Breaking the Fourth Wall and Humor in Malcolm in the Middle

Home , Fourth wall, Linwood Boomer, Malcolm in the Middle, Street luge, Unhappily Ever After

Diplomarbeit

Zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Philosophie

an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

vorgelegt von Vedrana MARKANOVIĆ

am Institut für Amerikanistik

Begutachter: Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Klaus Rieser

Graz, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ………………………….....……………..…….....……...…… 1

2. SERIES AND SERIALS ……………………………………..……...... …………. 2

2.1. Episodic Series …………………….....……….……………….....……….…...… 2

2.2. Serials …………………….…………………………………………….…..….... 5

2.3. The New Series/Serials …….….……….……………………………….……….. 6

3. BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL …………..………………....…….…...... 8

3.1. Definition and Origins …………..…………...……………...... 8 3.2. Breaking the Fourth Wall in Television …….…...... …...... …………….. 10

3.3. Focalization ...... 13

3.4. Unreliable Narration ...... 13

4. WHAT IS HUMOR? ...... 14

4.1. Definition of Humor ...... 15

4.2. Two Theories of Humor ...... 16

5. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE ...... 18

5.1. Production ...... 18

5.2. Description of the Series ...... 21 5.3. Classification and Distinctive Features ...... 22

6. ANALYTICAL PART I - CATEGORIZATION OF MALCOLM’S

ADDRESSES ...... 28 6.1. Methodology ...... 28

6.2. Explanatory Comments ...... 29

6.3. Comments expressing Emotions ...... 40 6.4. Reflective Comments ...... 55

6.5. To give Instructions to the Camera or to the Viewers ...... 71

6.6. Effect of Immersion ...... 75 6.7. Effect of Alienation ...... 78

6.8. Strengthening of the Protagonist ...... 81 6.9. Reliability and Authenticity ...... 83

7. ANALYTICAL PART II - HUMOR IN MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE ...... 89

7.1. Humor about Strange Relationships ...... 89

7.2. Humor about Social Class ...... 96 7.3. Humor about Financial Problems ...... 98

7.4. Humor about Ethnic Groups ...... 100 7.5. Humor about (Homo-)Sexuality ...... 105

7.6. Humor about Disabilities ...... 108

7.7. Further Observations about Humor ...... 109

8. CONCLUSION ………….…………....…………....…....………....…...……… 112

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………....……………....…………...... …………... 115 Acknowledgements

Zahvaljujem se od srca mojim dragim roditeljima. Vi ste mi bili stalna podrška, hvala vam da ste mi omogućili ove najljepše godine i da ste uvijek vjerovali u mene.

I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Professor Dr. Klaus Rieser for his support, advice and motivation, especially during the process of finding the topic that suited me best.

Maja and Philip – I cannot thank you two enough, since without your continuous and encompassing help throughout my studies, I maybe would never have come to this point. Thank you for calming me down in the most difficult moments of this process and for everything else that you have done for me.

I would also like to thank my boyfriend Alex, who always prevailed upon me to keep on writing every time I was running out of motivation. Thank you also for the numerous moments that made me forget my thesis.

Finally, I would like to thank my friends, especially my two best friends Christina and Lena, who always encouraged me to keep on writing, but also reminded me to sometimes take a rest and to simply enjoy the last months of my student life. Thank you for believing in me and listening to my problems in this nerve-wracking time.

1. INTRODUCTION

Since television has won over audiences and replaced radio as the mass medium of choice in the late 1940s and early 1950s, episodic series about the daily life of supposedly ‘perfect families’ in the forms of situation comedies and soap operas soon ranked among the most popular shows and held that position for three decades. However, by the late 1970s and early 1980s, the prime time soap operas Dallas (1978- 91) and Dynasty (1981-89) had marked a groundbreaking innovation in the television landscape paving the way for the “narratively complex programming” (Mittell 2006: 32), which emerged in the early 1990s. In order to belong to these “new serials,” shows needed to surprise the audience with a concept that, on the one hand, combined features of episodic and serial storytelling and, on the other hand, blended several well-tried schemes from different genres in order to generate an innovative idea. This thesis aims to elucidate why Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006)1 conforms to the requirements of narratively complex programming by paying special attention to the series’ peculiar characteristic, namely Malcolm’s occasional audience-directed addresses, or, using the technical terminology, his instances of “breaking the fourth wall.” Moreover, Malcolm’s motives for and intentions behind his viewer-oriented statements will be examined on the basis of illustrative examples from randomly selected episodes from all seasons. Since the technique of breaking the fourth wall temporarily enables him to additionally act as narrator and/or as focalizer, Malcolm’s reliability as well as the importance of his spatial position in particular scenes will be scrutinized. Apart from allowing the protagonist to narrate events himself and present his point of view, these direct addresses can likewise have different effects on the viewers, which will also be elaborated and represent a further part of this thesis. Owing to the fact that Malcolm in the Middle is a comedy series, a substantial part of Malcolm’s audience-oriented discourses additionally serve the purpose of making the viewers laugh. Hence, another focal point of this thesis will be the exploration of to what extent these addresses contribute to the humor of the series as well as to substantiate why they are considered amusing. After providing an overview of recurrent themes that constitute most of the humor in Malcolm in the Middle, a summary of the individual results will serve as conclusion for this thesis.

1 The airing time information has been retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212671/ 1

2. SERIES AND SERIALS

2.1. EPISODIC SERIES

For a long time television has only been regarded as a medium of low-class entertainment and as less elaborate in comparison to literature or cinema. This pejorative opinion of television was the result of the entertainment-based and product- sponsored programs that had dominated the medium for about thirty years, to wit simple situation comedies and soap operas. Big companies served as sponsors for the creation and preservation of shows that particularly targeted housewives and in return the networks offered them advertising slots during the commercial breaks as well as product placements within the series themselves. With this strategy networks made sure to receive continuous financing for their programs, whereas the sponsors benefitted from their influence on the audience’s consumerist behavior. Taylor summarizes this cooperation by stating that:

the magically spotless kitchens of those [...] wives and mothers, June Cleaver, Harriet Nelson and Margaret Anderson, amply stocked with all the latest durable goods, encouraged viewers to become model consumers and, by extension, model families. (Taylor 1989: 16)

Taylor alludes to the fact that this strategy intended to convey the impression that the viewers could be more like their beloved television characters if they used the same products. Whereas soap operas continually extend their cast, relationships and storylines, refusing to offer conclusions to individual episodes, sitcoms revolve around stories of a limited cast’s lives and their minor, humorous mishaps that are resolved at the end of each episode. If the situation comedy is reduced to its very essence, it can be observed that the plot structure, regardless of the show, is basically always the same. Wolff and Cox (1988: 175) explain that the name of the genre is quite self-explanatory, since the comedy evolves from the ways one or more characters try to find their way out of some degree of chaotic situation they often even have gotten themselves into. The various attempts of these characters to restore order create humorous effects, but in the end, they always succeed without really having harmed any relationship. This quite harmonious image of family life paired with the reduced number of characters, results in a higher viewer-to-character attachment (cf. Taylor 1989: 13) and consequently also in an increased desire to identify with them. Thanks to the fact that their episodes are essentially unrelated, classical situation comedies do not require chronological watching

in order to understand the plot, resulting in maintenance of the viewer-to-character identification. Additionally, the disjointed nature of the episodic series format creates another advantage for the networks, namely the continuous possibility to gain further viewers. Another reason why sitcoms attached considerable value to easy comprehension was the fact that the genre targeted families, implying that children also had to be able to follow the events. Broadcasters assumed that most families considered the early evening as family time and thus chose this time to air family-friendly shows that families were supposed to enjoy together. Moreover, Blanchet (2011: 39) observed that sitcoms seldom present references to the past of characters, and combine this with the fact that relationships do not really develop or change over time in their fictional worlds, this strategy contributes to the easy comprehension of individual episodes of this format. As relationships stay more or less the same, Schuyler (1988: 477) elucidates that “forgetting” is one of the main principles of situation comedies. As has already been mentioned, during each episode, several characters face some kind of problematic situation that often affects their relationships, but at the end of the same episode, order is restored and one or more characters learn a lesson. By the next episode, however, this lesson seems to have never existed and, as a consequence, the characters keep making the same mistakes over and over again. With the exception of children growing up and characters being added or leaving the show, almost no permanent changes take place within the sitcom world. With respect to their structure, episodes of situation comedies are divided into two acts (cf. Wolff and Cox 1988: 175f.) and follow one or two plot threads, called A plot and B plot, in which a small number of characters are involved. The A plot tells the main story of the episode, whereas the B plot – if there is one – serves as subplot that provides relief from the main storyline. Furthermore, the two authors emphasize the importance of a sitcom quickly coming to the main action of the episode as the brevity of the format does not allow for complex storylines. In order to highlight the scenes that are supposed to evoke laughter among the viewers, a laugh track is played. These funny moments can either be created through verbal or physical humor: verbal humor consists of funny lines uttered by one character, however, Wolff and Cox (1988: 179) clarify that these lines have to be authentic, meaning that they will only be considered as humorous if the utterance suits the character’s personality. The same principle applies to physical humor and can reach from classics like stumbling, falling down and pie-in-the-

face slapstick to a particular look or a long sigh that suddenly turns a neutral scene into a funny one. Moreover, Wolff and Cox (1988: 182) mention that in many sitcoms, a so- called ‘teaser’, a short scene which may or may not be relevant for the rest of the following episode, precedes the first act. If that kind of scene appears at the end of the show, though, it is called ‘tag.’ Whereas the teaser serves as funny introduction for the episode, the function of the tag, which usually has nothing or only little to do with the plot, is to provide another possibility for a commercial break within the episode without interrupting the storyline. In contrast to teasers, which can still be found in numerous sitcoms, tags have become rather uncommon. With regard to the cast in sitcoms, it can be observed that characters are often stereotyped and more or less static. Typical characters are, for example, the sweet angelic housewife and mother or the stupid, but lovable working-class father (cf. Butsch 1995: 404). Whereas this permanent status-quo is no problem for secondary characters, Parker (2005: 59) points out that for the protagonists, this is only possible for a limited extent of time, since the longer the show is running, the higher the need becomes for them to develop – even if only a little. Just as it is the case with the characters, sitcom settings are mostly bounded to inside places like the home, workplace or school. Besides presenting information about sitcoms in general, Parker (2005: 60) also gives a list of features that differentiate the domestic sitcom from other subgenres of the situation comedy. In domestic sitcoms, the cast usually consists of a nuclear family that is at the center and a few further characters such as neighbors, friends and colleagues who only play secondary roles. The principle interest is the maintenance of the family group of which one or more members become involved in some kind of problematic situation. Furthermore, not only the family, but also the remaining cast represents different generations. As the main conflict happens within the nuclear family, one member usually takes on the position of the head of the family and has the ultimate say. Even though the argument is eventually resolved by the protagonists, secondary characters take sides during the conflict and try to help out with pieces of personal advice. Finally, Parker provides examples of this subgenre that fulfill all of the criteria above, citing famous shows of the 1980s and 90s such as Roseanne, The Cosby Show and Frasier. More recent shows like Malcolm in the Middle, Modern Family or The King of Queens are proof of the unabated popularity of domestic sitcoms. It has to be mentioned, however, that the success of these modern shows is most likely due to the

blending of features from series and serials which started in the early 1990s and initiated a new era of television.

2.2. SERIALS

The foundation for this new era was laid in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the introduction of prime-time soap operas such as Dallas (1978-91)2and Dynasty (1981- 89)3. In contrast to episodic series that are characterized by loosely coherent, finalized individual episodes of approximately 30 minutes, Kreutzner (1991: 26f.) explains that serials feature an open, ‘never-ending’ narrative form which has been in use since the earliest days of daytime television and radio – namely in the soap opera. Just like the soap opera, the serial follows multiple plotlines that continue over several episodes or even seasons. Likewise, they feature cliffhangers before commercial breaks or at the end of episodes which aim at upholding the viewers’ curiosity to keep them watching. As plots go beyond episodes, characters cannot return to their initial positions, but need to develop over time and are therefore much more dynamic than characters in sitcoms. Because of the protracted storylines, the cliffhanger is repeated at the beginning of the following episode to refresh the viewers’ memory about what has happened in the previous episode. Moreover, serials make use of character interactions to remind each other and, in particular, the audience of past events. More precisely, characters talk among themselves about their histories and “summarize the state of what they know about important unanswered questions” (Smith 2011: 94f.). Besides serving as memory aid, these reminders facilitate viewers to catching up on missed information. The serials, as opposed to soap operas, were aired in the evening, or more precisely during ‘prime time.’ Since the prices for time slots in the evening are several times higher than during the day, the producers of these serials attached importance to the visual quality of their shows. As a result, they were produced on high quality 35mm film just like the other evening programs, whereas the hardly valued daytime soap operas worked with a much smaller budget and were consequently almost exclusively videotaped in the studio (cf. Kreutzner 1991: 36). Additionally, the screen time of serials was extended to approximately one hour, while soap operas only run for about 30 minutes. Due to the fact that the 1980s serials focused on relationships, power,

2 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077000/ 3 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081856/

intrigues and other serious topics, they were often defined as “one-hour-dramas” (cf. Taylor, 1989: 16), once more setting themselves apart from merry series like situation comedies.

2.3. THE NEW SERIES/SERIALS

Resulting from the breakdown of the network domination of ABC, CBS and NBC at the end of the 1970s, the upcoming “cable networks and multistation owners [...] became alternative markets for producers as they began purchasing their own programs” (Butsch 1995: 405) and major shifts in the television industry took place. The introduction of technical developments such as the VCR only put further pressure on networks and channels to release shows that would attract enough viewers to stay competitive. In consideration of the audience’s newly gained ability to record their favorite shows and to catch up on missed episodes, the networks came to the realization that this was their chance to create more complex programs. Mittell further remarks that

as the number of channels has grown and the size of the audience for any single program has shrunk, networks and channels have grown to recognize that a consistent cult following of a small but dedicated audience can suffice to make a show economically viable. (Mittell 2006: 31)

Thus, from the late 1980s onwards, networks introduced major changes in serial programming leading to what Blanchet (2011: 37) calls “Quality TV.” Simple plots and repetitious topics were superseded by complex and carefully thought out narratives that were now on a par with respected Hollywood movie productions. Whereas Dallas and Dynasty were characterized by easy-to-follow relationships and intrigues and were therefore content-wise not more demanding than simple daytime soap operas, 90s shows like Twin Peaks (1990-91)4 or The X-Files (1993-2002)5 showed a much more complex narrative structure and increased the importance of story arcs. Mittell (2006: 33) further explains that The X-Files was a model example of “narrative complexity” in television series production by creating “interplay between the demands of episodic and serial storytelling.” While some plots in those new serials were concluded within the same episode in which they had begun, others stretched over longer periods and thus affected the characters’ lives to a greater degree. This matter of fact presupposes that the characters develop and change over time as they deal with these events. As opposed to

4 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098936/ 5 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/

movies, where these developments have to be presented in an abridged manner to fit into the tight time schedule, the serial format enables the viewers to follow their protagonists’ whole process of modification. This again means that the actions of characters become more comprehensible, leading to higher viewer-to-character identification and eventually to the formation of a cult. A high degree of development, however, only works with a very small number of protagonists, while secondary characters need to stay in the background and to remain more or less static. Therefore, serials tend to co-opt stereotyped characters used in the episodic series in order to keep the focus on the main cast and their developments. This in combination with complex storylines and a high value of quality soon effected a high appreciation of the new serials, which have ever since been considered as part of the prestigious television that stands far above usual, low-culture TV programming. According to Mittell (2006: 31), cable channels such as HBO recognized the potential of this prestige and therefore consciously began to integrate it in their premium TV advertisements which aim at luring viewers to pay a fee for access to their favorite shows. Furthermore, the author explains that the option for viewers to record these shows and to watch them whenever they pleased, or, as soon as the VHS or DVD appeared, to buy whole seasons at once, eventually led to a new kind of viewing behavior called “binge-watching.” This means that several episodes or entire seasons are being watched consecutively within one day and it is a typical custom of confirmed fans, who, while enjoying their favorite shows once again, also “parse out complex moments” (ibid.) they might have missed during the first watching. Besides trying to reach “maximum rewatchability” (ibid.), the writers of serials always try to surprise their audience with unprecedented plots and techniques to show the uniqueness of their creation and that they do not shrink back from experimentation. As soon as this concept of blending characteristics of series and serials had established itself, not only the producers of one-hour-dramas were convinced of its efficacy, but sitcom writers also detected that this formula for success could be transferred onto their genre (cf. Mittell 2006: 34). The result of this trial were hit shows like Seinfeld (1989-98)6 or Friends (1994-2004)7, which, as usual for situation comedies, still offered a conclusion to each episode, but now maintained individual storylines that stretched over several episodes or, as it was the case with Rachel and

6 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098904/ 7 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/ 7

Ross’ complicated relationship in Friends, even over every season of the show. The extension of story arcs was, however, just one among various characteristics that the episodic series took over from the serial format. For example, some actions by characters were not only relevant for single episodes, but had impacts far into the future, such as Ross’ fear of failing at another marriage after his first two had ended in some kind of disaster. As customary in serials, characters talked about past events and hence reminded the viewers of ongoing plots. These ongoing plots as well as their impact implied that characters were compelled to develop over time. As the focus of Friends was indirectly on Rachel and Ross, they had to develop more than other characters in the show. Therefore, to make sure that their relationship would not become too dominant and therefore eclipse the humorous intention of the show, the characters Phoebe and Joey functioned as a guarantee for entertainment. Smith (2011: 100f.) sets this out in more detail and explains that initially, Phoebe and Joey both held the role of “dummies,” that is, characters which are supposed to make the audience laugh at their stupid comments while trying “to avoid getting caught up in long term plotlines, serving episode-oriented purposes more than serial ones”. When Phoebe’s complex family situation came to light, she became more narrativized, resulting in her behaving more maturely and considerately. This development also implied that a high number of stupid comments by her character were not justifiable anymore and that Joey was the only remaining dummy. This example from Friends illustrates that if features from the serial format are being taken as assumed, they have to be balanced out with characteristics of an episodic series in order to maintain the focus on the easiness and merriness of the sitcom. This also applies vice-versa, as serials still tend to concentrate on serious or mysterious topics. Nevertheless, serials and series keep intertwining and the distinctions between open and closed narrative become more and more blurry.

3. BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL

3.1. DEFINITION AND ORIGINS

In theater, the narrated story takes place on a three-walled stage while the “fourth wall” is only imaginary as the audience needs to be able to see what is happening. The actors on stage pretend not to notice the presence of the audience and act as if the fourth wall

actually were there. The actors commit themselves to their roles and completely immerse themselves in the story world, feigning to experience real events. Likewise, the viewers acknowledge this illusion and contribute to it by remaining silent observers who do not intervene in the events presented on stage. Monaco (1981: 35) points out that in the late 1920s and 30s, the two most influential representatives of modern drama, Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Arnaud, revolutionized dramatic performances by developing “concepts of theater that depended on the continuing interaction between audience and cast.” Brecht, in particular, introduced novelties to the theater that had substantial impacts on other forms of art such as cinema and television. His theory of the epic theatre, in which he prompted the audience not only to observe, but also to critically distance themselves from the play and its actors, thus reinventing “the relationship between actor and audience as a dialectic” (Monaco 1981: 36), was achieved through another of his innovations – namely through the so-called alienation effect. The alienation effect, or originally German the Verfremdungseffekt, is a stylistic device which aims at destroying the illusions created during a performance – such as the perception of actors as real characters – by disrupting them. In practice, this means that the actor steps out of his role while still on stage and says, sings or does something that interrupts the narration and reminds the audience of the fact that they are only watching a fictional play. Likewise, the background of the stage can become part of the narration. It either gives information about events that take place in the other settings of the play at the same time or takes a stand on enunciations of characters by proving or challenging them by means of projections. Instead of entertaining passive viewers, Brecht intended to encourage the people to actively deal with the staging to make them understand what was happening and why. Brecht was convinced that only by means of something striking or alienating, the audience would stop abandoning themselves to passively observe the happenings on stage and instead begin to take a critical look at them. In short, people were not supposed to identify and empathize with the characters anymore as during plays of classical drama, but to figure out the possibilities and purposes of the characters’ actions. Moreover, an essential part of the epic theatre is its view that human action is never definite or completely obvious and thus can be different things at the same time (cf. Brecht 1954: 63). A further way in which the Alienation Effect can be applied is by characters breaking the imaginary fourth wall. In other words, this means that during the

performance one character suddenly turns to the audience and directly addresses them, either verbally or non-verbally by means of a glance or gesture. Thereby, the character breaks the viewers’ illusion that the character is not aware of being observed by an audience and therefore perverts the usual situation of watching a theater play. The functions of breaking the fourth wall are very varied: it can serve as an indication for the perspective from which the story is being narrated or “help viewers follow the story as well as invite viewers inside the character’s hearts and minds to understand their actions and behaviors” (Lauzen and Deiss Jr. 2008: 379). In concrete terms, characters explain how they feel about preceding events, give information which is not presented on stage but essential to the story or ask the audience for advice in an intricate situation. As a result, the audience feels more involved and can better identify with these characters, leading to a higher degree of empathy for them (cf. ibid.).

