Glued to the Set: TV-Shows, Norms and Culture Spring 2017 Copenhagen 3 Credits Major Disciplines: Communication

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Glued to the Set: TV-Shows, Norms and Culture Spring 2017 Copenhagen 3 Credits Major Disciplines: Communication 1 Final Syllabus Glued to the Set: TV-Shows, Norms and Culture Spring 2017 Copenhagen 3 Credits Major Disciplines: Communication. Film Studies. Media Studies. Faculty Member: Anne Jespersen, [email protected] Program Director: Iben de Neergaard, Vestergade 10 A23, [email protected] Assistant Program Director: Nya Oxfeldt Jensen, Vestergade 10 A23, [email protected] Program Assistant: Jenny Han, Vestergade 10 A23, [email protected] Thursdays, 13.15-16.10, Room N7 – A23 Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 2 Final Syllabus Course Description: TV shows and sitcoms like Modern Family, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Killing, House of Cards, The Office, I love Lucy; and characters like Cosby, Homer Simpson, and Will and Grace both reflect and shape our societies’ gender roles, race relations, class divisions, sexual norms, and values. This course critically analyzes the history and importance of various TV genres and shows in the U.S., England, and Scandinavia and view them as mirrors of society and culture. The course offers an introduction to television history in the USA and Europe. It presents the rise of television in its various organizational forms (e.g. BBC in 1936 and NBC in 1939), and looks at concrete television genres and programs, while analyzing them as sociological mirrors or portraits of the time in which they were made. Each class will concentrate on one period, theme or aspect of television history and/or analysis and will often include a related viewing of a concrete program. The approach will be analytical, aesthetical, and historical. Instructor: Anne Jespersen. Cand.mag. (English Literature, Film History and Theory, University of Copenhagen, 1982.) Editor of the yearbook "Filmsæsonen". Bookpublisher (Forlaget April) 1985-93. Has translated several books and written film reviews and filmhistorical articles in periodicals both in Denmark and abroad. Lectures in Film and Television History and Theory at the Department of Film and Media Studies at The University of Copenhagen. Has frequently lectured at The European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark, at Hamburg Media School, and at other universities abroad. Has taught different film courses at DIS (Contemporary European Film, History of European Film), as well as a course on Popular Culture. With DIS since 1987. Tel.: 33 25 27 24 e-mail: [email protected] Objectives: By the end of the course, each student will have gained: - A sound knowledge of the history of American and European television and its relation to cultural and social conditions. - An understanding of the basic facts and methods of media analysis. - The ability to produce an academic research paper demonstrating critical media literacy and the ability to interpret and discuss the history of American and European television. Method: The course will include lectures, discussions of shows and required readings, and viewings of individual shows. Attendance Policy: Attendance at all scheduled classes is required, and each student is responsible for all material covered or assigned in class. All papers and exams must be completed in order to pass the course. Included in the computation of the final grade in the course is participation. Participation extends to all class sessions, film viewings, as well as activity in class discussion and a general contribution to the progress of the class. If you miss two classes, the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student affairs, will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well. Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 3 Final Syllabus Laptop Computer Policy: While most students find that taking notes by hand in class is quite sufficient for review purposes, you are allowed to use a computer in class for writing lecture/discussion notes. However, you are asked not to use your computer in class to write emails, connect to social media, surf the internet or other such activities as this is quite disrespectful and distracting for both the teacher and your fellow students. Failure to show this courtesy will result in a reduction of your participation grade. Disability and resource statement: Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Academic Support ([email protected]) to coordinate this. In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes. Literature: All readings are to be found on Canvas. Excerpts from, among others, these books: Anthony Smith (1998): Television: An International History Gorman & McLean (2003): Media and Society in the Twentieth Century (Blackwell) Steven D. Stark (1997): Glued to the Set (Dell Publishing) Gerard Jones (1992): Honey I’m Home. Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream (St. Martin’s Press) Edward Buscombe (2000): British Television. A Reader (Clarendon Press) John Corner (ed., 1991): Popular British Television. Studies in Cultural History (BFI) Christopher Anderson (1994): Hollywood TV (University of Texas Press) Robert C. Allen (2009): Channels of Discourse, Reassembled (Routledge) Neil Postman (1985, 2005): Amusing Ourselves to Death (New Edition, Penguin, 2005) Eva Novrup Redvall (2013): Writing and Producing Television in Denmark (Palgrave) Grades & Evaluation: The grades used by DIS instructors are as follows: A = Excellent = 4 D = Below average but passing = 1 B = Well above average = 3 P = Pass C = Average = 2 F = Failure or failure to complete = 0 I = Incomplete (only issued in place of final course grade if an agreement exists for completion by a definite deadline which is approved by the instructor and the DIS registrar). Plus (+) and minus (-) grades