehavior, led some parents and conservatives to characterize him as a poor role model for children. In schools, educators claimed that Bart was a "threat to learning" because of his "underachiever and proud of it" attitude and negative attitude regarding his education"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons#Criticism_and_controversy

Everybody Hates Chris

The dominant reading is to find the family entertaining and a exaggerated representation of a black family.

Evidence: "the show provides a very real look at growing up in America - a challenge that demands a discussion of race and class often absent from television today. EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS provides this forum for all generations and does it with great humor and humanity - both embodied by Tyler James Williams, a young man who stands tall among the talents of television."

An oppositional reading would be that the family are represented negativly as they are aggressive and abusive- a stereotype of black people

Hannah Montana

Dominant reading is to take sides with the protagonist (Miley Stuart), and see the brother and sometimes the father as a antagonist (become obsticles for the protagonist).

The oppositional reading might be that the protagonist can appear selfish and unjust within the family as the text is surrounded by her.

Father knows best

"Father Knows Best was the ideal. That was the family we all wanted and no one got. Role models are a good thing, but sometimes I wonder if all those perfect people don't set the bar too high and ultimately leave people feeling cheated somehow."

Source: http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv/father-knows-best.htm

Therefore the dominant reading is to see the family as a perfect one.

If there is an alternative reading, it would be that the family are too ideal and therefore unrealistic.

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