3.2. BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL IN TELEVISION

Since cinema and television developed from theater, it is not very surprising that they have assumed a number of theater’s narrative devices. Ever since the beginnings of movies and television, every now and then producers and writers came to realize that their creations could be upgraded with the technique of breaking the fourth wall. In Auter and Davis’ text (1991: 165f.), several examples employing this device between the 1950s and 1990s are listed. Among these are movies like Blazing Saddles (1974)8 and High Anxiety (1977)9, cartoon shorts by the Warner Bros. and sitcoms such as Moonlighting (1985-89)10 and It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (1986-90)11. In the course of their study about the effects on viewers of breaking the fourth wall, Auter and Davis (1991: 167) showed their test subjects various clips of television shows some of which used this narrative device. The clips using this technique were retrieved, for example, from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-63)12, The Monkees (1966-68)13 and Moonlighting, and the degree of alienation ranged from audience-addresses restricted to “intro and postscript segments” to protagonists who “seemed almost preoccupied with breaking down the wall” (Auter and Davis 1991: 166). Likewise, this study provided

8 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/ 9 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076141/ 10 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088571/ 11 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090459/ 12 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052490/ 13 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060010/

results stating that scenes using this storytelling device were generally highly rated, both content-wise and with regard to their entertainment value. Moreover, the participants liked that these clips broke typical TV conventions and they felt more involved in the depicted events and jokes. Auter and Davis (1991: 170) consider this delight of being involved a foreseeable reaction since “the interactive relationship” of these shows “redefines the normally passive relationship [...] and makes the viewers a part of the action.” As viewers feel a more intense connection to these multidimensional characters and are more likely to re-watch their shows, Lauzen and Deiss Jr. (2008: 380) point out that a few observant programmers have recognized and exploited this potential to gain higher viewer numbers and ratings. Auter and Davis (1991: 170), however, advise keeping the amount of alienating scenes to a small scale as, towards the end of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, the audience seemed to have become used to and eventually even bored by this effect. Nevertheless, the trend of integrating a character that occasionally addresses the audience did not decrease after these shows. Unhappily Ever After (1995-99)14 and Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006) represent some of the more recent examples, and prove, once again, the popularity of this technique throughout the decades. Unhappily Ever After even broke the fourth wall in more than one way: besides talking to the audience, some of the characters frequently made self-reflexive comments, either on the lamentable ratings of their show or on casting decisions that had affected them (cf. Ott 2007: 73) and thereby destroyed the illusion that real events were being depicted. While Auter and Davis (1991: 170) believed that the application of this storytelling device was more or less limited to “the less realistic worlds of comedy programming,” Lauzen and Deiss Jr. (2008: 380) discovered that a non-comedy based show format which emerged in the 1990s is built upon this principle - namely ironically, reality programming. Besides following the ongoing action with several cameras, almost every reality show offers their participants a location where they can be alone and talk supposedly in private to the camera and thus to the viewers. Since those spaces convey a feeling of privacy, the competitors tend to use them to pour their hearts out and address issues they do not dare to talk about with the others contestants. Even though reality TV has been part of TV programming for more than twenty years, it seems as if people simply cannot get enough of these deep insights into the minds and

14 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112206/

emotions of the participants. As a result, all kinds of reality shows, ranging from model castings and singing competitions to adventure game shows still keep springing up like mushrooms, further promoting the frequency of breaking the fourth wall as narrative device. There is, however, another way in which television series characters can comment on events and disclose their feelings and thoughts without interrupting the flow of the plot, namely by assuming the role of a voice-over narrator. Recent instances of voice-over narrators are the protagonists JD in the comedy hospital series Scrubs (2001-2010)15 and Ted in How I met your mother (2005-2014)16. Allrath et al. (2005: 14) explain that voice-over narrators can be considered the multimedial interpretation of narrators in literary texts, though with restrictions: whereas voice-over narrators are “usually restricted to explaining features of the narrated world, commenting on them, or adding information which is not provided visually” (ibid.), literary narrators represent the only source of information for the readers. In contrast to characters that break the fourth wall by directly speaking to the camera, voice-over narrators do not necessarily have to be part of the narrated world. If the narrator is not a character, but only tells the story, he or she is located outside the story level or is, according to Gérard Genette’s terminology, ‘heterodiegetic.’ If, however, the voice-over is provided by a character of the show, who is thus on the level of the story, this is called ‘homodiegetic narration.’ The fact that characters that break the fourth wall and voice-over narrators continue to appear in sitcoms and in reality TV, indicates the importance of these narrative devices in the television context. While speaking directly to the camera furthers the character-viewer interaction and thus invites the audience to become active, voice-over narrators offer a more passive glimpse into the characters’ psyches and emotions. Still, these storytelling tools share some functions in common, such as the creation of empathy or the delivery of additional information to the visual track. Even though these forms of storytelling have asserted themselves in the television context, and especially in series, they are not the rule, but only supplementary to another type of narration. Allrath et al. (2005: 13) explain that “TV series (like other types of TV narratives and films) usually have a ‘voiceless’ narrator, and thus normally do not give rise to the illusion that there is a ‘person’ or persona telling the story.” In other words,

15 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285403/ 16 Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/ 12

the visual and the auditory track become omnipresent and omnipotent narrating instruments that offer a neutral perspective on the events they present.

3.3. FOCALIZATION

In films and TV narratives, the camera predominantly presents a perspective which does not correspond to that of any of the characters appearing in the story and therefore functions as voiceless and omniscient narrator. Neumann and Nünning explain that, in contrast to the camera as narrating instance,

the ‘subjective camera’ or the impression, created by editing techniques or point-of-view shots, that the viewer is looking ‘through the eyes’ of one of the characters at a particular object, should be regarded as instances of focalization […]. (Neumann and Nünning 2008: 176f.)

In other words, the extradiegetic viewers are under the illusion of sharing the identical perspective as the intradiegetic character that perceives the “particular object.” Since the character does not narrate but only perceives, he or she serves as focalizer. Neumann and Nünning (2008: 177) continue to elucidate that the previously mentioned point-of- view shots, that imitate the exact perspective of a particular character, rarely appear in movies and television and that they are mostly being replaced by an established editing technique that creates the same effect: the alternation of over-the-shoulder shots, which simultaneously show the focalized object and part of the focalizer, and close-ups of the character’s facial expressions. Whereas characters are reduced to being voiceless focalizers who only perceive during such shots, they are able to verbally express their perceptions and feelings about the focalized object during voice-overs where they additionally serve as narrators (cf. Neumann and Nünning 2008: 177). Furthermore, the same is applicable to situations in which a character breaks the fourth wall. However, the audience should not blindly rely on the character’s accounts since perceptions are not objective and the character may have an interest in presenting events deviating from the truth, for example, in order to manipulate the audience response in his or her favor.

3.4. UNRELIABLE NARRATION

When, in TV or movie narratives, characters partially also serve as narrators, for instance during voice-over sequences or audience-oriented comments, the viewers have

to evaluate whether the character’s report is trustworthy. According to Rimmon-Kenan (2002: 100) cause for mistrust may always be given due to the narrator’s probable “limited knowledge, his personal involvement, and his problematic valuescheme [sic].” Of course, this is especially true for homodiegetic narrators who are part of the story world and thus personally affected by the events. Besides highly obvious instances of untrustworthy narration like inconsistencies between the visual track and the narrator’s accounts, there are numerous more subtle signs of unreliable narration. In order to facilitate the identification of untrustworthy accounts for readers and viewers, Neumann and Nünning (2008: 98f.) have provided an overview of the most important indicators for unreliable narration. According to them, comments made by the narrator that contradict each other or that are discrepant with his or her actions, as well as justifications on behalf of the narrator in order to manipulate the audience response are clear signals for unreliability. Moreover, if the narrator repeatedly utters subjective comments, strongly insists on his or her credibility, or offers a self-characterization that significantly differs from other characters’ characterizations of the narrator, the viewers have reason to doubt the narrator’s reliability and to scrutinize whether or not the presentation of false information is intentional or not.

4. WHAT IS HUMOR?

Humor is an abstract concept present in all cultures of the world, but which cannot be precisely defined as it varies from person to person. Very broadly speaking, though, humor could be described as comic entertainment or amusement which stimulates laughter. Even though animals are also capable of communicating with each other in specific ways, humor is an ability that is exclusively human. Already more than two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle had come to the realization that “no animal laughs save Man” (as cited in Critchley 2002: 25). There are myriad ways to make people laugh, as for example with a joke, by means of a funny situation or story, a pun, a grimace or an unusual behavior. Not everybody laughs at the same things, though. Instancing the example that most jokes are very difficult or even impossible to translate, Critchley (2002: 67) explains that humor is “local,” “usually highly context-specific” and a form of “cultural insider-knowledge.” Therefore, it is essential that the teller and the receiver of a joke share the same sense of humor, or else it will not be considered funny and most probably only lead to an

uncomfortable situation. Furthermore, the French philosopher Henri Bergson was convinced that there is a principle behind humor and eventually came to the conclusion that laughter is caused when “something mechanical [is] encrusted on something living” (as cited in Critchley 2002: 55). In other words, Bergson believed that people laugh when others take on some kind of mechanic or stiff, unnatural behavior and thus, for a moment, create the illusion of transforming into a thing. 27 years later, Wyndham Lewis deemed this theory insufficient and pointed out that Bergson’s principle also applies vice versa, that is, if things adopt human traits, this often also evokes laughter. Lewis’ more important realization, however, was his conclusion that “a person acting like a person” represents the “deepest root of the Comic” (as cited in Critchley, 2002: 59). Critchley (ibid.) agrees with this statement and argues that it is the absurdity of humans behaving like humans which makes it ridiculous and, consequently, humorous.

4.1. DEFINITION OF HUMOR

Even if humor has always been a part of humanity, the word humor had not been officially associated with laughter or amusement until 1682 (cf. Critchley 2002: 71). Before that, the word humor was derived from Latin umor meaning “body fluid”17 and was connected to the ancient Greek medical doctrine of the four bodily fluids. According to this doctrine, blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile regulated one’s body and emotions, and when out of balance, impinged upon the person’s temper. Thus, melancholic people were diagnosed with a disproportionate amount of black bile (ibid.). Since an imbalance in body fluids implied a divergence from the norm, people whose fluids were out of proportion were considered ridiculous by the 16th century and therefore frequently mocked in comedies. Carroll (2014: 5) explains that as a consequence, “’humour’ evolved into what humourists did”. Although the word ‘humor’ has only been linked to comic amusement since the 16th or 17th century, the discussion about the concept dates back more than two thousand years (cf. Carroll 2014: 1). Throughout this extensive period, philosophers have been trying to find an appropriate definition, but even today, none of them has ever achieved a theory that covers all aspects; however, two of their theories will be used for the ensuing analysis. At least, dictionaries have an agreed upon definition of the word itself, however, they insist on putting it into their own words: whereas the Merriam-Webster

17 The etymological origin has been retrieved from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=humor

Dictionary describes humor as “a funny or amusing quality” or “the ability to be funny or to be amused by things that are funny,”18 the Cambridge Dictionary declares it “the ability to be amused by something seen, heard, or thought about, sometimes causing you to smile or laugh, or the quality in something that causes such amusement.”19 Although, at first glance, the old and new definitions of humor seem to have nothing in common, a closer look reveals that both involve the body and the mind. Whereas, in the old version, the bodily liquids had influence on the character of a person, the new definition follows the inverse order: a bodily reaction – namely laughter – is only being provoked after the mind has been stimulated by something amusing.

4.2. TWO THEORIES OF HUMOR

As mentioned before, a great deal of philosophers has attempted to incorporate the entirety of stimulations that cause laughter into their theories. The initial approaches, which had been developed by Plato, Aristotle and Quintillian more than two thousand years ago, have been continually taken up, revised and broadened by some of the most influential thinkers such as Hobbes, Bergson, Schopenhauer, Kant and Freud. Despite the fact that, up to now, none of them have been able to capture the essence of humor, two theories have emerged as the most conclusive and applicable for this thesis – namely the superiority theory and the incongruity theory (cf. Critchley 2002: 2f.). Even though these two categorizations are based on differing principles, they do not rule each other out, but could rather be seen as two matching pieces of the humor jigsaw puzzle.

4.2.1. THE SUPERIORITY THEORY

This theory dates back to the famous Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle who saw a connection between humor and malicious, abusive behavior towards people. In the 17th century, Thomas Hobbes took up this thesis and agreed that laughter or “sudden glory” results from a feeling of superiority over and contempt for other people. In Carroll’s (2014: 8) simplified words, Hobbes believed that “laughter results from perceiving infirmities in others which reinforce our own sense of superiority,” including the former self as possible butt of humor. According to this theory, laughter is always at the expense of someone who is perceived as inferior to the teller and receiver/s of a joke.

18 See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humor 19 See http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/american-english/humor

This inferiority can be attributed to a wide range of reasons such as someone’s lower social class, gender, income, dexterity or intelligence. Thus, jokes about blondes or people from other cultures as well as laughing at someone slipping or doing something foolish, fall under this category of humor. Carroll (2014: 9) further explains that not even people with physical disabilities like stuttering or with cultural disadvantages such as illiteracy are spared. It has to be noted, though, that people telling such jokes do not necessarily feel generally superior to the object of their laughter, but, as Bergson (1972: 14) stresses, that for the sake of the joke, feelings like compassion or affection need to be suppressed for a short time. Or, in Bergson’s own words, the comic demands “something like a momentary anaesthesia of the heart” (as cited in Critchley 2002: 87) in order to find morally reprehensible jokes temporarily funny – which is why Carroll (2014: 10) concludes that laughter within the superiority theory is aggressive. Finally, mentioning examples of people laughing at themselves while doing something foolish or toddlers who have not even developed an understanding of the concept of superiority, Caroll (2014: 11f.) emphasizes that this theory is inadequate to represent humor since laughter is not always reducible to feelings of superiority. For these reasons, the superiority theory was replaced by the incongruity theory in the 18th century.

4.2.2. THE INCONGRUITY THEORY

The first traces of this theory can be found in Francis Hutcheson’s Reflections Upon Laughter from 1750, yet it is the elaborated versions of Kant, Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard that best represent the idea of this theory. According to this theory, humor is based on incongruities. While Carroll (2014: 16f.) prefers the term “perceived incongruity” and defines it as the result of “a deviation from some presupposed norm,” Morreall (1997: 26) puts incongruity into more simplified words by defining it as a “mismatch between what we expect and what we experience.” An unfulfilled expectation, or rather surprise, is consequently a key factor of comic amusement within this theory. To prove this, Morreall (ibid.) mentions a story where he burst out laughing when he discovered a bowling ball in his refrigerator which a friend of his had placed there. While neither the ball nor the refrigerator would have been funny on their own, he explains that it was the absurd, unexpected placement of the ball in the refrigerator that had led to his amusement. Thus, when usually discordant things are suddenly combined, this is perceived as absurd or incongruous and consequently also as funny.

The two philosophers Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard focused on incongruity with regard to contradiction. Carroll’s (2014: 19) examples for this theory, namely Yogi Berra commenting on a restaurant with the words “No one goes there any more because it is too crowded” and Michael Curtiz saying “Include me out,” exemplify the violation and disruption of norms or logic that can also have comic effects. The author (2014: 21) further states that even morality, politeness and conversational maxims can be the medium of such violations by becoming incongruous and thus creating humor. Eventually, Carroll comes to the conclusion:

Comic amusement, according to the incongruity theory, presupposes that the audience has a working knowledge of all the congruities – concepts, rules, expectations – that the humour in question disturbs or violates; and perhaps part of the pleasure of humour involves exercising our ability to access this background information, often very rapidly. (Carroll, 2014: 27)

Even if the aforementioned audience had knowledge about all congruities, this would still not be a guarantee for humor since many incongruities trigger feelings other than amusement. In accord with this, incongruence does not always evoke laughter and therefore, this theory fails to capture the whole essence of humor, too.

5. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE

5.1. PRODUCTION

Malcolm in the Middle is an American situation comedy created by the Emmy® Award- winning writer Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 9, 2000 and eventually, after six years, seven seasons and 151 episodes, the final episode was broadcast on May 14, 2006. The show was produced by Satin City and Regency Television in association with Fox Television Studios. The syndication of the series in 57 countries all over the world proves its popularity and the audience’s desire for innovative TV shows. In the United States, Malcolm in the Middle was broadcast on FX during the day and at night on Nickelodeon’s sister channel TeenNick as well as on several local stations.20 Besides receiving plenty of critical acclaim, the sitcom won a Peabody Award, seven Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award

20 20 The information about the production in this entire subchapter has been taken from the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_in_the_Middle 18

and was nominated seven times for the Golden Globe. Moreover, the series was, during its first four seasons, watched by more than 10 million viewers on average in the US and ranked among the 50 most watched shows on American television. Overall, however, the viewer ratings continued to fall over time and by the final season, the number of viewers had even gone down to 3.8 million. The chart below offers an overview of the individual season’s time spans, their rankings in the United States as well as the average number of viewers per season. The number of episodes per season, however, is missing in this table. Whereas the first two seasons, which were also the most watched, consisted of sixteen and twenty-five episodes, respectively, the other five seasons maintained a constant quantity of twenty- two episodes per season. Furthermore, the chart does not only illustrate the constant decrease of the viewing figures, but also demonstrates that, from the first season to the last one, Malcolm in the Middle had dropped more than one hundred positions in the show ranking. Nevertheless, the sitcom was positioned at No. 88 on Entertainment Weekly’s "New TV Classics" list and was declared as one of the 10 best shows in Fox network history by the famous TV reviewer Alan Sepinwall.

Season Season premiere Season finale TV season Ranking Viewers (in millions) 1st January 9, 2000 May 21, 2000 1999–2000 #18[70] 15.2[70] 2nd November 5, May 20, 2001 2000–2001 #22[71] 14.5[71] 2000 3rd November 11, May 12, 2002 2001–2002 #25[72] 13.0[72] 2001 4th November 3, May 18, 2003 2002–2003 #43[73] 10.7[73] 2002 5th November 2, May 23, 2004 2003–2004 #71[74] 8.4[74] 2003 6th November 7, May 15, 2005 2004–2005 #99[75] 5.6[75] 2004 7th September 30, May 14, 2006 2005–2006 #127[76] 3.8[76] 2005

Figure 1: US ratings of the individual seasons of Malcolm in the Middle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_in_the_Middle

As regards content, the series revolves around the boy-genius Malcolm (played by Frankie Muniz) who lives with his lower middle-class, dysfunctional family in an unspecified suburban neighborhood. While his mother Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) is the authoritarian, controlling and choleric head of the family, his dad Hal (Bryan Cranston) is more of an inept friend than father and is completely dependent upon his wife. The still love-struck couple does not only struggle with a constant lack of money, but also with the upbringing of their four sons Francis (Christopher Masterson) Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) who always manage to end up in some kind of trouble. By depicting the Wilkerson family as uncontrollable, chaotic, humble and socially ostracized, Linwood Boomer revolutionized the heretofore relatively idyllic image of the television family. While the Wilkersons scream, argue, brawl and tell on each other, most of the previous TV families predominantly showed their love and support for each other and felt bad until disagreements were settled. However, Malcolm in the Middle was not only innovative content-wise, but also with regard to its production. Unusual for a sitcom, this show forewent both the laugh track and the live studio audience, because the creator wanted the show to stand out against typical low- quality situation comedies. Therefore, Boomer chose to adopt the format of one-hour drama serials and shot his show on film instead of on video. Moreover, while sitcoms are usually shot in a three-camera studio setup (cf. Dalton and Linder 2005: 2), all scenes in Malcolm in the Middle, based on the model of movies, were filmed exclusively using one single camera. In order to render the show even more realistically, Linwood Boomer preferred to shoot, whenever possible, on location rather than in the studio. Therefore, a house in the surrounding area of Los Angeles served as the setting for many of the scenes in- and outside the Wilkerson’s home. The same applies to other recurrent locations such as the Lucky Aide Shop or the boys’ high school, which was represented by the actually existing “Walter Reed Middle School” near Los Angeles. However, the popularity and distinctiveness of Malcolm in the Middle was, above all, the result of Malcolm’s direct addresses to the audience, which none of the other characters were able to perceive. With this narrative device, Linwood Boomer established a higher viewer-to-character identification with Malcolm and invited the viewers to take part in the depicted events. These instances of breaking the fourth wall can be observed in almost every episode and serve different purposes, which will be examined in the analytical part of this thesis.

5.2. DESCRIPTION OF THE SERIES

As mentioned before, Malcolm in the Middle portrays the life of the protagonist Malcolm Wilkerson and his dysfunctional family. Living in a typical lower middle-class house in an unspecified town, the family does not care about their social status and thus “their antics […] have earned them the reputation as ‘The Most Hated Family in the Neighborhood’” (Terrace, 2011: 646). The father Hal is a sweet, but inept and immature white-collar worker who represents the complete counterpart to his wife Lois. She is a short-tempered, authoritarian mother who works as a saleswoman at Lucky Aide and who, in most cases, sees through her children’s unreasonable schemes. As the title suggests, Malcolm is a middle child, as he is the third-born out of four (later five) mischievous boys called Francis, Reese, Malcolm and Dewey, who try to cope with growing up in a chaotic, authoritarian household challenged by a constant shortage of money.