are used for examinations and home assignments as well as for final grades. For purposes of calculating grade points and averages, the "+" equals .3 and the "-" equals minus .3. Evaluation: Short Paper 10 % Midterm 30 % Research paper (incl. draft) 40 % Class Participation (incl. ‘TV Moment’) 20 % TV Moment TV Moment is a small assignment that all students are to complete in turns throughout the semester. Depending on the size of the class, two-three students will in each class present a television program or show that has made a big impression on them. It is up to you to decide what kind of impression. It could be Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 4 Final Syllabus something very personal, or a program that has given you insight into something new and exciting, or just a fantastic entertaining experience. You are to give a short talk to the class about your choice of program, show one clip (max. 3-4 minutes, - from YouTube or another source). In addition to your talk, you should hand in a written version of your talk. This will provide a part of the final participation grade. Midterm: The test consists of questions of relatively simple facts (like: Who is the artist behind this or that program?), questions of more complex character (like: mention the characteristics of this or that genre), and questions to be answered with a short essay. The answers will be weighted differently. Midterm Exam will be held on March 9. Research Paper Draft: For March 30, you are to prepare a draft of your Research Paper, which will be discussed in groups in class, and handed in afterwards. The draft should indicate the topic of your paper, the issue/question/problem you wish to investigate/discuss, a detailed outline, and the sources you intend to use. When grading the final version of the research paper, the draft will be considered. Research Paper: The topic for the research paper is decided by the student with input from the instructor. Normally, it would be on (or relate to) subjects and television programs dealt with in the course. Suggested structure of your paper: 1. Table of contents. 2. Introduction: Presentation of the subject to be investigated. An overview of the contents. A comment on the methodology. 3. Description: Summaries, observations, references. 4. Analysis: Comments, discussions, comparisons. 5. Summary and conclusion. 6. Notes & Bibliography. The paper should be based on the required reading, the additional reading found in the DIS library and/or the Danish Film Institute Library, the programs seen in class, the class lectures and discussions. In the Introduction and Description, the factual material is presented. The main emphasis, though, should be on the analysis - that is: your personal discussion of the material. It is necessary to present the substance of the topic through paraphrasing and quotations (remember, always to footnote sources of direct quotations), but it is not sufficient only to paraphrase. The analysis of the material - your personal understanding and interpretation - is the important part of the paper. Length: Approx. 12 type written pages, or approx. 3600 words. You can choose between two deadlines for the handing in of the Research Paper: 1) not later than April 27 (in class), and the paper will be returned to you before the Final exams week. 2) not later than May 4 (in class), and the paper will not be returned to you before the Final exams week. The Danish Film Institute Library is located in the Cinematheque, “Filmhuset”, Gothersgade 55 (close to Nørreport Station). The Library has a large collection of books, periodicals, stills and other film and television related material. The Film Building also houses a book store, a video library, a cafe, plus three cinemas that show Glued to the Set: TV Shows, Norms, and Culture | DIS 5 Final Syllabus films every day (except Monday). When writing your research paper, it is highly recommended that you do some of your research at the library, and/or take out material from their collections. The Film Library is open: Monday: Closed Tuesday – Saturday: 10 am. – 9 pm.
Recommended publications
  • Oktoberfest’ Comes Across the Pond
    Friday, October 5, 2012 | he Torch [culture] 13 ‘Oktoberfest’ comes across the pond Kaesespaetzle and Brezeln as they Traditional German listened to traditional German celebration attended music. A presentation with a slideshow was also given presenting by international, facts about German history and culture. American students One of the facts mentioned in the presentation was that Germans Thomas Dixon who are learning English read Torch Staff Writer Shakespeare because Shakespearian English is very close to German. On Friday, Sept. 28, Valparaiso Sophomore David Rojas Martinez University students enjoyed expressed incredulity at this an American edition of a famous particular fact, adding that this was German festival when the Valparaiso something he hadn’t known before. International Student Association “I learned new things I didn’t and the German know about Club put on German and Oktoberfest. I thought it was English,” Rojas he event great. Good food, Martinez said. was based on the good people, great “And I enjoyed annual German German culture. the food – the c e l e b r a t i o n food was great.” O k t o b e r f e s t , Other facts Ian Roseen Matthew Libersky / The Torch the largest beer about Germany Students from the VU German Club present a slideshow at Friday’s Oktoberfest celebration in the Gandhi-King Center. festival in the Senior mentioned in world. he largest the presentation event, which takes place in included the existence of the Munich, Germany, coincided with Weisswurstaequator, a line dividing to get into the German culture. We c u ltu re .” to have that mix and actual cultural VU’s own festival and will Germany into separate linguistic try to do things that have to do with Finegan also expressed exchange,” Finegan said.
