Assignment 1

1 ½ pages.

Part 1

This week, you will need to view  I Love Lucy. Choose “Job Switching” (also referred to as “the candy factory” episode). This episode should be available on a variety of streaming services.

· Do you note any difference in the television comedy genre from Lucy’s day to situation comedies that are on today?

· How does it differ? How is it the same?

· How are relationships between women and men treated?

· What can you see that is different about the way it was filmed from how they film sitcoms today?

· What else can you say about it?

you must incorporate at least one quote from each of the assigned textbook readings and cite them correctly.

· Mittell, Jason.  Television and American Culture, Oxford University Press. (2010)

 

· Bianculli, David  The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, Anchor. (2016).

 

 

Part 2

 

Find an article from within the past month from one of the acceptable outlets (see list below) and post it. It may be about a show you watch, a genre, a TV technology, a personality, a controversy or something else. Explain why you think it is interesting, correctly cite it (including a link that opens in a new window), and ask the rest of the class an open-ended question

Acceptable outlets for non-scholarly articles include:

a. The New York Times

b. The Washington Post

c. The New Yorker

d. Entertainment Weekly

e. The Hollywood Reporter

f. Variety

g. The AV Club’s TV Club (The Onion’s media discussion board)

h. Slate

 

Part 3

3 ½ pages

· Genre conventions: Your favorite genre and why you like it.

· History: One of the earliest shows you remember watching in that genre, and what you remember about watching it. (I looked at GreenLeaf)

· Years and Time Slot: When did it air?

· Outlet: What network, channel, delivery mode (like VCR tapes or DVD player) or streaming service did it originally air on and how and when (as in, right when it aired, five years after it aired) did you you view it? ( I looked at it on Netflix)

· Viewing Practices and Technology: How did you usually watch it? With whom and how, as in, with your grandmother on the big screen, alone on your computer, on your phone on the subway, etc.? I watched it on my tv with my family

· Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: How did this show depict women? People of color? Working class or poor people?

· Cultural Impact: What influence did this show have on culture? [You may not say it didn’t have one. All television has an influence on culture.]

· Research: You must support your idea on these questions with research, which includes incorporating a quote from the Mittell book and one quote from the Bianculli book, and cite them correctly. You may also use other articles, books, or websites (scholarly or non-scholarly but make sure they are quality sources) in addition to this, but you must cite them correctly.