Figure 2: Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Fox Official Wallpaper. http://www.malcolminthemiddle.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=8924

Due to his youthful escapades that had gotten out of hand, Francis, the oldest child, was sent to military school in order to finally learn some discipline. Later, after working in different jobs, he finally grows up, marries and settles into regular employment at the Grotto Ranch. Reese, the fool of the family and the bully of his school, almost exclusively acts without thinking about possible consequences and thus regularly gets into trouble. Whereas Reese emulates Francis in his fooleries and pleasure in destruction, Malcolm admires his oldest brother for his popularity. When, in

the pilot episode, it is revealed that Malcolm’s IQ is 165 and he is transferred to the genius class (“The Krelboyne Class”), his hopes of becoming popular ultimately wither away. Although Dewey is (for almost 4 whole seasons) the youngest family member and possesses an impressive musical talent, he is often overlooked by his parents and stands in his genius brother’s shadow. Despite the brothers’ considerable differences with regard to their personalities and their attempts to make each other’s lives hell, they all share the tendency to easily get into trouble as well as to rebel against any kind of authority. In the end, their rebellion is always directed against their common enemy – namely their mother. This often leads Hal to desperately try to mediate between his sons and his wife, but due to Lois’ dominant behavior and his fear of responsibility, he mostly decides in her favor. In many situations, however, Hal only pretends to agree with Lois while, behind her back, actually being on the boys’ side and therefore creating further chaos. Whereas the early seasons focus on the way Malcolm faces the difficulties arising in his life, the later seasons often deal more intensively with other family members as well as with frequently recurring characters such as Malcolm’s best friend Stevie Kenarban, his father Abe or Lois’ co-worker Craig.

5.3. CLASSIFICATION AND DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

Officially, Malcolm in the Middle is categorized as a domestic situation comedy as its main action revolves around the lives of a nuclear family, its running time amounts between 20 and 23 minutes and its aim is to make the viewers laugh. Moreover, the storytelling is episodic, meaning that each plotline is resolved within one or – considering the occasional two-parters – within two episodes. Owing to this, the characters always forget the lesson they had learned in an earlier episode and thus keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Even though all of these essential characteristics are in accordance with the conventions of the genre, there are also a number of features that diverge from the traditional sitcom and thus prove that the show belongs, in fact, to another category of comedy series. One of the main deviations from classical sitcoms is the use of some dynamical characters instead of exclusively static ones. Whereas Francis, for example, undergoes a considerable change over the seasons from being a cheeky and troublesome teenager to a responsible, hard-working adult, Lois’ development is less obvious, as she merely

reduces her tantrums and becomes slightly calmer than in earlier seasons. Moreover, extended story arcs, which go beyond several episodes or even seasons, were introduced, such as Francis’ various stays at the military academy, in Alaska and at the Grotto Ranch, Lois’ pregnancy or Ida’s loss of a leg. The show’s airing time in the evening as well as its openness towards experiments are further indicators that it belongs to the “New Series” category. This manifests itself in form of Malcolm’s occasional camera instructions, a split-screen episode or an opera episode, in which a fight between Hal and Lois is partially narrated in the form of opera-like songs. Another sign of the series’ willingness to experiment are its teasers: contrary to several other sitcoms of that time which utilized these cold opens in order to introduce the action, Malcolm in the Middle used them exclusively with an objective to entertain the audience. Hence, these short opening sequences portray humorous and frequently absurd scenes from the Wilkerson family’s life, which are completely unrelated to the episode’s following events. Since these differing features, which have been adopted from the dramatic serial genre, are blended with the characteristics of episodic storytelling, Malcolm in the Middle clearly ought to be classified as belonging to the genre “New Series” that emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s shaping a new form of evening entertainment. Consequently, with regard to its characteristics, “comedy series” seems to be the most applicable description of the show. However, for reasons of variety in the further course of this thesis, the broader terms “sitcom”, “show” and “series” will also be accepted to refer to Malcolm in the Middle.

6. ANALYTICAL PART I - CATEGORIZATION OF MALCOLM’S ADDRESSES

6.1. METHODOLOGY

The application of breaking the fourth wall as recurring narrative device is one of the main reasons why the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle became such a huge success. Malcolm’s direct addresses, which are exclusively perceivable by the viewers on the extradiegetic level, employ various effects which are dependent on the respective situation. Thirty-eight randomly selected episodes inclusive of each season will serve as foundation for this analysis. Malcolm’s comments to the camera will first be grouped into categories based on broad common aspects, and thereupon assigned to more specific subdivisions. The individual subdivisions will be supported by means of several examples and, in some cases, even be illustrated by screenshots. Thereon, his position while talking to the audience will be examined in order to find out in which situations he functions as narrator and in which he functions as character-focalizer. Due to the fact that these addresses are rather surprising and not at all typical for situation comedies, they break the conventions of this genre and therefore sometimes create an alienating effect for the viewers. However, some of Malcolm’s addresses are supported by particular camera angles and movements, which evoke the opposite, namely the impression of being in the midst of events and thus enhance the viewers’ immersion into the story. Besides exploring these effects, the extent to which his audience-directed statements function as a technique to strengthen his position as protagonist will be analyzed. Considering the fact that Malcolm’s account of events might often be presented from a subjective rather than from a neutral perspective, his comments are furthermore going to be individually evaluated with regard to his reliability. Besides offering an examination of the comic effects of the selected situations, a further section on the most striking and characteristic features that constitute the humor of the series Malcolm in the Middle will be provided to conclude the analytical part of this thesis.

6.2. EXPLANATORY COMMENTS

6.2.1. TO INTRODUCE CHARACTERS

Usually, sitcom pilots jump right into action without explicitly presenting the characters; instead, by simply following the depicted events, the audience gradually gains information about the characters and their relationships to each other. Malcolm in the Middle, however, sets itself apart from the beginning, as, in the teaser, an initially unknown young boy’s voice gives away some numbers about the world’s surface and then introduces his brothers as well as himself to the audience. The voice-over narrator, who also turns out to be the protagonist Malcolm, presents his sleeping brothers Reese and Dewey by referring to their squeaking nose and cold feet, respectively, which are the only body parts the viewers initially get to see of them. By means of a photograph, he introduces his oldest brother Francis and explains that “he’s the one I really like, so, of course, he got sent to military school.” With this sentence, Malcolm not only hints at Francis’ escapades to which he later refers to in more detail, but also reveals his general dissatisfaction as well as his characteristic feeling of being treated unfairly. Moreover, the last line represents a change in the narrative situation: whereas the description of Reese and Dewey are neutral and thus indicate an objective, reliable narrator, his introduction of Francis is clearly subjective as it does not give away an explanation of his personality but rather of Malcolm’s feelings about his parents’ decision to send him away. Since the viewers do not yet have knowledge about the reasons behind Francis’ expulsion except for Malcolm’s remark that he does not agree with this decision, they tend to believe him and rely on his objectivity as narrator. However, later in the episode, it is revealed that Francis’ ongoing escapades eventually forced his overburdened parents to transfer him to the academy so that he may learn some discipline and to become a decent young man. This information proves to the audience that Hal and Lois’ resolution, contrary to Malcolm’s claim, is absolutely legitimate and transparent as well as that Malcolm cannot always be relied upon. After all, owing to the fact that Francis is his favorite brother, it is not surprising that Malcolm downplays Francis’ actions and prefers to demonize his parents without trying to look at the decision objectively. However, it has to be considered that despite his remarkable intelligence he is still a child and therefore cannot be expected to keep everything in perspective and to be a hundred percent reliable.

As opposed to his brothers’ descriptions, Malcolm is introducing himself in full view, sitting on his bed and directly addressing the camera. Instead of telling something about himself, however, Malcolm only discloses his name and then utters a very unusual statement for a child, namely “you wanna know what the best thing about childhood is? At some point it stops.”

Figure 3: Malcolm introducing himself and stating “You wanna know what the best thing about childhood is? At some point it stops.” (Season 1, Episode 1, 00:31)

By saying this, Malcolm not only expresses an uncommon thought, but also unconsciously and implicitly reveals information about his character. The viewers thusly infer that Malcolm is quite pessimistic and unsatisfied with his life and, for some reason, cannot wait to grow up. Moreover, as this comment coming from a child’s mouth in a domestic sitcom is highly unusual and unforeseeable by the audience, it creates a moment of surprise and is therefore – according to the incongruity theory – supposed to make the viewers laugh. By his account about childhood, the audience might expect that the protagonist is suffering a horrible upbringing or under unloving parents who neglect him. In the course of the series both of these expectations are clearly refuted and it turns out that Malcolm is merely convinced that he deserves a better life and that everybody else but himself is responsible for his misery. In numerous situations, this pessimistic attitude comes to light and therefore the accounts which are directed to the audience might sometimes be more negative than they actually are – pointing to his unreliability as narrator. Finally, with regard to the complicated calculation he mentions about the world even before all the introductions in the very beginning of the episode, it can further be concluded that Malcolm is very talented in math and that he tends to look at things differently than other children his age.

As to his placement while addressing the camera directly, Malcolm is obviously in the focus, while his brothers Reese and Dewey are seen sleeping in the background and are thus out of focus. By placing Malcolm in the foreground and by giving him the possibility to talk to the audience, the creators implicitly point to his role in the series, namely to that of the protagonist around which the story evolves, relegating his family members to the background. In this case, it is not only Malcolm who presents to the viewers new characters and gives information about them, but also the director, who, as Malcolm does not reveal much about himself, indirectly alludes to the protagonist’s unusual, pessimistic and dissatisfied world view. Another example can be found in the episode Cynthia’s Back (S03E14). Malcolm explains that “Cynthia just got back from a semester in Europe and she's totally changed. She always used to be so happy. Now it’s like she’s giving up on life. She's bitter and sarcastic. I could pull it off, but on her it's really unpleasant.” Cynthia, who is an established character on Malcolm in the Middle and consequently does not need to be presented to the audience, is introduced by Malcolm owing to her changed personality which makes her, in a way, a new, unknown version of herself. With the first half of the last sentence of this monologue, he admits that sarcasm and bitterness are two of his own distinctive characteristics, but in the second half it becomes clear that he does not mind them and that he only considers them negative in other people. This discrepancy between reality – namely that people frequently criticize him for his cynical attitude which the viewers know about – and his distorted perception of himself, is symptomatic of unreliability and has an amusing effect on the audience. This is supported by the superiority theory as the humor in this situation is based on the fact viewers know better than Malcolm and thus momentarily feel superior to him. Just as it was the case in his introduction of his brothers, Malcolm first gives away general information about Cynthia’s modification of attitude like an objective narrator, but when he adds a personal comment comparing her behavior to his, his description becomes subjective and only reflects his personal impressions. When Lois finds out in Victor’s Other Family (S05E20) that her deceased father had had a secret second wife and family, the Wilkersons are invited to their house. After getting to know his half-cousin Jerome, Malcolm amazedly states into the camera that “genes are weird. Reese and I are brothers, and we’re barely the same species. But Jerome is my half-cousin, and we look the same, we stand the same, and we’re already talking like we’re best friends!” Throughout the episode, he is presented like a twin

version of Malcolm; however, Jerome soon turns out to be quite self-confident and popular. As Malcolm gradually discovers this, he makes further descriptive comments about Jerome which make it obvious that Malcolm admires and envies him, such as “Jerome is amazing. He was born with the same brain as me, but he used it to become friends with the kind of popular, well-adjusted people who hate me” or “God, he’s so much better than me.” Once again, the viewers are not only presented with a new character, but implicitly also get to know more about Malcolm, as he, while introducing others, often reveals some of his most intimate thoughts, wishes and values. This fact, in turn, indicates that due to his personal value concepts and his involvement in the story, Malcolm is not able to describe others neutrally. In this episode, Malcolm’s double position as both character and narrator/focalizer is particularly apparent since each of his viewer-directed comments about Jerome is embedded in a scene in which both boys are either involved or even communicate with each other on the story level. More precisely, in midst of the depicted events, the viewers directly get to see or hear which reactions and feelings these trigger within Malcolm, leading to a deeper understanding of his values, wishes and thinking processes.

6.2.2. TO EXPLAIN THE STRANGE HABITS OF HIS FAMILY

The beginning of the Pilot episode’s (S01E01) first scene after the teaser depicts a very unusual and unsavory situation, namely Malcolm’s mother shaving her husband’s extremely hairy body in the kitchen while singing along to “Sexy Thing” on the radio. On top of this, Hal is naked and his private parts are covered only by the newspaper he is reading during this procedure.

Figure 4: Malcolm explaining his parents’ Figure 5: Malcolm’s perspective on his shaving ritual (Season 1, Episode 1, 01:56) parents (01:52)

Allowing the fact that Hal is uninhibitedly exposing himself to his children or that the parents are performing this activity in the kitchen, it is, above all, the circumstance that they are doing this while their children are having breakfast which may most likely be perceived as repulsive and inappropriate by the audience. Nevertheless, this feeling of disgust does not spoil the viewers’ amusement over the absurdity of the situation. Although the boys seem to be used to this scenario and do not consider it as unusual, Malcolm realizes that the viewers might dissent and thus provides an explanation while observing his parents from across the kitchen counter: “they do this every month. He has sensitive skin. The hair gets itchy under his clothes.” Whereas in the left picture, Malcolm serves as narrator who observes and clarifies the situation, the right picture depicts the scene approximately from his perspective, additionally making him a character-focalizer. In other words, the audience is presented the event as if looking through Malcolm’s eyes, creating an effect of immediateness as well as of a high degree of immersion into the story. A similar scene appears a second time in the same episode, when the three boys are lounging around on the sofa watching TV and eating savory snacks while, in the background, Lois is doing the laundry bare-breasted. Once again, the children do not share the audience’s surprise over their mother’s nudity and keep on watching their program without paying attention to Lois. This time, however, Malcolm does not have the urge to justify his mother’s nakedness, but rather prefers to inform the viewers that “Saturday mornings are the only thing my family does better than anyone else.” Thus, instead of spending family time together or helping their mother with the housework, as would be the case in most other situation comedies, the children are allowed to busy themselves with the TV. The fact that Malcolm shares his enthusiasm for the Saturdays in his family with the audience implies his knowledge that this kind of pastime is not customary and consequently elucidates why he addresses the viewers in this scene. Moreover, his comment serves as a vehicle to get to know the Wilkersons better and to learn about what they consider normal or what they enjoy. According to the incongruity theory, Malcolm’s personal definition of a felicitous Saturday as well as his complete indifference towards his mother doing the housework topless, might be considered as humorous by the viewers as both events do not meet their expectations of ‘normal’ behavior. By presenting the scene from Malcolm’s viewpoint, the audience is more likely to accept it as a habit of the family without judging them. On the basis of the fact

that Malcolm reveals his thoughts on this situation instead of explaining it, he is to be considered a focalizer rather than a narrator. Another unusual practice in the Wilkerson household is revealed in the episode Lois’ Makeover (S03E10). After Lois announces that they are having “leftover parfait” for dinner and everybody looks unhappy, Malcolm elucidates that “it’s even worse than it sounds. Once a week, Mom cleans out the fridge and if it doesn’t actually have something growing out of it, it gets stored in the casserole and served for dinner”. Besides being a strange and unappetizing way of utilizing the remaining food, this weekly habit demonstrates their shortage of money and the associated consequences for the whole family. The same can be concluded from Malcolm’s description of their shopping custom in the episode Billboard (S06E10), namely that “once every six months, Mom wakes us up at 5 A.M., shoves us into the car and makes us go to outlet stores.” Both examples make clear that some of their habits are not due to their family’s strangeness, but have become a regular part of their lives purely out of necessity. Apart from this miserable aspect, Malcolm’s informal wording in combination with the family’s annoyed and disgusted looks generate a comic situation. Adding to the fact that the leftover casserole is a more or less indefinable mass of different dishes, the use of particular sound effects enhances the repulsiveness of this extraordinary dinner. The humor in this dinner scene is based on the viewers’ feeling of malicious joy, which is assignable to the superiority theory. Owing to the fact that the other characters involved in these two scenes respond equally disgusted to the situation as Malcolm does, it is safe to say that he is speaking for them as well and that his disclosures are hence reliable. Even though Malcolm is involved in both scenes, the addresses to the audience are the only moments where he is speaking, thus placing the focus on his function as narrator and pushing his role as character in the story level into the background. In the teaser of Traffic Ticket (S02E16), the perspective swipes around the kitchen table at which the family is hastily eating. It stops when it reaches Malcolm who turns to the camera and explains: „here are the house rules: You can’t reach for seconds, until you’ve finished with your first. But as soon as anybody's fork leaves the perimeter of their plate, all bets are off.” This clarifies why Malcolm and Reese are speedily devouring their food and why they are keeping constant eye-contact with each other. Furthermore, it serves as an explanation for the upcoming scene, in which the two fight for the last chicken leg, even after it hits the floor and rolls under the dusty sofa. The fact that the rule is making their behavior even worse instead of teaching them some

manners in combination with their exaggerated fight over the chicken leg, result in a completely ridiculous situation which succeeds in amusing the viewers because of its absurdity. As Malcolm only gives away information without mentioning what he thinks about it and as the visual track supports his statement, he clearly acts as a reliable narrator who enables the audience to comprehend the depicted event. Moreover, his double role as narrator and character is once again quite evident as after his explanation to the audience, he jumps directly into his character and competes against Reese. The dinner scene at the beginning of the episode Malcolm Dates a Family (S05E14) constitutes a contrast to the one in season two mentioned above. Whereas, in the previous example, Malcolm tries to familiarize the audience with his family’s brusque table manners, in this episode, the family is obviously at a restaurant and Malcolm cheerfully commentates “isn’t it amazing? Every fourteen days we magically turn into a happy family.” After a short glance away from the camera he adds “and here’s why,” followed by a dramatic scene in which the waiter, who is highlighted by means of a spotlight, serves the Wilkersons a pizza that brightens up each of their faces shot in close-up. When every family member has quickly grabbed a slice, Malcolm turns once again to the audience stating that “Luigi’s pizza is so good. It only brings out the good will that’s buried deep inside of people and momentarily creates good will that isn’t even there” before turning back again and taking a bite of his piece. This time, Malcolm proves that his family can also have nice, amusing dinners where they can enjoy their food without being stressed or fearing they will stay hungry. However, both the waiter’s dramatic performance and the individual family members’ exaggerated looks of enthusiasm – crowned by that of Reese who is even drooling – evoke laughter as they exceed the normal excitement expected of a dinner at a pizza restaurant. Malcolm’s last comment demonstrates that the reason for this nice behavior is not ascribable to his family, but rather to the great taste of Luigi’s pizza making them forget their usually unsatisfactory meals or family conflicts. In this scene, Malcolm obviously shares his enthusiastic feelings about having dinner at Luigi’s restaurant, but he also discloses his thoughts on his family by uttering the last sentence and therefore offers himself as character-focalizer. In this way, the viewers get insight into Malcolm’s opinion of his family, namely that they are, apart from exceptional circumstances, not very good-natured people. Due to the fact that in the scenes where Malcolm takes on his role as character, he does not contribute to the conversation and as they are also shorter

than the ones where he addresses the audience, a higher degree of importance is ascribed to his position as narrator and focalizer.

6.2.3. TO CONTEXTUALIZE THE CURRENT SITUATION

Some scenes do not depict the action from its beginning, but instead, the viewers find themselves in the middle of action. Whereas in some cases it is easy for the audience to find out what the scene is about, others require additional information. In the episode Houseboat (S03E01), for example, Malcolm tries to impress a girl in a sporting goods store by mentioning that although they have not rented the fanciest place on the island, he will be working on his cliff-diving. After the girl has reacted positively to his bragging, Malcolm turns to the camera and informs the viewers about the reality which he obviously withheld from the girl, namely that “we’re actually sharing a houseboat with Stevie’s family on a man-made lake by the power plant. I don’t wanna meet the girl that way to impress”. In addition to the information about their whereabouts, Malcolm justifies why he lied to the girl and thus gives the audience some context for orientation. As, later in the episode, it can be seen that all of what he said is true, it is clear that he functioned as a reliable narrator in order to provide the viewers with relevant information which had not been shown on the visual track heretofore. Owing to the audience’s knowledge that Malcolm is not the kind of person who is skilled at cliff diving and therefore must be pretending, the viewers find his bragging ridiculous. Beyond this evident importance as narrating instance, his confession as well the rest of the episode reveals that, in this scene, he is more reliable as narrator than as his character. This example proves that Malcolm sometimes only plays a role on the story level in order to justify himself, impress or lie to other characters, but then decides to show his true colors in his audience-oriented addresses. This enables the viewers to predict how Malcolm might react or what he might think in certain situations and thus, frequently provides them with informational advantage with respect to the other characters within the story level. At the end of Houseboat, Lois reads a letter from Francis in which he announces that he filed an application for legal emancipation in order to leave the military school to go work in Alaska. The ensuing episode called Emancipation (S03E02), which is also the sequel to Houseboat, starts with Francis and Spangler’s farewell scene and then directly jumps to Malcolm’s first day at school after the

summer holidays. Due to the fact that neither Lois nor Hal has been shown since they found out about Francis’ emancipation, the viewers can only imagine their anger and disappointment. With his first lines in this episode, namely “normally, I dread the first day of school. But Mom’s been on such a rampage about Francis, it’s actually a relief to get out of the house,” Malcolm pictures the currently intolerable situation at home and explains why he is not too bad-tempered regarding the end of the summer holidays. Even though it seems as if he were only making a personal comment, Malcolm should be considered a narrator due to the fact that he offers background information that is relevant to the current state of events. Besides, the following scenes at the Wilkersons’ home show that the other family members are affected by the tension between Lois and Francis as well and consequently share Malcolm’s feeling of uneasiness at home, proving that his statement was true and reliable. At the beginning of High School Play (S02E09), an attractive teenage girl is handing something out in Malcolm’s class. He turns to the camera and complains that “people are always asking our class to volunteer for stuff. They just assume we're social rejects with nothing better to do. It's true. I just don't like having it thrown in my face.” Before the audience can even wonder what this girl is doing in the Krelboyne’s class, Malcolm anticipates that she is just there in order to look for volunteers. Only after his annoyed comment, the audience finds out that the girl’s high school theatre group is in need of a kid in Malcolm’s age for a part in their Shakespeare play. Without Malcolm’s introductory remark that people are regularly coming to their class, the girl’s presence would not have been as plausible and comprehensible and his comment is therefore context-creating. In addition to providing important information as narrator, Malcolm also allows some insight into his thoughts and feelings about the way the Krelboynes are being considered and treated by other people. His admission that he and his genius classmates do not have anything better to do as a result of their social exclusion as well as his rude, but honest wording, come both as a surprise for the viewers and, according to the incongruity theory, consequently arouse laughter. The viewers might be wondering at first for what reason Reese and Dewey are fighting over who is allowed to change Jamie’s diaper in the teaser of the episode Block Party (S05E08). Of course, only a moment later, Malcolm provides an explanation for this unusual situation and mentions that “Mom told us Jamie swallowed one of her diamond earrings. Whoever finds it when it comes out gets a 20 buck reward.” Despite the encouraging prize, Malcolm does not seem to be very interested and does not

participate in this exceptional “treasure hunt”. While in the background, Lois decides in favor of Reese, who is obviously feeling lucky, and Dewey disappointedly returns to the table to continue his breakfast, Malcolm addresses the camera once again and gloatingly adds that “somehow they never noticed that Mom doesn’t own any diamond earrings.”