    [Show full text]
  • I Love Lucy, That Girl, and Changing Gender Norms on and Off Screen
    Oberlin Digital Commons at Oberlin Honors Papers Student Work 2018 I Love Lucy, That Girl, and Changing Gender Norms On and Off Screen Emilia Anne De Leo Oberlin College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors Part of the History Commons Repository Citation De Leo, Emilia Anne, "I Love Lucy, That Girl, and Changing Gender Norms On and Off Screen" (2018). Honors Papers. 148. https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/148 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Digital Commons at Oberlin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at Oberlin. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I Love Lucy, That Girl, and Changing Gender Norms On and Off Screen, 1951-71 Emilia Anne De Leo Candidate for Honors in History at OBerlin College Professor Clayton Koppes, Advisor Spring, 2018 2 Acknowledgements There are many people who have helped me immensely throughout the thesis writing process. I would like to thank my thesis advisor Professor Clayton Koppes for all the insight as well as moral support that he has provided me Both while writing this thesis and throughout my time here at OBerlin. I would also like to thank my thesis readers Professors Danielle Terrazas Williams and Shelley Lee for their comments on drafts. In addition, I want to thank the thesis seminar advisor Professor Leonard Smith for his assistance and for fostering a productive and kind environment in the thesis seminar. I owe many thanks to my fellow honors thesis colleagues as well.
    [Show full text]
  • The Musical Number and the Sitcom
    ECHO: a music-centered journal www.echo.ucla.edu Volume 5 Issue 1 (Spring 2003) It May Look Like a Living Room…: The Musical Number and the Sitcom By Robin Stilwell Georgetown University 1. They are images firmly established in the common television consciousness of most Americans: Lucy and Ethel stuffing chocolates in their mouths and clothing as they fall hopelessly behind at a confectionary conveyor belt, a sunburned Lucy trying to model a tweed suit, Lucy getting soused on Vitameatavegemin on live television—classic slapstick moments. But what was I Love Lucy about? It was about Lucy trying to “get in the show,” meaning her husband’s nightclub act in the first instance, and, in a pinch, anything else even remotely resembling show business. In The Dick Van Dyke Show, Rob Petrie is also in show business, and though his wife, Laura, shows no real desire to “get in the show,” Mary Tyler Moore is given ample opportunity to display her not-insignificant talent for singing and dancing—as are the other cast members—usually in the Petries’ living room. The idealized family home is transformed into, or rather revealed to be, a space of display and performance. 2. These shows, two of the most enduring situation comedies (“sitcoms”) in American television history, feature musical numbers in many episodes. The musical number in television situation comedy is a perhaps surprisingly prevalent phenomenon. In her introduction to genre studies, Jane Feuer uses the example of Indians in Westerns as the sort of surface element that might belong to a genre, even though not every example of the genre might exhibit that element: not every Western has Indians, but Indians are still paradigmatic of the genre (Feuer, “Genre Study” 139).
    [Show full text]
  • Sometimes I Wonder… If My Family Was a Tv Show… What Would Be the Ratings, and What Would People See?