Figure 6: Reese and Dewey asking to change Figure 7: Malcolm gleefully explaining that Jamie’s diaper. (Season 5, episode 8, 00:06) there actually is no diamond earring. (00:17)

The second comment explains, on the one hand, that Lois has only invented this story to make the boys change Jamie’s diapers thus relieving her from this chore and, on the other hand, why Malcolm did not show any interest in taking part in this contest. Since Malcolm merely clarifies the scene and calls the viewers’ attention to the missing diamond earring, he steps into the role of the narrator and invites the audience to join his amusement. Both the initial absurdity of the boys’ behavior as well as Malcolm’s surprising revelation makes this situation humorous. This kind of humor falls into the category of the superiority theory as the viewers’ laughter is based on their informational advantage and on the malicious joy they share over Reese’s and Dewey’s naivety. While only being physically present and observing the scene without contributing to its development on the story level, Malcolm’s purpose is reduced to facilitating the audience’s understanding of the punch line to the situation.

6.2.4. TO REFER TO EVENTS THAT WERE NOT SHOWN, BUT ARE RELEVANT TO THE CURRENT SITUATION

The first scene of the episode Ida loses a Leg (S06E14) starts with Malcolm, who is doing some homework at the work table and then addresses the camera in order to tell the viewers that “Grandma's visiting again. Sometimes she can't spread enough misery with just a phone call. She must have felt a vibration of happiness at the edge of her web

and came scurrying down just to crush it. The worst thing is how it affects Mom.” To demonstrate his mother’s absent-mindedness, Malcolm approaches her and explains that he took twenty dollars from her purse without intending to ever pay her back. Indeed, instead of losing her temper as usual, Lois has obviously not even listened to him and replies regarding something about a fight that he and his brother should work out themselves. By this short and absurd conversation with his mother, Malcolm contributes to the action and consequently performs a transition from narrator to character. Furthermore, his disclosure about his malign Grandma’s visit is indispensable for the audience in order to comprehend Lois’ extraneous answer, her generally diverted mental condition and, finally, also the subsequent events depicted in the episode. Owing to Grandma Ida’s previous appearances in the show, the audience already knows about her viciousness as well as about the Wilkersons’ profound aversion to her, which is why there is no need to doubt Malcolm’s reliability as narrator. With the elaborate comparison of his grandma with a spider which is sensing prey within reach and insidiously approaching it, Malcolm draws a mental picture for the audience in order to visualize his discomfort and personal perception of his evil grandmother. Moreover, both his mischievous metaphor and in particular his mother’s complete absent- mindedness, which leaves her unaware of the events taking place around her, make the situation humorous. The former is funny because the viewers are likely to agree with the striking image of Ida being like a sinister spider and therefore to feel schadenfreude, which is part of the superiority theory. The latter, by contrast, is evoking laughter due to Lois’ absurd soliloquy which has nothing to do with Malcolm’s earlier statement and which, as it therefore does not correspond to the viewers’ expectations, is representative of the incongruity theory. When Lois is happily looking at herself in the mirror while wearing her working clothes from the Lucky Aide store at the beginning of the episode Standee (S06E03), the viewers might be surprised in consideration of the fact that she has not been working there since her dismissal in the preceding season. In order to shed light upon this situation, Malcolm, who is standing next to her also dressed in his Lucky Aide workwear, explains that “after two months of unemployment, Mom went to Lucky Aide and begged for her job back. They finally let her come back as a Probationary Employee.” This statement not only provides a time frame for Lois’ unemployment, but also illustrates that she had to swallow her pride to get her job back. Moreover, it points out the humiliation Lois has to endure for the rest of the episode owing to the fact that

she has only been rehired as a Probationary Employee. In this scene, Malcolm first acts as a narrator who informs the audience about unseen past events which impact the current situation and then takes on his role as character by again taking part in a conversation with his mother. In the first scene after the theme song in Block Party (S05E08), the Wilkersons are silently sitting in a driving car, while Lois and Hal have annoyed looks on their faces. In order to clear up where they are heading, the silence in the car as well as his parents’ sullen faces, Malcolm addresses the camera and declares that “every year for the last five years, we’ve spent a week in a cabin on a lake. This year got ruined and we had to come back three days early.” Just a few seconds afterwards, Hal complains that they would not have had to drive back home if the boys had not gotten so afraid of nature, which is then followed by a flashback showing the boys screaming while absolutely covered with leeches. Hal’s claim that his sons’ reaction was exaggerated and his comment that he blames computer games for their loss of contact with nature contrasts with the ensuing flashback which proves that their panic as well as their decision to drive back home is legitimate. Owing to Hal’s first statement, the audience expects to see a short clip in which the boys scream for a ridiculous reason and do not reckon that it is in fact Hal’s complaint that is completely inappropriate. This twist obviously comes as a surprise to the viewers and due to being a perfect example of an incongruity, also arouses laughter. Malcolm’s comment about their early return is, however, not only necessary to evoke humor and to understand the situation in the car, but also serves as explanation for the upcoming events in this episode. Namely, when the Wilkersons find out that there is an annual Block Party taking place in their street. Thanks to Malcolm’s comment about them spending one week at the lake every year for the last five years, the audience realizes that their neighbors have waited each year for the hated family to go on vacation so that they could meet up in peace and celebrate their neighborhood. Furthermore, the disclosure of the Block Party taking place already for the fifth time in a row proves Malcolm’s reliability as narrator at the beginning of the scene. Once again, his purpose in this scene is reduced to explaining the situation for the audience and thus assuming the role of a narrator. Besides, his character does not take part in the conversation or in the advancement of the story. When Malcolm runs into Jessica shaving her armpits in the Wilkersons’ bathroom at the outset of the episode Jessica Stays Over (S07E05), leaving him embarrassedly behind, the audience might consider her behavior as quite unusual for a

guest. After leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind him, Malcolm is aware that this situation needs to be clarified for the viewers and explains:

That’s Jessica, our neighbor. Mom and Dad are letting her sleep on our couch for a week until her father's arraigned. Seems he got drunk Friday night, decided to track down her mom and tried to drive a street-sweeper to Mexico… she has some family issues. (Jessica stays over, 01:21 – 01:34)

After being informed about her stay in their house, the situation might appear as less strange to the audience than it did before. Furthermore, because of Malcolm’s explanation that Jessica is going through a rough time, the viewers might not be surprised about Lois being especially nice to her as well as about Jessica continuing to feel at home in the Wilkersons’ house for the rest of the episode. However, the offbeat story about Jessica’s parents paired with Malcolm’s ensuing understatement represents an incongruity to the viewers’ expected norms of family life and its typical problems. By mitigating this serious matter and referring to them as “some family issues,” Malcolm’s last remark makes the situation even more absurd and hence constitutes an example of black humor. In contrast to the majority of cases in which Malcolm undergoes a transition from narrator to character, this scene shows a change of role in the opposite direction. More precisely, as he begs Jessica’s pardon for bothering her during her routine and then, embarrassedly leaves the bathroom, he acts as his character on the story level. Thereupon, he storms out and assumes the role of the narrator by leaving his character behind. This shift is being visually supported by the bathroom door which he shuts behind him and which therefore creates a concrete border between Malcolm’s two functions.

6.2.5. TO DISCLOSE HIS PLANS OR INTENTIONS

In several episodes, Malcolm addresses the camera in order to reveal what he plans to do next. In the episode Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04), for example, he states: “I didn’t understand one word that was said in the last 6 hours. I’m exhausted. I couldn’t sleep all night. But I finally figured out what I gotta do.” Although he does not explicitly say what it is he is going to do, it is implied that he is planning on breaking up with his girlfriend Sarah due to their complicated relationship as well as to his bad condition. When he walks up to her and instead of breaking up gives her a pager as a present in order to be able to control her whereabouts at all times, the viewers realize that

Malcolm has completely lost his mind as a result of his unreasonable jealousy. Besides the obvious incongruity between Malcolm’s behavior in this situation and his general comportment, his idea of permanently controlling his girlfriend is absurd and inappropriate and therefore provokes laughter. Since his announcement as narrator does not correspond with the action he performs as character or at least not with what the viewers expected to happen, Malcolm is considered to be of unsound mind and is consequently deemed unreliable. In the episode Funeral (S01E11), Malcolm is ill-tempered when he has to cancel a concert he was planning to attend with his crush Julie because he is forced to be present at his great-aunt Helen’s funeral. As the family members prepare themselves for the funeral and Malcolm fretfully tells his mother about Julie’s intention to ask another boy to accompany her, Lois reproachfully answers that her deceased aunt had taken care of her after school every day and thus makes Malcolm feel guilty about wanting to skip the funeral. However, when Malcolm learns from his father that Lois actually hated Aunt Helen and that she was a horrible woman, he turns to the camera and furiously utters: “I can't believe Mom tricked me like that! I'll tell you one thing - I now consider myself totally free to ditch this funeral. I got to call Julie.” Thanks to this announcement, the viewers know that Malcolm is willing to do anything in order to miss the funeral and to be able to go to the concert, providing them with an information advantage. The upcoming scenes, in which he calls Julie once again to secure his attendance at the concert, while thinking about credible pretexts enabling him to skip the funeral, support his earlier comment and hence classify him as a reliable narrator. Another example of Malcolm addressing the audience to set out his plans can be found in the episode Humilithon (S04E02). After his mother unintentionally humiliates him in front of all the students of his new high school, he fears he will become one of the losers again. In order to make the others forget about this incident and finally attain his goal of becoming popular, Malcolm announces that he is going to speed up his earlier devised plan:

Ok, I gotta make up some ground. Here’s what I’m gonna do: be the first freshman with a girlfriend. It’s worth a shot, right? I was going to give it a few weeks before I see someone down, wait till I like some girl, she liked me, whatever. But I’ll just move it on. (Humilithon, 08:47 – 09:02)

Due to his desperation, the viewers expect to see Malcolm approaching a girl, flirting with her and maybe even asking her out on a date. However, Malcolm does not hesitate

to translate his idea directly into action and consequently turns to a group of girls and greets them. When they as well as other students call him by his new nickname ‘Stain,’ he panics and loudly blurts a question asking if one of them wants to be his girlfriend. Unsurprisingly, the girls as well all the other students in the schoolyard burst out into roaring laughter, topping off his humiliation and clearly showing him that his plan to become one of the cool kids completely failed. Not only the whole student body, but also the audience is amused about his abrupt change of mind and his absurd decision to pose this question to a group of unfamiliar girls. As this comportment is not congruous with Malcolm’s personality in general, it comes as an entertaining surprise to the viewers and therefore belongs within the humor category of the incongruity theory. Even though the execution of his plan happened significantly faster than expected by the viewers and even Malcolm himself, he actually did what he had announced he would do and is therefore a reliable narrator who is providing the audience with an informational head start. In Therapy (S02E08) the Krelboyne class is staging a Medieval Week and its students are thus going to embarrass themselves even more than usually with a Harvest Dance in front of the whole school. Malcolm is ill-tempered and wishes for something to happen so that he can skip this event. When he finds out that his friend Dabney is regularly going to the school therapist and therefore will miss the Harvest Dance, Malcolm seizes the opportunity and feigns a mental breakdown in order to be prescribed some therapy sessions as well. When another unpleasant event is being cancelled and replaced by a much more interesting activity, Malcolm is excited and wants to participate. However, his teacher tells him that one of his therapy sessions is scheduled at this time, leaving him frustrated behind. By uttering “I think it’s time I had a major breakthrough in therapy,” he foreshadows that he is going to simulate an enormous improvement of his condition in order to be given the allowance to partake, too. After he has convinced his therapist that he has made quite some progress and it is obvious that she is not going to schedule a session any time soon, he addresses the camera once again and states: “I’ll leave the door open for a relapse when we start Ballet next semester.” With his second comment he alludes to the fact that, in the future, he plans on pretending to be mentally unstable again in order to avoid further unpleasant events. Once again, Malcolm entrusts his secret intentions to the viewers and is therefore a reliable narrator. Contrary to this, his character is highly untrustworthy in this episode

due to the fact that he is lying to all of the other characters including his friends and family. A similar situation can be found in the episode Krelboyne Picnic (S01E08), Malcolm’s special class is organizing a big picnic to which the families of the genius students are invited. As Francis is at home that weekend and is also coming to the picnic, Malcolm worries that after his performance, his oldest brother is going to disrespect him and to consider him a freak or a nerd. In order to prevent this humiliation from happening, he plans to ruin the event before it is his turn to come on stage and prove his intelligence. After he explains to the camera that “luckily, I’ve got a brilliant plan to get out of this” and thus prepares the audience for the following situation, Lois enters the bathroom and finds Malcolm pretending to be sick. However, his mother sees through him and punishes him for squandering vegetable soup which he used as vomit for his pretext. Once again, his plan included lying to other characters while telling the truth to the audience. Just as is the case in most of the situations mentioned, his elaborate idea does not work out as planned and Malcolm has to take part in the upcoming event he tried to avoid.

6.3. COMMENTS EXPRESSING EMOTIONS

6.3.1. HAPPINESS OR EXCITEMENT

Due to Malcolm’s general dissatisfaction with his life as he frequently feels unfairly treated, he has become a cynic over time and is very suspicious when something good happens to him. When in the episode Malcolm Babysits (S01E05), the Inksters, who hired him as their children’s babysitter, are very nice to him, trust him and additionally pay him well, Malcolm cannot believe his luck and starts smiling from ear to ear. Not being used to the feeling of happiness, he at first has difficulty understanding his own reactions, which is why he addresses the camera and pronounces that “it’s weird. I think I’m having a spasm. The muscles in my face keep pulling on my mouth. Oh, I think I’m happy.” When he finds out that his payment is even higher than he had expected, he cheerfully exclaims: “I can’t believe how much these people are paying me! I did the math, I’m actually making more an hour than Mom does.” While he utters these words, he proudly rubs his earned money against his face until he realizes this might look

strange to the viewers, which is why he finally voices “I gotta stop doing this… it’s creepy, right?” before heading to his workplace.

Figure 8: Malcolm rubbing his money Figure 9 : Malcolm sharing the Inksters’ against his face (Season 1, episode 5, 07:56) secrets addressing the nanny camera (18:01)

Soon after, however, his enthusiasm comes to an abrupt end when he accidentally finds out that his employers have been monitoring him with a hidden camera. After being in complete shock for a moment, Malcolm makes the decision to take revenge before quitting his job and consequently tapes himself sharing all the secrets the Inksters had been keeping from each other. The fact that Malcolm is now talking to the camera within the story level to address intradiegetic characters instead of an extradiegetic audience represents a particular feature of this episode. By making use of this method he not only retaliates but also gains satisfaction – and ultimately some kind of joy. In The Bots and the Bees (S01E14), Lois is worried about Francis who is recovering from an emergency appendectomy and therefore decides to pay her oldest son a spontaneous visit. In the meantime, Malcolm’s Krelboyne friends show him a video about a killer robot competition and ask him to help them build their own robot in order to take part in the contest. After Malcolm enthusiastically agrees to this proposition, he seizes the opportunity that Lois is not at home for a few days and hesitantly asks his father for permission to build the robot in their house. When Hal, to Malcolm’s astonishment, says yes, he is really excited and shortly after that invites his friends to come over. While they are figuring out how to make their robot as efficient as possible, Malcolm briefly turns to the camera and good-humoredly declares that “this is great. I can make a huge mess, build a killer robot and Mom’s not here to yell at us. I don’t even mind having Krelboynes in the house.” By mentioning that even the presence of his Krelboyne friends, who usually easily annoy him, does not bother him at

all, Malcolm illustrates the full extent of his good mood to the audience. Since he does not provide the viewers with additional information as a narrator, but only wants to emphasize his happiness, Malcolm’s function in this scene is that of a focalizer. Even though Hal is very tolerant when Lois is not at home and permits his children a number of usually forbidden things, the children enjoy it even more when they have the house all to themselves. As the boys are always watched after by a babysitter if both parents go out, they try to seize every moment of those short periods where they are not supervised at all to do whatever they please. Amid a chaotic situation at home, Malcolm merrily addresses the audience in the episode Robbery (S02E07) and explains: “this is my favorite part of the day; the twilight time between school ending and when our parents come home. The time when kids rule the earth.” Without having to fear being yelled at or even grounded, the boys obviously feel free and enjoy being at home. When Francis is supposed to be their babysitter in the episode Home Alone (S01E03), the boys do not mind at all that they are not left alone owing to the fact that all of them look up to him and are happy to see him again. Malcolm even shares his feelings with the audience while walking towards him and voices that “it’s the coolest thing. It’s the first time that Francis is home from military school. Mom and Dad are going off to some wedding and Francis is in charge of us for the whole weekend. I can’t believe how much I missed him.” Although his brothers are very excited to have him back for a weekend, Francis does not seem to share this view and remains rather laid- back. His coolness impresses Malcolm even more, especially after the two exchange a casually “hey.” Malcolm therefore shortly takes up his function as character, before turning to the camera once again and adding “he’s so great.” First of all, Malcolm presents the audience some background information to help the audience comprehend why the boys are alone at home and thus acts as narrative instance. Owing to the fact that he additionally describes how happy this autonomy or his oldest brother’s presence make him feel, Malcolm also assumes the role of a focalizer who allows the viewers insight into his emotional state. Another recurring situation that keeps delighting Malcolm and putting him in a good mood is when he gets to talk to his current crush or when an attractive girl tells him that she is into him. For example, when in the episode Secret Boyfriend (S07E06) his popular and highly attractive lab partner Vicky admits that she finds him cute, Malcolm cannot believe what he has just heard and enthusiastically turns to the camera explaining: “I know she's still talking, but I didn't hear anything after ‘I think you're

cute.’” Likewise, he is completely thrilled when his crush Sarah reciprocates his feelings and they become a couple in the episode Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04). While walking home together holding hands, Malcolm contentedly announces this joyful message to the viewers: “look at me, it’s official. I have a girlfriend! I’m officially someone’s boyfriend! Watch this.” Thereupon he kisses Sarah and then turns back to the camera once again proudly adding “I can do that any time I want.” Sometimes, merely having a conversation with pretty girls makes Malcolm excited such as in the episode High School Play (S02E09). When he joins two of his older high school colleagues’ gossiping about another girl during their theater rehearsals, he has the urge to share his enthusiasm with the audience and comments: “I can't believe how deep our conversations are getting.” Obviously, Malcolm’s excitement about being a part of the girls’ chat makes him unaware of the fact that its content is actually highly superficial. The viewers, by contrast, realize this and find Malcolm’s belief of having deep conversations with them ridiculous. Since the audience obviously looks down on Malcolm, this kind of humor is assignable to the superiority theory. In all three examples, for the duration of his addresses to the audience, the main action visually and acoustically fades into the background, shifting the focus to Malcolm. Directly after uttering these short comments that serve to demonstrate his feelings and especially his enthusiasm, he steps out of his role as focalizer and by resuming the individual conversations, returns again to his character. Ultimately, most of the situations that make Malcolm happy are short-lived, either because he involuntarily sabotages his own bliss or owing to external reasons which he then deems as unfair or as typical for his miserable life. This recurrent course of events frequently induces Malcolm to not appreciate the good moments enough and instead to focus on the bad things that happen to him. Evidently, over the course of time, this attitude has an aggravating effect on him. This causes him to perceive the upcoming situations worse than they actually are and thus makes him even more dissatisfied with his life.

6.3.2. FEELING OF BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY

As already alluded to in some of the descriptions mentioned above as well as by the theme song which ends with the sentence “Life is unfair,” Malcolm frequently feels treated unfairly and believes that he deserves better. This is for example the case in the

episode Funeral (S01E11) in which Malcolm is looking forward to going to a concert with his crush Julie. By virtue of his great-aunt Helen’s funeral, however, he has to cancel their date and is therefore sad and disappointed. When Julie thereupon tells him on the phone that she will ask another boy to accompany her instead, Malcolm hangs up the phone and fretfully addresses the camera, sarcastically commenting: “oh, yeah. Life's fair.“ Whereas the fact that he cannot go to the concert already represents a huge disappointment for him, the addition that Julie does not seem to feel as bad and is instantly replacing him with another boy, leaves Malcolm with the feeling that the universe itself had something against him. By hanging up the phone, he distances himself from his character as well as from the story world and turns quickly to the viewers in order to expose his disenchantment. Although the audience might have already presumed a frustrated reaction, the utterance of these two phrases offers the viewers an even deeper insight into his emotional state and consequently invites them to empathize with him. Another example can be found in the episode Malcolm Babysits (S01E05), in which he asks his parents for a Robotics Kit and they refuse to buy it owing to its high price. Sulking, he leaves them behind in the kitchen and addresses the audience while going away, complaining that “that’s the way discussions go down in this family. I tell them my needs and they say no. Then Dad reveals another cartoon character he’s afraid of.” Obviously, instead of trying to understand that their family simply cannot afford a game for ninety dollars, Malcolm is convinced that his parents only refuse to purchase it due to the fact that they do not care about his interests. Moreover, he seems to be under the impression that as a result of their self-centeredness, they do not even really listen to his line of reasoning, but say no on principle. Whereas he blamed life in general in the example mentioned before, this time, his parents are made responsible for his discontent. His explanation that discussions of this kind always end in Hal mentioning a cartoon character that he finds scary is likely to evoke some laughter since it is completely unrelated to Malcolm’s request and thus represents an absurd habit for the viewers. His impression that no one cares about him and that he is alone in this world is reflected in his withdrawal from the kitchen and into his room. Besides going away from his parents, he also leaves his position as character and takes on the roles of narrator and focalizer, respectively explaining that his requests often end in such an absurd way and elucidating how much their disinterest affects him. Malcolm seems to

be aware that, in contrast to his parents, the audience does actually listen to his problems and is keen to hear about what is going on in his life. Whereas his oldest brother being at home usually excites Malcolm, he is annoyed by the consequences that Francis and Piama’s stay implies for him in the episode Grandma Sues (S04E09). When Lois calls Malcolm to come in for breakfast as he is unzipping a tent in the garden, he realizes that he needs to clarify this unusual situation to the viewers. Therefore he explains that “Francis and Piama came to visit at the same time Grandma was here. Eight people, seven sleeping spaces. Guess who gets the shaft? This is my reward for being at the library when they asked for a volunteer.“ Instead of his family appreciating his industriousness and therefore saving his bed for him as a reward, Malcolm is being punished for his absence during the distribution of sleeping spaces and has to spend the following nights in an uncomfortable tent outside the house. Most probably, his complaint is directed at his parents as he seems to be highly disappointed that neither of them intervened on his behalf and told Reese or Dewey, who, in contrast to him, presumably only lazed about at home at that time, to leave the last bed for him. Therefore, once again, Malcolm blames his parents for his disadvantage and seeks encouragement from the audience. Obviously, in each of these examples where Malcolm feels treated unfairly, he expresses this with a sarcastic comment addressing the camera. Due to the fact that the Wilkerson boys are used to hiding their feelings in front of each other to make sure to not be made fun of. As a consequence, instead of directly speaking about his feelings and admitting that they are hurt Malcolm tries to hide his disappointment by means of sarcasm as a protective reaction and is therefore not to be considered as completely reliable.

6.3.3. ANGER OR IRRITATION

Besides the feeling of being the object of unfair treatment, there are several other factors that induce Malcolm to lose his composure. For example, in the episode New Neighbors (S02E13) he is really vexed when he hears that the new neighbors’ son Josh keeps spreading lies about him, even after he asked the boy to stop doing that. Josh even reports Malcolm to the police who thereupon appear at the Wilkersons’ home explaining that there are complaints about Malcolm prowling in the neighbors’ yards and peering through their windows. After this incident, the rumor of Malcolm being a

Peeping Tom spreads like a wildfire resulting in his being watched closely by his parents as well as by the whole neighborhood. After a few days, Malcolm is fed up with being considered a pervert and when neighbors passing by him on the street do not stop staring at him, he addresses the camera and furiously exclaims that “this has been going on for days! I can’t believe everybody fell for Josh’s stupid lie! Maybe if I just ignore him for a while, he’ll go away. I’m pretty sure my memory’s right.” By explaining that this has been happening to him for days, he gives the audience important information as well as a time frame for orientation and thus functions as a narrator. By virtue of the fact that the viewers have observed Josh lying throughout the episode, there is no need to doubt Malcolm’s credibility. Just as he finishes his audience-oriented comment and returns into his position as character, he runs into Dewey who is jumping rope and singing a rhyme he heard in school about Malcolm peeping through the windows. However, his tactic about ignoring Josh fails and Malcolm feels the urge to vent his anger by revenging himself by means of Reese’s assistance. Although their scheme does not work out as planned, they eventually succeed in making Josh’s family move away, transforming Malcolm’s anger into satisfaction. Another situation where Malcolm is so annoyed that he intends to get revenge one day can be found in the episode Funeral (S01E11). Besides being angry about having to cancel his long-desired date with his crush Julie due to his great-aunt’s death, Malcolm is worrying about his relatives that are going to annoy him at the funeral. Thereupon, Malcolm expresses his displeasure by stating that “this stinks. Whether it's a wedding, funeral or court date, these family gatherings are always the same. I can't wait till I get zits. At least then I can fight back.”

Figure 10: Malcolm sharing his unpleasant Figure 11: Malcolm harassed by his older experience (Season 1, episode 11, 03:44) female relatives (03:55)

While he utters these words, several short clips of older women pinching his cheeks or preparing to give him a kiss serve to visualize his unpleasant associations with family meetings. By mentioning his ability to fight back as soon as his puberty acne sets in, Malcolm means to allude to the fact that these women will either be nauseated or afraid to contaminate their own skin and will therefore most probably refrain from touching him. Both his plan to use his pimples as a weapon against his peeving relatives one day and the ensuing clip sequence that pictures his horror during such family events, cause the audience to laugh: the former by being an unusual and absurd kind of revenge and the latter mainly because of the amusing contrast between Malcolm’s and his relatives’ facial expressions. In opposition to his comment which matches the humor of the incongruity theory, the series of flashbacks induces the viewers to laugh at Malcolm for reasons of malicious joy and belongs to the superiority theory. As to his position in his scene, Malcolm serves as intradiegetic narrator during his annoyed comments due to the fact that he transmits heretofore unknown information to the viewers. In the clips, which are inserted in between his two remarks, however, his function shifts to being the focalizer as they either depict his perspective or himself presenting a suffering look while being patted. This enables the audience to indirectly take part in this experience and thus to sympathize with his uneasy state of mind. As mentioned in the preceding chapter, Malcolm feels treated unfairly in the episode Grandma Sues (S04E09), when on account of a shortage of beds, he is forced to sleep in a tent in the garden. One morning, while he is still asleep, a beetle crawls into his mouth. As this makes him gag and cough for a few seconds, he awakens and sits up displaying his disgust. Annoyed, he addresses the audience and gripes: “okay, I’m really getting sick of this. Nobody should know a beetle tastes better than a June bug,” thereby suggesting that he has already accidentally swallowed both animals in the past few days and is thus offering further information. The viewers’ laughter in this example is based on mischievous glee over Malcolm’s uncomfortable situation and belongs therefore to the humor of the superiority theory. However, this expression of irritation is rather mild in comparison with the anger Malcolm feels and vents in the episode Roller Skates (S01E13). Although Malcolm asks Hal to teach him how to roller-skate in order to be able to properly play street hockey with the other kids, he is not allowed to put on the roller skates during practice, but has to complete bizarre exercises in his ordinary shoes. Since these exercises do not make sense to Malcolm, he wants to try the roller skates out secretly and takes them without his father’s knowledge. At the very moment when

he is taking them off the shelf, Hal catches him in the act, whereupon Malcolm looks into the camera and declares: “dang, I thought I’d have just a few minutes before he busted me. You know what? Screw it! I’m sick of this.” Consequently, he confronts his father and the two argue with each other in over-the-shoulder shots until Malcolm suddenly hurls “fuck you” at Hal. Even though the audience does not actually hear the f-word, the different images and sounds of a car brake as well as of birds flying away followed by the word “you” and his parents’ shocked reactions, makes clear what Malcolm has just said to his dad. After turning around and darting some disturbed and insecure glances at the audience, he puts his angry expression back on and further utters into the camera “you heard me” before leaving his speechless and devastated father behind. With his last comment, he is even snappish towards the viewers and implies that they, like his father, have showed a similarly shocked reaction to his swear word like his father and thus leaves them with the impression of having been in the same room, maximizing the extent of focalization.

6.3.4. PANIC OR INTIMIDATION

Even though Malcolm is a genius and, in the majority of cases, can think of a way to get himself, his friends or family out of trouble, there are a few situations where he cannot figure out any emergency plan or is simply overpowered by an event. In the episode Old Mrs. Old (S02E11) Malcolm is forced to help the elderly, mean neighbor called Mrs. Griffin and one day exploits her intoxication in order to impermissibly joyride with his Krelboyne friends. While the boys are boasting about being mobile, they catch sight of Lois and crouch so that she cannot see them. Malcolm, however, as the driver of the car, cannot do this and thus passes by his mother, while both he and his mother stare perplexedly at each other. As they arrive back at the old woman’s house, the other boys become panic-stricken and run away, leaving Malcolm alone. Malcolm runs into the house, turns to the camera in desperation and panic-stricken utters to himself “think, think. I’m a genius, I can think of something.” However, when nothing comes to his mind, he addresses the audience once again and hysterically asks “why can’t I think of something” before putting the keys back in her purse and realizing that Mrs. Griffin is already angrily awaiting him. In the end, she bails Malcolm out by falsely reporting to Lois that he drove her to the hospital due to an emergency. By saving him, the old lady makes sure that Malcolm continues to be her personal slave during her recovery without

complaining about anything ever again. The first part of Malcolm’s remark to the audience demonstrates how he is trying to calm himself down by considering that his genius mind must be capable of reasonably thinking of an alibi. His deep fear of his mother and the possible consequences of his forbidden action, though, cause him to lose his nerves again. This is why he does not know how to justify his mistake and only wishes to run away. With the addresses to the camera he enables the viewers to better empathize with him during each stage of his inner conflict and functions therefore as a focalizer in this situation. After his mother has put him in an embarrassing situation at his new high school in the episode Humilithon (S04E02), Malcolm attempts to develop a plan to make the other students forget about the incident and to pave the way to finally become one of the popular kids. As he comes up with the idea to speed up his plan to find a girlfriend and therefore begins to casually flirt with some girls, he is in return greeted by being called him “Stain.” This is thereupon echoed by other students passing by him, indicating that “Stain” has become his new nickname. Just in this moment Malcolm realizes the extent of the consequences the previous humiliating situation entail for him and consequently becomes panicked. Once again, he tries to calm himself down by relying on his intelligence, mumbling to himself “don’t pass out. Breathe in through your nose. You can pull this out,” which can only be heard by the audience. However, the panic prevails against his rationality, which is why Malcolm only aggravates the situation by blurting out the question about if one of the girls wants to be his girlfriend. By asking this, he unintentionally manages to become the high school’s laughing stock and therefore foils his plan to ever become popular. In this scene, which starts from the point at which the first girl answers “oh, hey Stain” and ends with the last student passing by him and calling him his new nickname, Malcolm is circled by the camera in a 360-degree-shot, showing the other school kids go past him saying his nickname and Malcolm’s reaction to each of them. This camera movement shows that the other kids are coming from every direction and enables viewers to share his experience of being encircled. Moreover, this perspective makes it possible for the viewers to observe how his desperation is gradually increasing into a state of panic. The alternation of shots between Malcolm’s face and over-the-shoulder shots presenting the group of girls he is addressing, offers the audience a view of the reactions of both the focalizer and the focalized objects. This does not only intensify his humiliation, but also the viewers’ empathy with him.

In the episode Cynthia’s Back (S03E14), Malcolm and Cynthia are having a heated discussion over her drastic change of personality during her exchange semester in Europe, when her loose sweater suddenly catches fire. Malcolm rushes over to help her and pulls the burning pullover over her head, unveiling a huge pair of breasts which Cynthia did not have at the time she left the United States. Malcolm, who only wanted to help his friend and did not expect anything like this to happen, is completely overwhelmed by the situation, and after bewilderedly staring at her chest for a few seconds, he addresses the camera in panic stammering “Mommy.”

Figure 12: Malcolm shocked about Cynthia’s Figure 13: Malcolm overwhelmed, enormous chest (Season 3, episode 14, 06:08) uttering “Mommy?” (06:13)

He then realizes that Cynthia’s strange behavior resulted from her shame about her ample bosom and feels bad for having criticized her earlier. Malcolm’s reaction and his childlike request for his mother, however, clearly demonstrate that, instead of being impressed or pleased by the view he is intimidated by Cynthia’s sexuality and does not know how to cope with it. As from the moment he catches sight of her increased breasts, the camera shifts between the focalized object (see screenshot 10) and Malcolm’s view, his surprise and feeling of being overwhelmed by the situation are highlighted, indicating that he functions as focalizer. The alternating point of perspective effectuates an intensification of the moment and makes the viewers, who most probably share his astonishment, understand his reaction even better. Moreover, Malcolm’s childlike reaction contrasts with his otherwise rather adult behavior. Instead of meeting the audience’s expectations by being positively surprised or uttering a casual comment in order to ease the awkward situation, he asks for “mommy” like a little boy and therefore creates a humorous moment for the viewers.

In Standee (S06E03), Lois, who has only been rehired as a probationary employee at the Lucky Aide store, keeps removing a cardboard cut-out that she finds racially insensitive and is therefore acting in a manner contrary to the regulations. When she observes Malcolm putting the standee back up, she tells him to remove it. Due to the fact that Malcolm is afraid of losing his job and even occupies a higher position than his mother, he refuses to follow her order. After saying “no” to her, he puts on a confident face and walks away. As soon as he turns his back to his perplexed mother, however, he shows his true colors and throws a frightened glance to the camera, worriedly asking the audience “she isn’t coming after me, is she”? His rebellious reaction to Lois’ instruction clearly shows that Malcolm is fully aware of her actual powerlessness in this matter. Moreover, his behavior represents a surprise to the viewers who are used to Malcolm’s obedience to his mother. Paired with his fearful facial expression, this unexpected reply has a comic effect and falls under the category of incongruity humor. Even if he knows that he has made the right decision to respect his boss’ orders, Malcolm is not used to contradicting Lois and is obviously intimidated by her maternal authority. With his insecure look and his worried question Malcolm offers the audience insight into his emotional state and demonstrates how his mother unsettles him, indicating his position as focalizer. Even though he takes on a confident demeanor as character, he reveals his true feelings as focalizer and is thus a confident source of information for the viewers.

6.3.5. FEELING OF BEING SUPERIOR TO OTHERS

In the episode Block Party (S05E08), Malcolm observes Reese and Dewey fighting over who is allowed to change Jamie’s diapers, each hoping to find one of Lois’ supposedly swallowed diamond earrings and to earn the twenty dollars reward. Malcolm is aware that the viewers might be wondering why he is not participating in the competition and explains that “somehow they never noticed that Mom doesn’t own any diamond earrings.” This statement shows that he is proud of being the only one who was able to figure out that Lois merely uses this pretext to make the boys relieve her from this tedious duty. Assumedly, Malcolm’s high IQ helped him to recognize his mother’s intention, but instead of sharing his realization with his brothers, he points out their naivety to the audience, offering for them to share his amusement. By boasting about his intelligence and making fun of his brothers, he evidently defines himself as being

superior to them. The same is true for the viewers, who, on account of the informational advantage provided by Malcolm, laugh at Reese and Dewey out of malicious glee. When Malcolm is assigned to advertise the Lucky Aide store dressed as Uncle Sam on stilts in the episode called Stilts (S06E20), he first worries about becoming a laughing-stock. Soon, however, Sam, who had performed this job for the past twenty years and has recently been fired owing to his excessive alcohol consumption, blames Malcolm for taking away his job and starts attacking him. Malcolm tries to run away from his persecutor, who is on stilts as well, but is aware that Sam’s experience gives him an advantage. Therefore, he desperately turns to the audience and states “I'm never gonna shake this guy. He's way too good. I can't outstilt him.” After catching sight of two shopping carts, he obviously comes to a realization and utters: “I can't outstilt him, but I can outskate him.” As he steps into the carts, he shouts an arrogant “ha” at Sam and then turns to the camera, adding “once again, brains triumph over... .” Before he is able to finish this presumptuous sentence, the carts begin to drift away, eventually leaving Malcolm in a painful position doing a split. Just as was the case in the example mentioned before, he expresses his feeling of being superior to his fellow human beings with regard to his genius mind. However, he forgets to take into consideration that panic inducing situations tend to trigger some kind of mental block for him and that the plans he develops under these circumstances mostly do not work out. Contrary to him, the audience members, whose minds are not in a state of chaos, are aware that Malcolm’s idea is impossible to carry out and therefore have an informational advantage over him, which leaves them in a state of amused anticipation with regard to the foreseeable negative consequences for Malcolm. His absurd idea to use shopping carts as skates strongly deviates from his usual reason and represents, due to the plan’s impossibility and folly, an example of the humor based on the incongruity theory. Just like Malcolm feels – at least for a moment – superior to his persecutor Sam, the audience looks down on Malcolm and laughs at his stupid emergency solution, which is why this situation also includes an instance of the superiority theory. Owing to the fact that his viewer- oriented utterances do not present any further information to that which is shown on the visual track, Malcolm acts as focalizer who merely expresses his line of thought. In the episode Malcolm’s Money (S07E10), the yearbook photo shoot is pending, but Malcolm does not dress up for it because he hates the other students whom he describes as superficial idiots he is never going to see again. When he talks to another student who explains that this picture is representing how everybody is going to

remember their fellow schoolmates for the rest of their lives, however, Malcolm reconsiders his opinion of the photo shooting. After two attempts and discussions with the photographer, Malcolm is still not satisfied with the result. As he finds out that he has received a fellowship genius grant of almost four thousand dollars at the end of the episode, he decides to spend it on another extravagant and cost-intensive photo shoot portraying him as a rock star or in outfits which suggest success. During the shooting, Malcolm addresses the audience with a pretentious look on his face and comments “let's see them call me a dork now.” Thus, whereas he is bragging and believes he is showing the others that he is cool and better than them, the audience considers the second photo shoot as well as Malcolm’s statement ridiculous. Due to the fact that regarding something ridiculous indicates a feeling of superiority over the object of amusement, this kind of laughter belongs to the superiority theory. As Malcolm’s utterance obviously represents his opinion only and is not relevant to the context, he appears as focalizer and as a character who is pretending to be someone else.

6.3.6. SURPRISE

In the episode Shame (S01E04), Kevin, the new kid at school, keeps provoking Malcolm who only wishes to be left alone. Therefore, Malcolm tries to pay as little attention to the boy’s teasing as possible. However, this reaction only aggravates the situation and Kevin further seizes every opportunity to drive Malcolm mad. That day, the school canteen offers pizza, which is, according to Malcolm the only food the chef cannot ruin. As Malcolm is waiting in the line and looking forward to eating a slice, Kevin jumps the queue in front of him and takes the last two pieces so that Malcolm is forced to eat a portion of the indefinable hotpot named American Goulash. Even though he managed to spoil his enemy’s lunch, Kevin has the urge to annoy Malcolm even more and comes over to his table to make fun of him and his goulash. Owing to the fact that Kevin does this with a mouth full of food, Malcolm ends up with pizza being spit on him. At that point, Malcolm loses his patience and furiously attacks his tormentor. While he is beating the boy up, he briefly pauses in order to turn to the camera and to amazedly declare “wow, watching hockey is really paying off. I can’t believe how good I’m doing.” Obviously Malcolm expresses his surprise and pride about the fact that although Kevin is bigger than he, Kevin is not able to fight back. As he only addresses the audience to share his astonishment, he acts as focalizer, offering the viewers a

further perspective on the situation. After this punch-up, however, the explanation for Kevin’s behavior during the fight is provided as Malcolm is being scolded for beating up a seven-year-old, leaving him behind feeling miserable. Lois and Hal are having their sixteenth anniversary and plan to celebrate it with the whole family by having dinner at an expensive restaurant in the episode Red Dress (S01E02). While Lois is tidying herself up for Hal, she finds the red dress, which she had bought specially for this evening, in the toilet. As she pulls it out, she sees that it has been burnt and furiously strides towards her sons who have just finished packing an anniversary present and demands that they admit who ruined her dress. Although Lois punishes them in every way she can think of, none of the boys confess. When she finds out that they have been talking to Francis on the phone asking him for advice on this matter, the boys get panicky and Reese asks Malcolm to think of a plan to bring an end to this situation. Malcolm does indeed come up with an idea, but as they are trying to execute it, Lois walks into their room and catches her sons in the act. This moment presents a curious sight to both Lois and to the viewers, namely of the boys completely ravaging the room while being covered in pillows and tape. Directly after this, Malcolm turns to the camera and explains “I swear to God, on paper, this was a great idea,” which is followed by Lois surrendering surprisingly and telling them to get dressed for dinner. Malcolm cannot believe his ears and therefore addresses the viewers with a bewildered look, excitingly announcing “oh my God, it did work.” Malcolm’s expression of astonishment indicates that he is a focalizer and due to the fact that Reese reacts similarly, it is evident that his comment is supposed to reflect his brothers’ surprise, too. The combination of the highly amusing picture of the boys aimlessly devastating their room dressed in their weird self-made safety equipment, of their shocked facial expression and Malcolm’s claim that the idea had sounded good on paper, evoke laughter among the viewers due to the absurdity of the situation as a whole. Everything in this scene obviously deviates from normal behavior and thereby becomes comic, indicating that the audience’s laughter is the result of a perceived incongruity. Once the Wilkerson family finds out that their neighbors are celebrating a block party every year during the Wilkerson’s vacation, Malcolm is devastated by the knowledge that they are even more unpopular than he had expected. Whereas his family makes the best of the situation in their own different ways, Malcolm keeps moping. When he catches sight of a crowd of neighbors cheering for something, he approaches

and discovers that his parents are the remaining contestants in a Kielbasa-eating competition. He is completely overwhelmed by this unexpected situation and therefore addresses the camera to voice his feelings about this unusual sight: “oh my god! They’re cheering for my family! I mean, it’s for a totally lame and ridiculous reason, but they’re cheering.” Although normally, Malcolm would be extremely embarrassed by this situation, the circumstance that others are respecting and even cheering for them positively surprises and makes him happy. Due to the fact that Malcolm has been always wishing for the acceptance and approval of others, the expression of his astonishment and excitement imply that the viewers are thereby granted a deep insight into his desires and can thus better empathize with their focalizing instance.