    Homily | Year A | Holy Family | 12/29/2019 Sometimes I wonder… if my family was a tv show… what would be the ratings, and what would people see? Most of the most memorable TV shows I’ve watched have all revolve around family dynamics. As a child I remember watching The Wonder Years , Family Matters , Full house and Home Improvement . Then in the Early 200’s it was Malcolm in the Middle , Everybody Loves Raymond , and most recently Parenthood , Modern Family and The Middle . Now, all these TV shows showcased very different families; different cultural backgrounds, different economic status, even different values than those of my own family experiences growing up as a Mexican-American; yet, somehow, they were all relatable. The same can be said about the many families we encounter in scripture; from the Old Testament families of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Lot, and Jacob… to the New Testament family stories like that of the prodigal son, Martha and Mary, Zachariah and Elizabeth, and the Holy Family… these are all families very different form our own, yet they are somehow still relatable. That is because family values, although they might be lived differently generation to generation, culture to culture, family to family; they all emerge from universal values that all people can relate to. These values are mutuality, respect, and service, and we encounter them in scripture today. We see these universal values in Old Testament Wisdom through the example of parent-child relationship. In the Jewish tradition, parents had a God- pg. 1 Homily | Year A | Holy Family | 12/29/2019 given responsibility over their children and vice versa, children once adults had a God-given responsibility over their parents, especially when the caretaker role was reversed… First parents had the responsibility to care, feed, clothe, and bathe their children… but there would come a time when the parent would grow old and frail and this responsibility would flip… the adult child would now have the responsibility to care, feed, clothe and bathe the aged parent.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Game of Thrones,' 'Fleabag' Take Top Emmy Honors on Night of Upsets
    14 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 Stars hit Emmy red carpet Jodie Maisie Comer Natasha Lyonne Williams Michelle Williams Naomi Watts Sophie Turner Kendall Jenner Vera Farmiga Julia Garner beats GoT stars to win ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Fleabag’ take top first Emmy Los Angeles Emmy honors on night of upsets ctress Julia Gar- Los Angeles Emmy for comedy writing. Aner beat “Game of “This is just getting ridiculous!,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Thrones” stars, including edieval drama “Game Waller-Bridge said as she accept- ‘Fleabag’ wins big at Emmys Sophie Turner, Lena Head- of Thrones” closed ed the comedy series Emmy. Los Angeles ey, Maisie Williams, to win Mits run with a fourth “It’s really wonderful to know, her first Emmy in Support- Emmy award for best drama se- and reassuring, that a dirty, angry, ctress Phoebe Waller-Bridge won Lead ing Actress in a Drama Se- ries while British comedy “Flea- messed-up woman can make it Actress in a Comedy Series trophy at ries category at the 2019 bag” was the upset winner for to the Emmys,” Waller-Bridge Athe 71st Primetime Emmy Awards gala Emmy awards here. best comedy series on Sunday on added. here for her role in “Fleabag”, The first-time Emmy a night that rewarded newcom- Already the most- awarded which was also named as the nominee was in contention ers over old favorites. series in best comedy series. with Gwendoline Christie Billy Porter, the star of LGBTQ The Emmys are Hollywood’s Emmy “This is just getting ridicu- (“Game of Thrones”), Head- series “Pose,” won the best dra- top honors in television, and the history lous,” Waller-Bridge said as she ey (“Game of Thrones”), matic actor Emmy, while British night belonged to Phoebe Waller- with accepted the honour for best com- Fiona Shaw (“Killing newcomer Jodie Comer took the Bridge, the star and creator of 38 wins, edy series.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Hegemonic Social Structures in "Friends"
    "I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU" IF YOU ARE JUST LIKE ME: AN ANALYSIS OF HEGEMONIC SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN "FRIENDS" Lisa Marie Marshall A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2007 Committee: Katherine A. Bradshaw, Advisor Audrey E. Ellenwood Graduate Faculty Representative James C. Foust Lynda Dee Dixon © 2007 Lisa Marshall All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Katherine A. Bradshaw, Advisor The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the dominant ideologies and hegemonic social constructs the television series Friends communicates in regard to friendship practices, gender roles, racial representations, and social class in order to suggest relationships between the series and social patterns in the broader culture. This dissertation describes the importance of studying television content and its relationship to media culture and social influence. The analysis included a quantitative content analysis of friendship maintenance, and a qualitative textual analysis of alternative families, gender, race, and class representations. The analysis found the characters displayed actions of selectivity, only accepting a small group of friends in their social circle based on friendship, gender, race, and social class distinctions as the six characters formed a culture that no one else was allowed to enter. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project stems from countless years of watching and appreciating television. When I was in college, a good friend told me about a series that featured six young people who discussed their lives over countless cups of coffee. Even though the series was in its seventh year at the time, I did not start to watch the show until that season.