6.4. REFLECTIVE COMMENTS

6.4.1. TO VOICE REALIZATIONS

Frequently, Malcolm’s addresses follow a brief moment of sudden realization, either positive or negative. For example, in the teaser of the episode Lois’ Makeover (S03E10), the male members of the family are manifestly disappointed and disgusted when Lois tells them that they are having leftover casserole, which is a mixture of all the leftovers of the week’s meals, for dinner. As she puts the indefinable mass on the table and serves her family portions of it, Malcolm counts the different layers of the parfait and is appalled when he realizes that “it finally happened. The fifth level of this week’s leftover parfait is last week’s leftover parfait.” With this comment Malcolm provides additional information to the viewers, namely that his mother has merged two weeks’ leftover casseroles into one and that this is happening for the first time, which determines his role as narrator. Due to disgusted look while uttering his remark, Malcolm is to be considered as focalizer as well. Moreover, his nauseated look is reflected by the other male family members, too, indicating that Malcolm functions both as authentic character and as reliable narrator in this situation. In the episode High School Play (S02E09), Malcolm accidentally wins over the director of a high school theater performance and is consequently upgraded from a minor part to one of the leading roles. The high school girls acting in this play are enthusiastic about his passionate performance as well and therefore let him take part in their gossips. Malcolm enjoys being accepted and even admired by the attractive, older

girls and joyfully contributes to the tittle-tattle. When the girls pay him some compliments and tell him that he is going to be even cuter at the age of fifteen, they giggle and Malcolm joins in. Just a second later, he disconcertedly stares into the camera, walks a few steps towards the camera and asks himself as well as the viewers: “oh my God, did I just giggle?,” Although the viewers have most probably already noticed his transformation into one of the girls, it is only in this moment that Malcolm realizes himself that he has tried so hard to adapt himself to the behavior of the girls’ group that he has eventually become one of them. Obviously, this realization is shocking to Malcolm as he had not intended to behave like a girl, but had once again merely looked for acceptance among the popular kids. Since the question as well as his irritated facial expression reveals his surprise and discomfort about this realization, Malcolm functions as a focalizer who is sharing his feelings with the audience. In the episode Dinner Out (S02E04), the Wilkersons and the Kenarbans, who do not really know each other yet, decide to spend an evening together at a restaurant. Whereas there is an awkward silence at the parents’ table, Reese, Malcolm and Stevie play a trick game in which the one who loses gets punched. Stevie keeps losing to Reese and is already in much pain, but is too proud to stop playing. When the situation among the adults becomes too uncomfortable, Hal pretends to need to go the restroom. As he leaves the table and is out of sight of the women, he gives Abe a signal to accompany him to the bar. In the meantime, Lois cannot understand why Kitty Kenarban keeps avoiding any confrontation or discussion and tries to provoke her – without success. Only when Stevie finally manages to trick Reese and gets to punch him several times, Kitty loses control at this sight and starts shouting at him as well as at everybody who crosses her path. After Lois recognizes that Kitty is unstoppable, the Wilkersons leave the restaurant. On their way out, Malcolm addresses the camera and sums up the evening with the words “wow, interesting dinner. Stevie beat the crap out of Reese, his dad got drunk and his mom’s gone totally psycho.” After a short pause and a glimpse at the floor which makes it evident that he is realizing something, he takes on a horrified face and exclaims “oh my God, we’re contagious!,” Not only his blunt way of summing up the events of the evening, but also his impression that the well-mannered Kenarbans seem to have been virtually infected by the Wilkersons’ misbehavior, are amusing to the viewers. The change of roles between the two families clearly represents a deviation from the norm and is hence in accordance with the incongruity theory. Apparently, his last comment serves both as a concluding punch line and as a turning point with regard

to his perception of the events which had just taken place at the restaurant. Before his realization, Malcolm had enjoyed the unexpected action happening around him, but his shocked glance as well as his last statement provides insight into his alarmed state of mind caused by the knowledge that his family is a bad influence on other families. As a result, Malcolm’s reaction could thus be interpreted as a focalizing situation. When Malcolm asks his mother whether he may borrow the car in order to get an autograph from his hero in the episode Jessica Stays Over (S07E05), she refuses to let him drive and Malcolm feels treated unfairly. As he tries to talk himself into believing that meeting one’s hero is disappointing in the majority of cases anyway, he sees Jessica parking in their driveway and is highly perplexed. After asking Jessica how she managed to get the car since his requests always get turned down, she explains that she has manipulated Lois by pretending to be vulnerable. Malcolm first does not believe her, but when she succeeds in tricking him, too, he decides to give it a try. Therefore, when Lois tells him to clean the fridge, he seizes the opportunity and unburdens his heart to her about allegedly being put under pressure by everyone. This tactic proves to be successful and he is finally allowed to borrow the car. During lunch, Malcolm does not know the answer to Hal’s question about the life span of bees and is thereupon verbally attacked by his father. When Lois steps in and scolds Hal for pressuring his son, Malcolm cannot believe his ears and turns to the camera asking with a completely stupefied regard “did Mom just defend me?”. Just in this moment, he comes to the realization that Jessica’s manipulation technique has achieved a stronger effect than he had expected – namely that his mother takes it seriously to such an extent that she is even willing to defend him.

Figure 14: Malcolm stupefied at Lois Figure 15: Malcolm realizes that the defending him (Season 7, episode 5, 08:21) new tactic is full of potential (08:24)

As he utters “wow, this vulnerability crap is more effective than I thought,” his facial expression gradually changes from bewilderment (see screenshot 12) to excitement (see screenshot 13). This process makes the different stages of feelings, which Malcolm undergoes during this situation, apparent to the viewers. Furthermore through the combination of his facial expression and his realization that pretending to be sensitive is even more efficient than he had expected, it can be deduced that he is going to apply this method again in the course of the episode.

6.4.2. TO EXPRESS WHAT HE IS WONDERING ABOUT

Even though Malcolm is a genius, there is a multitude of things that he does not understand, especially with regard to human behavior. For example, when his mother forces him to spend the afternoon with the handicapped Stevie Kenarban in the Pilot episode (S01E01), he cannot comprehend why the boy’s parents do not permit him to watch television. Thus, after Stevie explains that they believe that TV makes people stupid, Malcolm vehemently objects and replies that, instead, it makes people normal. Directly after stating this, Malcolm turns to the camera and bewilderedly asks “how can they do that? He’s in a wheelchair!”. He already cannot comprehend why any parents would forbid their children to watch television, but the fact that Stevie, who is tied to a wheelchair and has therefore limited entertainment possibilities, is not allowed to spend his leisure time in front of the TV, apparently scandalizes Malcolm. Due to the fact that he cannot express his indignation to Stevie without hurting him, he prefers to share his thoughts with the audience who is likely to be of a similar opinion and hence to identify with Malcolm. The viewers, for their part, might be surprised by the fact that Malcolm is voicing exactly what they have thought for themselves in front of their TV, too, and therefore be amused about his comment. By laughing at taboo topics such as physical disabilities, the audience momentarily suppresses its usual feelings of respect or sympathy for these people and consequently behaves accordingly to the superiority theory. After Malcolm has stepped on a cactus in the episode Burning Man (S07E01), he is waiting in a seemingly endless line of people in front of the First Aid tent. Not wanting to miss most of the festival, he reluctantly accepts the advice of another festival visitor to go to the shaman lady’s place in order to receive medical treatment there. To Malcolm’s complete surprise, the lady suddenly sucks on his wound and makes a

diagnosis for his mental condition before spitting out the thorn and giving him a tetanus shot. Although Malcolm usually considers shamans as ridiculous charlatans, he seems impressed about her accurate diagnosis. When he realizes, however, that it is not only admiration that he feels for this woman, he turns to the camera and wonders: “okay, she's almost as old as my mom, and obviously crazy as a loon. So why am I so turned on?”. Not only Malcolm shows an astonished reaction about his own revelation, but also the viewers are surprised about this sudden change of events. Since this twist exceeds their expectations and is additionally presented in uncouth language, it has a comic effect and matches the humor of the incongruity theory. By listing logical arguments that are supposed to speak against his feelings of attraction for this woman, it becomes evident that Malcolm is stuck in a dilemma between reason and emotion. Besides gaining a highly intimate insight into the protagonist’s psyche and feelings, the viewers can deduce from his conflicted state that, for the remaining episode, Malcolm’s reliability is going to be questionable. Among all the people and actions that induce Malcolm to wonder, such as why the families in the adjacent house keep moving in and out in the episode New Neighbors (S02E13) or whether he should be impressed or horrified by his father’s strange skate dance performance in the episode Rollerskates (S01E13), his mother seems to represent the biggest mystery in his eyes. Especially her unique ability to see through their schemes, regardless how well they have been planned, seems to be unintelligible to him. For example, in the episode Smunday (S01E15), a flashback shows how the boys agree to a deal in which one of Francis’ friends has to eat a dog food sandwich in order to receive Dewey’s bike as a reward. Owing to the fact that they lose, they have to figure out an excuse for the loss of the bike and claim that a boy pushed Dewey off his bike and took it away. Although Dewey is bitterly crying and his brothers are playing along as well, Lois does not fall for their deceit and places them under house arrest for two months. Thinking back to this situation, Malcolm still does not understand how his mother was able to see through their scheme and wonders while addressing the camera “how did she know we were lying? We were brilliant!”. Obviously, in a way, Malcolm looks up to his mother owing to her ability to reveal their best schemes, which is also reflected in the camera perspective during the flashback which shows Lois from a lower angle and therefore accentuates her superiority. When Lois and Hal hear that Francis has run away from the military academy in the episode Francis Escapes (S01E07) and worry about their oldest son, Malcolm

haphazardly blurts out that he is sure that Francis is okay. Although he tries to pretend not to be privy to Francis’ whereabouts and that he has only uttered this to calm his parents, both of them realize that he is lying. Whereas Hal attempts to appeal to Malcolm’s reason, Lois simply shouts at him and is successful, as he, once again involuntarily, blurts out the truth. Malcolm shortly turns to the camera and completely aghast asks “oh my God, how did she do that?” before being further questioned and unintentionally giving away further information about Francis. Apparently, Lois’ intimidation method succeeds in making Malcolm lose control over himself and hence manifests her authority over him. Whereas in his function as focalizer who talks to the audience, Malcolm is aware of his mother’s power over him and tries to evade it, his character is impotent and unintentionally gives in to her pressure. The last situation, in particular, demonstrates how his mother manages to create an internal conflict between his two personas. In some situations, Malcolm does not admire his mother for her cunningness, but rather wonders about the strange connections her brain seems to make. This is the case in the episode Jessica Stays Over (S07E05), when Malcolm asks Lois if he is allowed to borrow the car in order to get an autograph of one of his favorite authors. Instead of giving him the keys or at least a comprehensible explanation of why she refuses to let him drive, Lois responds by saying “you're going to drive it the way you threw your pants in a wad behind the hamper yesterday? I don't think so.” Due to the fact that her argument is completely illogical, Malcolm uncomprehendingly turns to the camera and utters “what? How does her mind even form thoughts like that?”. The viewers, who are most probably as confused as Malcolm, share his incomprehension about this absurd reply. However, the combination of surprise and absurdity frequently leads to laughter and belongs to the category of the incongruity theory. A second look makes clear that Lois simply falls back on her strategy of confusing Malcolm in order to get rid of him and thus, once again, uses her motherly knowledge about his personality against him. It appears that Malcolm predominantly keeps wondering about peculiar behavior or decisions of adults. Despite being a genius, he is still a child or a teenager and is therefore simply not capable of comprehending everything adult people do. Moreover, Malcolm’s tendency to focus on the logic of things often conflicts with the fact that human behavior is sometimes irrational and unforeseeable. As the same is true for his feelings, the struggle between his reason and his emotions keep getting him off course. His mother knows about this weakness and therefore uses his fear of her

authority to make him lose control of his mind and to manipulate him for her own purposes. Even though Malcolm is aware of her tactic from his previous experience, he seems to be powerless against it and thus keeps falling for it. Due to the fact that he sometimes relies on his genius and believes he is able to outsmart his cunning mother by means of meticulously worked out plans, he is always completely aghast when she still manages to see through them.

6.4.3. TO DISPLAY HIS PROCESS OF OVERTHINKING

By the episode Lois vs. Evil (S01E09), devoted viewers of the show have already realized that Malcolm has a crush on his former classmate Julie Houlerman. As he is walking over the schoolyard and explains to the camera that he finds school exhausting due to the fact that he is either bored, terrified or confused about Julie, she crosses his way and greets him. Instead of directly saying hi back to her, Malcolm chooses to address the camera first and states:

Perfect example: what does she mean by that? Is it just ''Hi''? Is she trying to say she likes me? Is she just being nice? And now I have to figure out a secret way to answer her without A) acting like I like her or B) acting like I don't like her or C) acting like I've never even thought about A or B. Just be pleasant and noncommittal. (Lois vs. Evil, 01:32 – 01:50)

Only after he has finished these lines, he turns to Julie and tries to greet her back, but stops at “Hey, Ju…” when he sees that she has already walked off with her friend in the meantime. Malcolm is frustrated and turns to the camera one last time, resentfully adding “She’s doing this to me on purpose.” This situation clearly demonstrates that Malcolm places too much weight on every single word Julie voices and that he tries to decipher what she might have meant, even though she obviously merely wanted to say hello to him. Overthinking every situation is a typical reaction for people who are in love and therefore this situation implicitly reveals Malcolm’s feelings for Julie. As being in love is a common feeling to which the majority of the viewers can relate, they can identify with Malcolm’s confusedness in his crush’s presence and therefore find his exaggerated thought process over a simple greeting amusing. Even though the audience is likely to identify with him, they still feel superior to Malcolm while watching the scene and laughing at him, indicating that this is a situation pertaining to the superiority theory. Besides the fact that he is sharing his thought processes with the audience, the camera provides a perspective on Julie from his point of view, indicating that the viewers are supposed to experience the situation as if looking through Malcolm’s eyes.

However, he is not only the focalizer in this scene, but shortly also takes on the role of the narrator owing to the fact that he provides relevant information which explains his belated reaction. A similar scene can be observed in the episode Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04), when he makes out with his new girlfriend Sarah and tells her that she is a good kisser. Instead of returning the compliment, Sarah only thanks him and then leaves. This reaction makes Malcolm insecure, which manifests itself in his ensuing monologue:

Thanks? What does that mean? What’s wrong with the way I kiss? Are my lips too wet? Maybe they’re too dry… I don’t see why she couldn’t just return the compliment… God, I’m the worst boyfriend ever. Okay, just calm down. I’m a good boyfriend. She wouldn’t be my girlfriend if I wasn’t… I have a girlfriend! (Malcolm’s Girlfriend, 03:09 – 03:29)

His disordered state of mind is also reflected in the range of emotions he goes through – from anger and disappointment over insecurity and finally to excitement. Once again, a word from a girl Malcolm likes confuses both his rational mind and his feelings, resulting in his crazy reaction. His sudden and multiple changes in emotion are a clear sign of his insecurity and also have, according to the superiority theory which claims that people laugh at infirmities of other people, an entertaining factor for the viewers. In this scene, the camera keeps Malcolm in the focus for the whole time, concentrating on the procedure his emotions and his mind run through. Though functioning as the focalizing instance, Malcolm’s overreaction to Sarah’s answer suggests that he is not in a trustworthy condition and that he is therefore most probably going to perceive further situations in similarly exaggerated ways. In the episode Standee (S06E03), Malcolm does not give in to his mother’s request to remove a standee at the Lucky Aide Store that she finds racist. He is convinced that she only wants him to dispose of it to execute her power over him, but as he is in a higher position than the probationary employee Lois, Malcolm does not have to obey his mother and savors this unusual circumstance. After fighting with her son for the majority of the episode, Lois is eventually told by a co-worker that the standee has led to an increase of African American customers, which is why she decides to put it up again and tells Malcolm that it was wrong of her to ask him to get rid of it. As she goes away, Malcolm perplexedly approaches the standee and then addresses the camera in order to explain his thoughts on his mother’s unexpected reaction:

Wow! Now all I want to do is take it down. I mean, look at this thing! It’s horribly offensive! What year are we living in, his name is Slappy for God’s sakes… if I take it down now, she’ll

think I’m only doing it to be contrary. Am I only doing it to be contrary? No. I really am offended. These are my true feelings which I wasn’t able to have before, because I was being contrary. Unless it’s the opposite of that. Ok, I am definitely taking this down, and I’m walking away and leaving it here while I pretend to do nothing and figure out what to do. (Standee, 18:21 – 19:00)

This scene proves that Malcolm always situates himself in opposition to Lois and that he does not have control over this automatic reaction. He tries to convince himself and the audience that this is his true opinion, but his muddled utterances as well as his facial expressions clearly show that he is highly insecure and has no idea what his stance really is. Whereas Malcolm struggles with himself, the viewers know for sure that his change of opinion concerning the standee is only attributable to his urge for rebellion against his mother’s power. On the basis of their informational advantage over Malcolm, the viewers feel superior to him and laugh at his attempt to persuade himself of the fact that his new view is irrespective of his mother’s change of mind. Whenever he throws a glance at the standee, this is filmed with an over-the-shoulder shot in order to represent his internal struggle in an intensified manner and therefore point to his position as focalizer. As in his last sentence, Malcolm furthermore mentions that he is going to figure out a solution, he provides the viewers with information about future plans and hence also has a narrating function. The audience is thus invited to participate in his problematic situation and to guess what he might do next.

6.4.4. TO COMPLAIN

As has already been mentioned, Malcolm is generally quite dissatisfied with his life and believes that he deserves better. It is therefore not surprising that he has a strong tendency to complain in order to discharge some frustration. At the beginning of the episode Krelboyne Picnic (S01E08), Malcolm is at first smoothly being woken up by Reese, but as soon as he opens his eyes, Reese punches him the face. Thereupon, Malcolm asks him why he deserves this and his brother replies that it is meant as a revenge for their family having to go to the Krelboyne Picnic. As Reese leaves the room, Malcolm turns to the camera and explains that his “special class is having a family day, and if that's not bad enough, it's on the weekend that Francis is home. I'm going to look like a total idiot in front of him.” Malcolm is obviously embarrassed and annoyed to be part of the upcoming event. He worries about being made fun of by the others, but especially fears becoming ridiculous in the eyes of his role model Francis.

Moreover, by moaning these two sentences he not only provides an explanation for Reese’s and his own bad moods, but also prepares the viewers for the events to follow, which indicates that he functions as narrator during his complaint. Apparently, the Krelboyne class enjoys organizing special occasions despite the fact that they get made fun of even more than usually. Owing to the fact that Malcolm is already frustrated that his attendance of this class has destroyed his chances of becoming popular one day, he dreads these embarrassing events. At the beginning of Therapy (S02E08), as he prepares for school, he addresses the camera in order to express his lament: “as near as I can figure, my school was created for the sole purpose of making me miserable. Today, in Krelboyne class, we start Medieval Week.” Malcolm describes what the episode is going to be about and thus serves as narrator, but the emphasis of his statement is clearly on his feelings about school, which points to his further role as focalizer. Besides putting the focus on himself by emphasizing the “me” in his complaint, Malcolm maintains constant eye contact with the audience and, for this reason, partly even walks backwards while the camera tracks him. Obviously, Malcolm is grossly exaggerating when he claims that his school’s only purpose is to make life difficult for him, indicating both his egocentricity and the fact that his account is not objective or reliable. In the episode Burning Man (S07E01), two occasions induce Malcolm to complain. First, he gets upset when he steps on a cactus and finds out that there are myriads of people waiting to be treated at the first aid tent. While he is standing in the line, he fretfully turns to the camera and expresses his frustration by sarcastically uttering “this is great. I’m gonna spend my entire two days at Burning Man standing in this line.” This comment shows that, once again, Malcolm is exaggerating in order to stress how miserable and unfair his life is. The second is after he falls in love with the shaman lady and hurts her feelings with his contempt for her re-birthing ceremonies; he wants to win her back and therefore forces himself to participate in one of the ceremonies. Unexpectedly, he feels inspired and reborn afterwards, but instead of being impressed by Malcolm’s willingness to overcome his inhibitions for her sake, the shaman lady rejects him for not staying true to his principles and allowing her to influence him. After she pushes him away, he addresses the audience and, once more, sarcastically remarks “great; who knew this life could even be crappier than the last one?”. Only because he did not get what he wanted, he exaggerates and over- generalizes his ‘new’ life by claiming that it is even worse than the one before.

Apparently, Malcolm tends either to exaggerate his situation or to voice his complaints through sarcasm. Both behavioral patterns match his personality and are therefore authentic ways to convey his dissatisfaction with particular circumstances. However, due to his frustration or anger, he is not capable of regarding the events from a neutral perspective and can thus neither be considered reliable as narrator nor as focalizer.

6.4.5. TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF

Malcolm’s wish for acceptance is not only limited to being liked by the other characters in the story world, but also by the extradiegetic viewers. Therefore, in order to still appear in a good light even if he does something stupid or morally reprehensible, he justifies himself to the audience. One example can be found in the episode Smunday (S01E15), in which Lois has had the flu over the weekend and is still not feeling well. Malcolm, however, does not show any sign of sympathy for her. In order to make the audience understand why he is being so uncaring, he addresses the camera and explains his state of mind: “I’d feel more sympathetic, but two months with no TV has killed the part of me that cares.” Obviously, he does not feel guilty for not being compassionate as he attributes the blame to Lois, claiming that her hard punishment has caused in him a temporary loss of the ability to feel sympathy for someone else. By asserting that his insensitive reaction is only the result of this special circumstance and therefore disavowing responsibility, Malcolm tries to manipulate the audience response in his favor. In the episode Therapy (S02E08), Malcolm has a similar justification when he pretends to have a mental breakdown in order to evade an embarrassing event of the Krelboyne class. While he is playing a video game that the school therapist gave him to get comfortable enough to talk, Malcolm shortly addresses the camera and admits “ok, so I faked it. But with the family I have, it would only be a matter of time anyway” before continuing with his game. Just as was the case in the previous example, he is making excuses and blaming his family for his own faults in order to prevent the viewers from judging him. With the statement that “it would only be a matter of time anyway,” he is not only mitigating the fact that he is deceiving the therapist as well as his teacher and his class, but also that he is letting his friends down. Thus, in both cases, Malcolm attempts to justify his selfish interests by pretending that he is forced to act in this way due to external factors.

Contrary to this, Malcolm does not blame someone else in the episode Hal Grieves (S07E14) for his own wrong behavior, but tries to talk his way out of the guilt he feels. When his father unexpectedly dies, Hal realizes that he has never had a real connection with him and fears that the same might happen to him and his sons. Therefore he decides to become a better dad and starts spending more time with the boys and keeps spoiling them. Whereas his brothers are taking advantage of their father’s vulnerability, Malcolm initially feels sympathy with him and tries to stop him. However, when Hal offers to buy him a car, Malcolm forgets his good intentions and enthusiastically responds “I love you, Daddy.” As, in the next scene, he is sitting in a sports car with a salesman while Hal is checking it from the outside, Malcolm is racked by remorse again and starts asking himself whether he should renounce or accept his father’s gift and utters

I know this is wrong. But somehow my body's not doing anything to stop it. Maybe that means at some level, I don't even know it's wrong. And if I don't know if it's wrong, then I can't get blamed for doing it. Right? (Hal Grieves, 17:08 – 17:20)

Malcolm obviously tries hard to find any excuse to soothe his bad conscience and to justify why he is about to accept his father’s present. As he cannot put the blame on someone else like in the previous examples, he argues with his body’s refusal to counteract and that this presumably signifies his unawareness of the immorality of his action. However, his insecure facial expression at the beginning of his monologue as well as while voicing the last question reveals that it is not his priority to explain himself to the audience, but rather to talk himself into believing that his behavior is not morally inacceptable. This attitude clearly indicates that, in this scene, Malcolm only wants to push his own selfish interests and that he is not at all reliable - neither as character nor as focalizer. Furthermore, by claiming that he is not fully accountable in this situation, he tries to rig the audience response in order to justify the fact that he is exploiting his grieving father. In the episode Stevie in Hospital (S07E19), Malcolm seems to have deep inhibitions about visiting Stevie who has had a major surgery and has finally left the intensive care station. For several days, Malcolm makes the resolution to pay his friend a visit, but keeps finding ridiculous excuses that allegedly keep him from carrying out his plan. For example, one day he blames the bus company for getting on the wrong bus and the other day, time passes too fast when he cannot decide on a present for Stevie in

the hospital’s gift shop. On the third day, he talks himself into believing that he is finally perfectly prepared and that there is nothing that can stop him anymore. As he is about to get into the car, he runs into his father who is swearing while trying to fix the control device for his remote-controlled ship. When Malcolm asks him what he is complaining about, Hal explains that he has merely put the batteries in upside-down and that it is nothing. Malcolm, however, sees another opportunity to justify why he will not be able to visit Stevie and therefore turns to the camera, puts on a desperate face and states “oh, God. Why now? I can't leave him like this” before approaching his father in order to help him. Although Hal tells him that he can handle it himself, Malcolm insists on helping him and even incites him to take revenge on the boy who had intentionally swamped his boat. His behavior clearly shows that because Malcolm attempts to hide his fear of seeing Stevie suffering in the hospital, he is therefore ready to take any banal reason as an excuse for his absence at his best friend’s bedside. By convincing his father to construct a ship which will be able to sink the mean boy’s boat and by further offering his support, Malcolm is obviously trying to find a distraction from his guilty conscience. Once again, he keeps claiming that he is not to blame for not going to the hospital, but that external factors - such as badly labeled busses, a too wide selection of presents at the gift shop or his father’s ‘problematic’ situation - are keeping him from finally visiting Stevie. As his actual intention, namely his attempt to conceal his true feelings and to talk his way out of the blame, is apparent to the viewers, there is no doubt that Malcolm’s comments within this episode are predominantly unreliable.

6.4.6. TO OFFER A PERSONAL CONCLUSION TO THE EVENTS

At the end of numerous episodes, Malcolm sums up the previous events and mostly also comments on them. Furthermore, in many cases, he provides information that has not been shown to the audience on the visual track, such as for example the outcome of an intricate situation or what has been happening in the meantime. Already in the Pilot episode (S01E01), the main events of the day are summarized by Malcolm: after the unexpected end to his ‘fight’ with the school bully Dave Spath, the camera moves away into the sky and leads then into the next scene to Malcolm who is sitting somewhere outside. From this initially unknown place, he addresses the camera and recounts what the outcome of the previous situation in the schoolyard was:

So then, the principal comes out and everyone’s all talking at once. So the story he puts together is that Spath attacks Stevie for his lunch and I’m like this hero that stepped in to defend him. It was beautiful… Okay, it wasn’t funny when Spath started crying… no, wait, it was… Dad’s hair… uuugh. Yeah, I know, it’s gross. But, hey, if a bunch of birds can make the best out of what they get, so can I. [Dewey] Like having to go to special class. I can make it work out, right? [Dewey and Malcolm] Like my family: we’re not the greatest family in the world, but we can get better, right? I mean, it’s not impossible. [Dewey and Malcolm] So basically, I think everything’s going to be okay. [Dewey and Malcolm] (Pilot 23:54 – 24:47)

While he is narrating the events, the camera, which first shows Malcolm in a close-up shot, slowly keeps moving away from him, progressively presenting more of him and his surroundings. When he catches sight of his father’s shaved off body hair, which is being taken by a bird to build a nest, it is finally revealed that he is sitting in the front yard of their house. Since a shot of Malcolm’s glance to the side is directly followed by a shot of the bird picking some of Hal’s hair, it is clear that Malcolm’s perspective is being depicted, which points to his role as focalizer. This function is being intensified by his personal comments that either describe how he feels about the outcomes or display his thinking processes about these events. Furthermore, he also serves as narrator in this scene as he provides the audience with information about the principal’s and Dave Spath’s reactions which have not been supplied by the visual track. Besides, as he is talking, it can be heard that Dewey is calling Malcolm, which is indicated in the square brackets above. At first, Malcolm ignores his younger brother, but as Dewey keeps asking for him, he exasperatedly replies and thrice tells his brother to be quiet, which is also marked in square brackets. After Dewey asks Malcolm if he may get out, the camera perspective changes and thereby discloses that Malcolm is actually seated on a flipped garbage can which he has put over his younger brother. This revelation about Dewey’s confinement under the garbage can is amusing to the viewers since it comes completely unexpectedly and since it obviously contradicts Malcolm’s comment that even he and his family are able to become better people. The discrepancy between his statement and his action – namely trying to change for the better but then holding his little brother captive – causes laughter in the audience and therefore clearly belongs to the humor of the incongruity theory. The fact that Dewey cannot hear Malcolm’s audience-oriented comments, but only those that are directed at him, emphasizes Malcolm’s special position within the series, namely as character with the exclusive ability to talk to the viewers. On the whole, this scene highlights all the functions which Malcolm fulfills throughout the series, namely as protagonist, as narrator, as focalizer and as mediator between the intradiegetic world and the extradiegetic viewers. Owing to

its placement at the end of the first episode, it is supposed to sum up the essence of Malcolm’s role in the show to the audience. In the episode Home Alone (S01E03), Francis is allowed to come home from the military academy as his parents need him to watch his brothers during the weekend, which they are going to spend at a wedding six hundred miles away. Malcolm overhears Lois and Hal secretly talking about signing Francis out of the military academy if he passes their test by not getting into trouble while they are away. Due to the fact that Francis always tends to do the opposite of what an authority figure has told him to do, Malcolm only tells Reese and Dewey of this news and the three younger boys try to keep their oldest brother in check. However, when the situation escalates with Francis and his friends wrecking the house, the boys are forced to tell him about their parents’ plan. As they finish cleaning up the house, an overloaded shelf right above Malcolm’s head breaks apart and injures his head so badly that he needs stitches. Although the boys trick Malcolm’s teacher Caroline, who had offered her support to him earlier in the episode, into paying the hospital bill in order to conceal the accident from their parents, Lois finds out about the injury. When Malcolm, full of hope to have his brother back at home, asks her if Francis still did a good job watching them, Lois affirms this and answers that his mature reaction after the accident proves that sending him to military school was the best decision they had ever made. The boys are disappointed that Francis has to leave again, but Malcolm is also fascinated by his mother’s cleverness, which he expresses by stating to the audience “Mom: 62 437, Kids: zero.” After this, the camera moves to the next scene, in which Malcolm is shown lying on the ground somewhere outside, explaining to the viewers:

So, we get to see Francis again in a month or two. I know, it sucks, but we gave it a shot. And school’s easier now because Caroline won’t even make eye contact with me anymore. So it wasn’t a complete waste. And Mom always says it’s not a wasted experience if you learn something from it. And I definitely think I did. (Home Alone, 20:57 – 21:15)

At first, he tells the viewers when Francis is going to come home the next time and then shares his thoughts and feelings about the outcome of the previous events that took place in this episode. Thus, once again, Malcolm serves both as narrator and as focalizer while he offers his personal conclusion to the episode. Just as was the case in the previous example, the viewers first do not know where Malcolm is lying as he is filmed in a close-up shot. While he is talking to the audience, the camera moves away from him and reveals not only that he is lying on the sidewalk of their street, but also that

Dewey is lying next to him in the same pose. This implies for the viewers that the boys are up to something, which is instantly proved to be a right assumption: Malcolm shouts “ready” and thereupon, Reese prepares to drive over a ramp with his bike in order to jump over his two younger brothers. Moreover, this scene evokes laughter because Malcolm first states that he believes he learned a lesson, but as he is about to do something irrational and dangerous again, his claim is instantly being refuted by his own actions. The viewers’ expectations, namely that Malcolm will display a more mature behavior after his assertion, are hence not being met but, on the contrary, he proves that nothing has changed and that he continues to make the same mistakes all over again. What is more, this sequence could also be interpreted as a funny self- critique with regard to the situation comedy genre in which characters learn a lesson in the course of an episode, but cannot remember it anymore by the next one. In this case, this convention is deliberately being exaggerated or even satirized since Malcolm has already forgotten his lesson by the next scene. When the Wilkersons find out that a street festival is taking place on their street in the episode Block Party (S05E08), Hal and Lois decide to bring back memories and thus to participate in a Kielbasa-eating contest. At the beginning of the contest, all of their neighbors hate them and therefore nobody either believes or hopes that one of the Wilkerson parents is going to win. However, Hal and Lois actually end up as the last two contestants by far, which is why the whole neighborhood changes its opinion and starts cheering for them. When Lois catches the last Kielbasa and, instead of eating it alone and therefore winning the competition, shares it with Hal, the crowd is overwhelmed by the Wilkersons’ love for each other. As they keep cheering for the couple, they doubt themselves and feel bad for having hated the family for years. Soon after this, however, some of the neighbors get into an argument, which then spreads over throughout the crowd causing everybody except for the perplexed Wilkersons to leave the block party. While they are enjoying the celebration on their own, Malcolm addresses the camera and, in conclusion, remarks “well, I guess Mom was right. We were serving a purpose in the neighborhood all these years.” Even though he does not express it directly, the viewers understand that Malcolm is referring to the fact that their neighborhood was only able to be so harmonious because of their shared hatred of the Wilkersons. As soon as they had stopped hating them, the situation among the others escalated as they had to redirect their hatred towards someone else. Thus, the Wilkersons’ purpose of which Malcolm is talking is that of being the neighborhood’s

scapegoat. As the audience has most probably already perceived this for themselves, Malcolm is not providing new information, but only voicing a stream of thought with the audience, which is why he functions as a focalizer in this situation. Nevertheless, these two sentences suffice to capture the essence of this episode and therefore represent a well-chosen personal conclusion by the protagonist. These situations have proved that Malcolm not only provides a summary of the main events in his personal conclusion, but he also adds how they make him feel or which thinking processes they have triggered in his head. Furthermore, in some cases Malcolm’s conclusions explain the events that have taken place between two successive scenes, but were not shown on the visual track. However, besides reducing the content of individual episodes to their very essence, Malcolm’s final comments seem mainly to serve the purpose of rounding off the events in a humorous way and thus to keep the audience’s interest up.

6.5. TO GIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CAMERA OR TO THE VIEWERS

One very particular function of Malcolm’s instances of breaking the Fourth wall is when he does not only talk to the audience, but also gives the camera, and thus indirectly the viewers, instructions about where to look. In this way, he highlights the fact that he is aware of the technical equipment surrounding him and therefore breaks the audience’s illusion of the sitcom reality, which creates an alienating effect. One example for these camera instructions can be found in the episode Home Alone (S01E03), in which the family is having a fun dinner at home until Reese obviously oversteps a line and aims at his mother with a spoon full of mashed potatoes. Soon they are stuck in a situation in which Lois keeps telling him not do it and Reese explains that he never even intended to, however, neither of them wants to finally give in. While the other family members are curiously observing the tense situation, Malcolm turns to the camera and comments on the “interesting mood shift. It would take hours to explain the psychology behind this. So let me just put it this way: (points to Lois): dynamite… (moves his arm, so that it points to Reese): kid with matches.” As has already been indicated in the brackets, Malcolm first points a finger at his mother and then at Reese, specifying in which direction the camera, and thus implicitly also the audience, is supposed to look. At the beginning of his commentary, the camera is placed

behind Malcolm and shows him as well as Lois, Reese and Dewey sitting at the table. When he points a finger at his mother, the perspective shifts and thereupon presents his point of view, reducing the field of vision to his outstretched arm and Lois or Reese, respectively.

Figure 16: Malcolm pointing at Lois. Figure 17: Malcolm pointing at Lois, (Season 1, episode 3, 00:52) seen from his perspective (00:53)

Not only by explicitly stating that he is going to explain the situation to the viewers, but also by pointing at his mother and his brother, Malcolm shows that he is aware of the extra-diegetic viewers’ presence and therefore obviously supplies the camera with instructions. Consequently, he functions as narrator who explains what is happening, as focalizer who presents his perspective on the depicted event and to some extent as director who purposefully steers the viewers’ attention to particular details. On the one hand, his instructions have an alienating effect on the viewing situation, as characters usually do not have a direct influence on or power over camera directions; on the other hand, they also contribute to a better understanding of the scene as well as to the impression of immediacy by presenting the events through Malcolm’s eyes. Moreover, exactly the unusual nature of this situation that is entertaining for the viewers due to the fact that it deviates from their knowledge about situation comedies and represents therefore an unexpected moment. This moment of surprise, which is typical of the incongruity theory, paired with Malcolm’s striking description of the atmosphere between Reese and Lois, constitute the humor of this scene. In the episode Standee (S06E03), Malcolm and his mother are having an argument due to a standee which has been set up at the Lucky Aide Shop. Lois finds the standee racist, but is not entitled to remove it by herself owing to her status as probationary employee, which is why she orders Malcolm to do it. Afraid of losing his

job and enjoying the fact that his mother is powerless in this situation, he refuses to follow her orders and does not get rid of the standee. As he replies “no” to his mother, he pretends to be confident, but as soon as he turns around and walks away from her, Malcolm shows his true feelings and anxiously asks into the camera “she isn’t coming after me, is she?”. Not daring to really look back himself, he uses this question in order to indirectly invite the viewers to turn their attention to Lois who is blurredly visible in the background. Although Malcolm is not going to receive an answer, the audience is shortly conveyed the feeling of being part of the intra-diegetic world which is supposed to give Malcolm information about events taking place beyond his field of vision. Due to the fact that the camera perspective does not change or as the focus does not shift from Malcolm to Lois, his instruction is directly aimed at the audience, whose perspective enables them to see both Malcolm’s face and his perplexed mother standing in the background at the same time. The viewers are thus under the impression of standing diagonally in front of Malcolm, whispering to him that Lois has not moved since he walked away. This indicates that even though he is breaking with typical sitcom conventions and is drawing attention to his knowledge of being followed and observed, he succeeds in increasing the feeling of immersion among the audience. The most frequent and explicit occurrence of Malcolm’s camera instructions can be found in the Pilot episode (S01E01). Already at the beginning, as he introduces his brothers by particular body parts such as their squeaking nostrils or cold feet while sleeping, the camera is directed at these details in extreme close-up shots, which creates the impression that Malcolm is standing next to Reese and Dewey filming the scene himself. Although this idea is refuted as soon as he appears on the screen, the fact that the camera shows exactly the body parts that he is talking about, obviously proves that he is giving some instruction. Later in the episode, while the other children are having fun and playing together in the schoolyard, Malcolm is sitting alone at a table eating his lunch. After he has uttered into the camera that “around here, being smart is exactly like being radioactive,” he repeatedly points his index finger upwards, suggesting to the cameraman to change the perspective. Therefore, the next shots are shown from bird’s eye view in order to display how the other students are refraining from him:

Figure 18: Malcolm giving instructions Figure 19: Camera showing Malcolm to shoot from above (Season 1, episode 1, 21:05) from bird’s eye view (21:06)

To prove his claim that the others are avoiding him, Malcolm makes use of this special perspective and moves to the left and to the right, which induces the other students to make a step in the same direction in order to maintain the same distance from him. As this demonstration has been successful, the camera moves back to Malcolm who has put on an annoyed facial expression. Furthermore, by lifting his eyebrows and slightly nodding his head, he seems to nonverbally communicate to the viewers that he was correct and is now gloating. This camera direction is the most apparent one of the whole show and represents, with its implied change of perspective, a unique scene within the sitcom genre. Since this consistent distance radius of the other students to Malcolm is completely absurd and as this scene clearly deviates from the norm and is therefore not at all foreseeable on behalf of the viewers, it matches the humor of the incongruity theory. Some moments after this glance, he murmurs “I can’t believe I’m doing this” to the camera and reluctantly walks up to Stevie to apologize for calling him a freak in the preceding scene. As soon as he gets up and goes towards Stevie, the perspective changes back to bird’s eye view and demonstrates once again how the students instantly form a passage for Malcolm in order to never come into contact with him. While he is trying to say sorry to Stevie, the school bully Dave Spath interrupts him by throwing an empty milk carton at his head. Thereupon Malcolm turns to Spath and shouts at him that he makes everyone’s life miserable and that therefore the whole school hates him. While the whole student body is surrounding them and curiously watching what is happening, the bully approaches Malcolm and announces that he is going to beat him up badly. Directly after this threat, Malcolm turns to the camera and, instead of expressing fear, excitedly explains that “this is when something good

happens. Finally! So we’re gonna slow down and make it last as long as possible,” anticipating that the following scene is going to be presented in slow motion. In this scene, he first throws a pudding into Spath’s face and as the bully thereupon furiously strikes out, Malcolm quickly ducks, which is why Spath accidentally and only slightly hits Stevie’s chin. Owing to the fact that the other students react indignantly to this, Stevie intentionally tips over with his wheelchair and pretends to be hurt. Consequently the others denounce the bully for punching a disabled person and Malcolm and Stevie get out of the situation uninjured as celebrated heroes. The humor of this scene lies in the viewers’ joyful anticipation, Malcolm’s highly amusing facial expressions as well as in the absurd result of the fight. Even though the viewers have been informed in advance that something positive is going to happen to Malcolm, the events of the scene are nonetheless surprising and of comic nature, indicating that this is an example of humor based on the incongruity theory. The fact that Malcolm already knows what is going to happen indicates that the ensuing events presented on the visual track have already taken place and that Malcolm is retelling them from a point in the future. As his comment provides important information for the audience, Malcolm’s threefold function as character, narrator and director is made apparent. However, by addressing the audience in the midst of this past situation as if Malcolm had travelled back in time, the narrative mode becomes highly unrealistic and thus alienating for the viewers. By means of this utterance, the audience no longer expects to see Spath winning the fight, but is curious about how this unpleasant situation is going to turn out well for Malcolm. The scene is played in slow motion not only in order to enable the viewers to follow the individual steps leading to this fortunate twist, but also to enable the audience to capture each of the funny facial expressions that the characters make during their fight and thus to evoke laughter.