    [Show full text]
  • 30 Rock: Complexity, Metareferentiality and the Contemporary Quality Sitcom
    30 Rock: Complexity, Metareferentiality and the Contemporary Quality Sitcom Katrin Horn When the sitcom 30 Rock first aired in 2006 on NBC, the odds were against a renewal for a second season. Not only was it pitched against another new show with the same “behind the scenes”-idea, namely the drama series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. 30 Rock’s often absurd storylines, obscure references, quick- witted dialogues, and fast-paced punch lines furthermore did not make for easy consumption, and thus the show failed to attract a sizeable amount of viewers. While Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip did not become an instant success either, it still did comparatively well in the Nielson ratings and had the additional advantage of being a drama series produced by a household name, Aaron Sorkin1 of The West Wing (NBC, 1999-2006) fame, at a time when high-quality prime-time drama shows were dominating fan and critical debates about TV. Still, in a rather surprising programming decision NBC cancelled the drama series, renewed the comedy instead and later incorporated 30 Rock into its Thursday night line-up2 called “Comedy Night Done Right.”3 Here the show has been aired between other single-camera-comedy shows which, like 30 Rock, 1 | Aaron Sorkin has aEntwurf short cameo in “Plan B” (S5E18), in which he meets Liz Lemon as they both apply for the same writing job: Liz: Do I know you? Aaron: You know my work. Walk with me. I’m Aaron Sorkin. The West Wing, A Few Good Men, The Social Network.
    [Show full text]
  • Junior Mints and Their Bigger Than Bite-Size Role in Complicating Product Placement Assumptions
    Salve Regina University Digital Commons @ Salve Regina Pell Scholars and Senior Theses Salve's Dissertations and Theses 5-2010 Junior Mints and Their Bigger Than Bite-Size Role in Complicating Product Placement Assumptions Stephanie Savage Salve Regina University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/pell_theses Part of the Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, and the Marketing Commons Savage, Stephanie, "Junior Mints and Their Bigger Than Bite-Size Role in Complicating Product Placement Assumptions" (2010). Pell Scholars and Senior Theses. 54. https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/pell_theses/54 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Salve's Dissertations and Theses at Digital Commons @ Salve Regina. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pell Scholars and Senior Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Salve Regina. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Savage 1 “Who’s gonna turn down a Junior Mint? It’s chocolate, it’s peppermint ─it’s delicious!” While this may sound like your typical television commercial, you can thank Jerry Seinfeld and his butter fingers for what is actually one of the most renowned lines in television history. As part of a 1993 episode of Seinfeld , subsequently known as “The Junior Mint,” these infamous words have certainly gained a bit more attention than the show’s writers had originally bargained for. In fact, those of you who were annoyed by last year’s focus on a McDonald’s McFlurry on NBC’s 30 Rock may want to take up your beef with Seinfeld’s producers for supposedly showing marketers the way to the future ("Brand Practice: Product Integration Is as Old as Hollywood Itself").
    [Show full text]
  • IT's NOT FUNNY AFTER ALL THEY EARNED THEIR WINGS This Issue
    ISSUE 3 S p r i n g This Issue 2 0 2 0 It’s Not Funny Afterall P.1 College Men & Residence Life P.2 You Earned Your Wings P.3 THEY EARNED Making the Grade Went Viral P.4 THEIR WINGS Blue Devil in Orange Tiger Country P.5 The following Differences Between Men and Women P.6 registered participants 5th Annual Dads Matter Too Conference P.7 of the Brotherhood Ropes to Courage P.8 Initiative earned a 3.0 In the Spotlight P.10 or better for the fall Bassett Update P.13 2019 semester (p. 3) Bassett Humanitarian Award Recipient P.14 Mr. Anas Alomari IT’S NOT FUNNY AFTER ALL and/or disparaging them for their gender Miss. Edith Anger by William Fothergill was accepted and seen as humorous. We all Miss. Tara Brooks Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, I laughed, and probably never really thought Mr. Cameron Clark had the opportunity to catch up on my about the power of the hidden message. We Mr. Eric Desmarais television viewing. I am not sure if this was a laughed when Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) good or bad thing, but it provided me with was called a “dingbat” by her tv husband Dr. Byron Dickens the opportunity to do what social scientist Archie on the sitcom All in the Family. We all Mr. Mahmoud Elassy loves to do – observe. It only took a few days laughed at Chrissy (Suzanne Somers), on the Mr. Joseph Gohar to remind myself about the biases that exist show Three is Company, when she was depicted as the embodiment of a “dumb in the media.
    [Show full text]
  • The West Wing Weekly Episode 1:05: “The Crackpots and These Women
    The West Wing Weekly Episode 1:05: “The Crackpots and These Women” Guest: Eli Attie [West Wing Episode 1.05 excerpt] TOBY: It’s “throw open our office doors to people who want to discuss things that we could care less about” day. [end excerpt] [Intro Music] JOSH: Hi, you’re listening to The West Wing Weekly. My name is Joshua Malina. HRISHI: And I’m Hrishikesh Hirway. JOSH: We are here to discuss season one, episode five, “The Crackpots and These Women”. It originally aired on October 20th, 1999. This episode was written by Aaron Sorkin; it was directed by Anthony Drazan, who among other things directed the 1998 film version of David Rabe’s Hurlyburly, the play on which it was based having been mentioned in episode one of our podcast. We’re coming full circle. HRISHI: Our guest today is writer and producer Eli Attie. Eli joined the staff of The West Wing in its third season, but before his gig in fictional D.C. he worked as a political operative in the real White House, serving as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, and then as Vice President Al Gore’s chief speechwriter. He’s also written for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, House, and Rosewood. Eli, welcome to The West Wing Weekly. ELI: It’s a great pleasure to be here. JOSH: I’m a little bit under the weather, but Lady Podcast is a cruel mistress, and she waits for no man’s cold, so if I sound congested, it’s because I’m congested.
    [Show full text]
  • Sitcom Spec Script Survey
    Sitcom Spec Script Survey 1. How would you rank yourself in terms of your sitcom writing experience? Response Response Percent Count No experience 20.5% 30 Beginner - understand the basics, but are still fairly 55.5% 81 inexperienced Advanced - written several scripts, but have not yet made any money 21.2% 31 from writing Professional - been paid to write 2.7% 4 answered question 146 skipped question 1 2. How many sitcom spec scripts have you written within the last year? Please only count COMPLETED drafts. Response Response Percent Count 0 - 2 93.8% 136 3 - 5 6.2% 9 6 - 10 0.7% 1 More than 10 0.0% 0 answered question 145 skipped question 2 1 of 18 3. Please list the sitcoms that you've specced within the last year: Response Count 95 answered question 95 skipped question 52 4. How many sitcom spec scripts are you currently writing or plan to begin writing during 2011? Response Response Percent Count 0 - 2 64.5% 91 3 - 4 30.5% 43 5 - 6 5.0% 7 answered question 141 skipped question 6 5. Please list the sitcoms in which you are either currently speccing or plan to spec in 2011: Response Count 116 answered question 116 skipped question 31 2 of 18 6. List any sitcoms that you believe to be BAD shows to spec (i.e. over-specced, too old, no longevity, etc.): Response Count 93 answered question 93 skipped question 54 7. In your opinion, what show is the "hottest" sitcom to spec right now? Response Count 103 answered question 103 skipped question 44 8.
    [Show full text]
  • The Television Project: Some of My Best Friends
    The Television Project: Some of My Best Friends Highlights from the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting Examine Anti-Semitism Through Classic TV Beginning March 18, 2016 New York, NY – With the second installment of its new, ongoing exhibition series, the Jewish Museum will continue introducing visitors to a dynamic part of its collection: the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting (NJAB). The Television Project: Some of My Best Friends will be on view from March 18 through August 14, 2016 exploring the full range of the medium’s approach to anti-Semitism, from the satire and humor of the situation comedy to serious dramas that dissect the origins, motivations, and consequences of prejudice. Clips from such programs as All in the Family, Downton Abbey, Mad Men, Gunsmoke, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show will be featured. Some of My Best Friends features Mary Richards standing up to an anti- Semitic friend in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Some of My Best Friends Are Rhoda;” Jews fighting to prevent neo-Nazis from holding a rally in a predominantly Jewish town in Skokie; and Jewish emigrants confronting hatred in the Old West in the Gunsmoke episode, “This Golden Land” (featuring a young Richard Dreyfuss) and Little House on the Prairie, “The Craftsman.” Also included are clips from the first episode of the acclaimed Mad Men, where Roger Sterling suggests to Don Draper that their ad agency hire a Jew prior to meeting with a new Jewish-owned client; an LA Law segment, “Rohner vs. Gradinger,” depicting a confrontation between a Jewish lawyer and his Jew-hating WASP mother-in-law and her close friend; the bigoted Archie Bunker looking for a “Jew lawyer” because Jews are “smarter and shrewder” in Norman Lear’s groundbreaking All in the Family, “Oh, My Aching Back;” and a scene from Downton Abbey showing the family matriarch (Maggie Smith) expressing displeasure at news of a cousin romantically involved with a Jew.
    [Show full text]