6.6. EFFECT OF IMMERSION

Even though viewers are aware that the actions in films and television series have been scripted and that the characters involved are being played by actors and actresses, they accept the displayed happenings as some kind of “screened reality.” In other words, the audience watches these programs as if they presented real events that had been caught on camera in order to immerse themselves as much as possible into the fictive story world. Thus, during the act of watching, many viewers tend to acquaint themselves to

such an extent with the shows that they do not consider themselves as an observing instance outside the diegetic world, but rather as invisible bystanders within the story level. Directors also attempt to intensify this effect by filming with particular camera techniques and perspectives that create the impression of being in the same room or sitting at the same table as the characters do. Furthermore, by means of close-up shots of the characters’ facial expressions, the creators try to present their characters’ emotions better and therefore to facilitate the viewers’ empathy with them. Malcolm in the Middle and other shows or films using the technique of breaking the fourth wall, go one step further by giving the protagonist the possibility to voice his or her feelings directly to the audience. Moreover, these characters also reveal some of their thought processes and thus make their decisions or actions transparent. By allowing insight into his emotional and psychological state, the protagonist becomes accessible to the viewers, which promotes character-viewer interaction. Through this narrative technique, the audience becomes more involved in the story and is given the impression of being the protagonist’s best friend and confidant. For example, while Malcolm is explaining why Lois is shaving Hal’s body in the pilot episode, he is standing at the kitchen counter observing them before addressing the audience. The perspective which the camera offers before Malcolm is shown, presents the parents’ shaving ritual from Malcolm’s point-of-view. By looking at the event through his eyes, the viewers put themselves into his position and become immersed into the story. Moreover, since the viewers are allowed to see this highly intimate moment and the protagonist even elucidates the reason for this monthly ritual, the impression of being part of the story is enhanced. The same applies to the other situations in which Malcolm explains particular habits of his family or in which he provides context for current, future or past events. In this way, not only the story is being pushed forward, but the viewers are also conveyed the impression of being a visible and trustworthy interlocutor of Malcolm. In those scenes in which he addresses the audience to express his thoughts or feelings, the extent of immersion into the story is particularly high. By allowing the viewers deep insight into his emotional and psychological state, the impression of being Malcolm’s confidant is created and the special connection between him and the viewers is intensified. In many cases, Malcolm turns to the audience during or after a dialogue with another character and reveals that he has just lied to his interlocutor. In contrast to those characters, the viewers are thus allowed to learn about his true feelings or

thoughts. However, depending on the situation, the audience needs to question whether Malcolm’s private comments to them are reliable or if he is only pretending to tell the truth and therefore trying to manipulate their response in his favor. Besides Malcolm’s utterances to the viewers, special camera techniques ensure the creation or the enhancement of immersion. One recurrent method is the point-of- view-shot which generates the effect of seeing the events through Malcolm’s eyes and which therefore enables the audience to experience the situation just like the protagonist does. In this way, the distance between viewer and character is reduced to a minimum which consequently leads to a higher degree of empathy. Often, the point-of-view shot alternates with a shot showing the protagonist’s face in order to demonstrate the emotions or reaction that are triggered by the focalized object. When Malcolm first covers his eyes with his hands in the Pilot episode (S01E01) and then partly uncovers them as his new teacher addresses him, the viewers are presented exactly the perspective which he has on his surroundings. Therefore, the fingers, which are still placed in front of his eyes not only reduce his vision, but also that of the viewers. However, by using this technique the viewers can identify with how Malcolm perceives the new, unfamiliar and thus also intimidating environment.

Figure 20: The camera imitating Malcolm’s Figure 21: Malcolm’s perspective as his perspective (Season 1, episode 1, 19:37) new classmates stare at him. (19:49)

The two screenshots above demonstrate point-of-view shots of his first day in Krelboyne class and are supposed to convey to the viewers the unpleasantness of the situation. Particularly the fact that the other characters are looking down into the camera from their higher position, creates an oppressive effect – even for the audience who is under the impression of being in Malcolm’s place. Myriad other instances of point-of- view shots can be found throughout the show, for example in the episode Funeral

(S01E11) when Malcolm thinks back to being pestered by his female relatives; or when he observes how his girlfriend is talking to another boy at school in the episode Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04). However, the most frequently used camera technique for creating a feeling of immersion in this show is the over-the-shoulder shot. Although it is not the actual point-of-view of the speaker, television and film convention has taught the audience to consider it as such. In this way, not only both the focalizer and the focalized object are in one frame at the same time, but as the face of the focalized person is visible, the viewers can observe how the respective conversation partner is reacting to the speaker and can thus more easily identify with them. Just as it was the case with the point-of-view shot, this filming technique is often intertwined with shots of the speaker’s face in order to implicitly steer the audience response in favor of one of the characters with whom the viewers are supposed to empathize with. This method appears in every episode of the series and is additionally observable in most of Malcolm’s direct addresses to the audience, such as in the episode Roller Skates (S01E13) as he argues with his father, in Humilithon (S04E02) when he decides to say hi to the group of girls on the schoolyard or in the discussion scene between Malcolm and his mother in the episode Standee (S06E03). However, Malcolm’s instances of breaking the fourth wall do not always serve the purpose of creating the illusion of immersion. In many situations the opposite is the case, namely the so-called alienation effect, which will be elucidated in the following sub-chapter.

6.7. EFFECT OF ALIENATION

Each genre, whether with regard to books, films or television, has its own set of characteristics that both the creators and the audience have agreed upon and which have therefore become individual, established conventions. Consequently, sweet, simple- minded and funny characters are allocated to comedies, whereas they would be considered as displaced and irritating in works of horror or Western fiction. When watching situation comedies, the viewers expect, for example, to hear a laugh track and to see static characters who keep making the same mistakes due to the fact that they always forget the life lesson they learned in the previous episode. By refusing to play such a laugh track and with its deviant way of shooting the scenes with one camera instead of with a usual three-camera-setup, Malcolm in the

Middle obviously aims at differing from typical sitcoms. With its protagonist Malcolm, who keeps breaking out of his character in order to address the camera directly and to make comments or ask the viewers questions, however, the show breaks one of the major conventions of this genre. The audience is confronted with a technique they normally do not expect to encounter in a domestic sitcom and might therefore regard this as alienating. Whereas television and film traditionally rely on passive spectators who are not existent for the characters and who merely observe the events happening on the intradiegetic level, the viewers of Malcolm in the Middle are suddenly being repeatedly reminded by the protagonist that he is aware of their presence. Through Malcolm’s audience-directed comments and questions, he pulls the viewers out of the sitcom reality they have been immersed in and consequently destroys their illusion of watching authentic events. This breaking of the fourth wall might induce them to reflect about their position as viewers as well as about Malcolm’s double-role as character and mediator between the intradiegetic world and the extradiegetic audience. Owing to the triggering of these cognitive processes, this series is no longer a mere form of entertainment anymore, but also attempts to stimulate the viewers into thinking about their knowledge of and experience with the genre. Moreover, Malcolm’s interjections frequently disrupt the ongoing action as well as the narrative thread for a short time and therefore emphasize the fictitious nature of the depicted events. Especially the fact that none of the other characters take notice of Malcolm’s audience-oriented comments could be considered implausible and incongruous and might hence entail the viewers’ alienation from the story. The beginning of the pilot episode already alludes to the heretofore rather unusual narrative structure of the show. Instead of abiding by the sitcom custom of introducing the characters through the events they participate in, a boy’s voice first talks about the Earth and then presents his brothers one by one before finally showing himself to the camera. Not only the fact that no action takes place in the first scene, but in particular the way in which Malcolm introduces his brothers, is extraordinary. After the Earth of which Malcolm talks about in the beginning disappears into Reese’s left nostril, he moves on to their introduction. Both Reese and Dewey are presented merely by means of an extreme close-up shot of a squeaking nostril or freezing cold feet, respectively. Later in the scene, Malcolm is shown sitting on his bed facing away from his brothers and thus, it becomes apparent that the close-up shots do not present his perspective. Additionally to the special effect of the terrestrial globe disappearing in

Reese’s nose, the extreme close-ups of Reese’s and Dewey’s body parts are supposed to draw the viewers’ attention to the artificiality of the situation. Instead of inviting the audience to become completely immersed into the sitcom reality, Malcolm’s direct addresses to the audience remind them of the fact that this “reality” is merely constructed hence evoking an effect of distance between the story and the viewers. Whenever the viewers lack relevant information about particular habits of the Wilkersons or the situation in general, Malcolm shortly breaks out of his character and takes on the role as narrator. Although Malcolm thereby pushes the story ahead, he disturbs the flow of it by jumping between his two functions as character and as mediator between the intradiegetic world and the extradiegetic viewers. Moreover, Malcolm’s emergence as explicit narrator is in contrast to the predominant techniques within film and television to tell the story by means of a “voiceless” narrator. This means that an interplay of the visual and the auditory track functions as narrating instance which offers a neutral, observing perspective on the events. According to that, the use of an intradiegetic narrator in Malcolm in the Middle indicates the show’s deviation from the norm and therefore a break with the viewers’ expectations. This means that instead of finding out about the missing information through dialogues had by the characters or simply by following the events, Malcolm anticipates the missing scenes and explains them to the audience himself. During these moments, he steps between the story and the viewers and thus creates a momentary distance between these two instances. Those scenes in which Malcolm gives instructions to the camera or to the audience, indicating what to focus on or from which angle to look at the situation, are particularly alienating, as they explicitly point out the fictive and constructed nature of the depicted events. By giving these meta-referential directions, the illusion of the sitcom reality is destroyed for a moment and the viewers’ attention is drawn to the filming technique or to the technical instruments that are surrounding Malcolm enabling this perspective to the viewers. In these sequences, it is not the story line or the characters which are the centre of attention, but rather the production of the show as Malcolm makes clear that he is both aware of the camera and of his ability to give stage directions. He thus steps out of his character and presents himself to the audience as actor who is performing his role as protagonist and briefly even as intradiegetic director. Thereby, the viewers’ illusion of watching filmed, but real situations is destroyed and the distance from the audience to the depicted events is increased.

6.8. STRENGTHENING OF THE PROTAGONIST

A further function of Malcolm’s direct addresses to the audience is to emphasize his role as protagonist of the series. Although the title Malcolm in the Middle already suggests his pivotal position, this does not mean that the dominant story line revolves around him. In order to still convey that Malcolm is the central character of the show, various methods are used to strengthen his importance – either through the content of his comments or by applying special filming techniques which foreground him or at least his point of view. In the very first scene of the show (Pilot, S01E01), both the way in which Malcolm introduces himself to the audience and the camera perspective already indicate that he plays the central role of the series: first of all, he is the only character that is awake and whose voice can be heard in form of a voice-over and a viewer-oriented utterance during the introductory scene; secondly, Malcolm is not only in the foreground as he addresses the camera, but he is also in focus, whereas his sleeping brothers are being either presented merely by means of a photo or blurredly and out of focus in the background; finally, as he is the only one who has the possibility to present himself to the audience and to implicitly hint at his personality by uttering statements like “he’s the one I really like, so, of course, he got sent to military school” or “you wanna know what the best thing about childhood is? At some point it stops” that indicate his pessimism and his constant feeling of being treated unfairly, makes it obvious to the viewers that Malcolm is in a special position. In a high number of situations in which the viewers are confronted with new characters, strange habits of the Wilkerson family or in which they are in need of context about past, present or future events, Malcolm steps in and provides them with the missing information. Due to the fact that he almost always adds a comment or his personal opinion to the information, his accounts are subjective and his view is implicitly pushed into the foreground. As a result, the viewers are influenced by Malcolm and are more likely to adopt his perspective. Moreover, this method allows Malcolm to assert his position as main character of the show even if he does not represent an active part of a particular scene. For instance, Malcolm does not have any important function on the story level, but only serves as source of information for the viewers in the ‘leftover casserole’ teaser of the episode Lois’ Makeover (S03E10). Whereas he does not stand out as main character in the scene, he pushes himself into the

fore by addressing the audience as focalizer and narrator and disgustedly pointing out that the present leftover casserole is mixed with that of the preceding week. Not only does his explanation lead to a more empathy on behalf of the viewers regarding the individual family members, but Malcolm thereby succeeds in becoming important to the scene and thus in affirming his role as protagonist and main point of reference for the audience. Likewise, when he explains why Reese and Dewey are fighting over who is allowed to change Jamie’s diaper in the episode Block Party (S05E08), he does not interact at all with the other characters in the room, but merely addresses the viewers to provide them with the informational advantage that Lois is making use of her sons’ naivety in order to discharge a duty. Once again, as his role on the story level is only marginal, Malcolm’s different functions are emphasized when he additionally appears as intradiegetic narrator who sheds light on the bizarre situation. The same is true for the shaving scene in the Pilot episode (S01E01), in which the focus is clearly on Lois and Hal and where Malcolm only plays a secondary role within the story. However, as soon as he talks to the audience in order to elucidate why this is a monthly ritual in the Wilkerson household, he pushes himself into the foreground – on the one hand by offering his perspective on the event as focalizer, on the other hand by clearing up the situation as narrator. These three examples indicate that Malcolm’s importance to the show is not reduced to the title Malcolm in the Middle or to his role as intradiegetic protagonist, but that it is extended to his frequent appearances as narrator or focalizer in which he communicates with the extradiegetic audience. Consequently, even if he is not involved in every scene or story line, this wide array of functions makes sure that the overall focus nonetheless stays on Malcolm. The analysis has shown that in myriad situations, Malcolm addresses the audience in order to express his positive or negative feelings about particular events. As usually within the sitcom genre, the feelings of the characters are conveyed through facial expressions or through dialogues with other characters, Malcolm’s explicit statements about his emotions could be regarded as unnecessary and superfluous. However, by being the only character of the show that is able to additionally communicate his feelings verbally to the viewers, his special position in the series is being asserted. Especially the fact that, in some cases, the narration is even disrupted by interjections about his emotions indicates that not the events themselves, but rather how Malcolm perceives them and reacts to them is being moved to the audience’s center of attention. In contrast to the situations where his feelings are obvious, there are also

some scenes in which Malcolm hides his true emotions from other characters and only allows the viewers to gain insight into his actual state of mind. This can, for example, be observed in the episode Malcolm Babysits (S01E05), in which he pretends he is not too fond of his job as babysitter in front of his mother; as soon as he is alone, however, Malcolm discloses his excitement about his employers’ kindness towards him and about his high wage to the audience by stating “I can’t believe how much these people are paying me! I did the math, I’m actually making more an hour than Mom does.” In this case, Malcolm’s direct address is necessary for the audience to understand why he does not tell his mother how much he enjoys his new job. Namely, by revealing thereupon to the audience that his payment is higher than that of Lois, his previous behavior becomes comprehensible as it shows that one of the reasons why he lied to her earlier was to spare her this humiliation in front of her sons. Moreover, by offering insight into his real state of emotions exclusively to the viewers, the viewers feel they are conveyed to have a special connection to Malcolm and are therefore more likely to empathize with him and to adopt his perspective on the depicted events.

6.9. RELIABILITY AND AUTHENTICITY

One of the overall aims of the show’s creators was to make the audience look at the story world with its characters and events through Malcolm’s eyes either by using special camera angles that are supposed to simulate his perspective or by means of his personal comments to the camera. However, due to the fact that Malcolm is part of the story world and is thus affected by most of the events taking place in it, his accounts are predominantly of subjective nature and therefore require an evaluation with regard to their reliability. For instance, Malcolm’s introductions of other characters are highly subjective as in most cases he describes them by means of his personal perception of them rather than by their actual character traits, making it obvious to the viewers whether he is fond of the person or not. In contrast to his introduction of Francis in the Pilot episode (S01E01) with the words “he’s the one I really like, so, of course, he got sent to military school,” clearly pointing out his special liking for his oldest brother, his aversion against his bully Kevin is equally discernible in the episode Shame (S01E04), as he presents the boy to the audience by declaring that “he’s only been here two weeks and he’s already the most obnoxious kid in the school.” Whereas in the course of the episode the viewers

realize that his characterization of Kevin turns out to be true and is thus not purely subjective, his claim about his oldest brother having been sent away for no reason is revealed to be a lie by means of a sequence of flashbacks which offer a glimpse into Francis’ history of misbehavior and vandalism that eventually led to his expulsion. Owing to the fact that Malcolm’s audience-oriented comment does not correspond with the events presented on the visual track, his reliability is clearly refuted in this scene. With regard to the other situations in which he provides the viewers with some missing information or necessary context and which fall under the category of explanatory comments, it can be observed that Malcolm is most likely to offer trustworthy accounts in his role as narrator. In almost every scene in which he serves as narrating instance for the audience, the ensuing visual track confirms his claims and therefore proves his reliability. For example, in the episode Emancipation (S03E02) Malcolm’s complaint about the unbearable situation at home after Francis has left the military academy in order to work in Alaska is being supported by the subsequent scenes at the Wilkerson house which demonstrate how Lois is terrorizing the whole family. Similarly, directly after Malcolm has explained that his mother is completely stressed out about Grandma Ida’s unannounced visit in the episode Ida Loses a Leg (S06E14), Lois indeed shows clear signs of tenseness and absent-mindedness and thus indirectly confirms her son’s earlier comment. In fact, trustworthiness and objectivity are a necessity for Malcolm in his position as narrator due to the fact that, in these situations, he represents the only source of information and reference point for the viewers. Whereas his explanatory statements are thus predominantly truthful, Malcolm as character shows an inclination to lying or pretending in order to benefit personally and is thus frequently an unreliable protagonist. Proof for this claim can be found in the episode Funeral (S01E11), in which Malcolm pretends to have a book report due on the following day in order to be allowed to skip his grand-aunt’s funeral and to go to a concert with his crush Julie. Likewise, the episodes Therapy (S02E08) in which he feigns a mental breakdown and Krelboyne Picnic (S01E08) in which he simulates being sick, present two further examples of Malcolm lying to other characters in order to evade embarrassing Krelboyne events. Sometimes, however, Malcolm’s unreliability as character is not intentional but is due to external factors such as pretty girls that put him off his stride: for instance, when Malcolm fears losing his girlfriend Sarah and is consequently preoccupied by extreme jealousy throughout the episode Malcolm’s Girlfriend

(S03E04), he is not of a sound mind. As soon as even his concentration at school is affected by this situation, he announces to the audience that he has figured out how to change the situation; when Malcolm gives Sarah a pager as a present in order to be able to control her at all times instead of breaking up with her as expected by the viewers, his unreliability is obvious and undisputed. Besides his jealousy, Malcolm’s recurrent impression of being treated unfairly as well as his urge to complain or to justify himself sometimes lead to a reduction of his credibility as he draws upon sarcasm and exaggerations to win over the viewers’ compassion. Already in the first scene of the series (Pilot, S01E01) Malcolm makes use of his ability to talk to the viewers in order to express his general dissatisfaction with his life by stating that the best thing about childhood is the fact that it ends at some point. At the time as he utters this sentence, the viewers do not yet have any knowledge about the show and therefore tend to believe Malcolm’s account, expecting to see scenes about his awful childhood. Over the course of the episode, however, the audience realizes that his comment was a gross exaggeration as he seems to be inclined to both take things personally and to feel mistreated as soon as something does not work out as he had planned. Another example for this behavior can be found in the episode Malcolm Babysits (S01E05) in which his parents refuse to buy Malcolm an expensive Robotics Kit. Thereupon, he feels treated unfairly and vents his anger by stating that “that’s the way discussions go down in this family. I tell them my needs and they say no. Then Dad reveals another cartoon character he’s afraid of” into the camera. Whereas Malcolm claims that his parents do not care about his happiness and thus turn down his wishes for purely malicious reasons, he disregards the fact that his family suffers from a constant shortage of money and that they simply cannot afford the kit. In contrast to the scene in the Pilot episode mentioned above, by this point the audience has knowledge about the Wilkersons’ financial problems and, therefore, does not fully believe his complaint that his parents are mean and unfair for no reason. A similar situation of Malcolm looking for excuses appears in the episode Stevie in Hospital (S07E19), in which he seems to be afraid to see his best friend lying in the hospital and therefore uses ridiculous pretexts that supposedly keep him from finally paying Stevie a visit. In other words, instead of admitting his inhibitions, Malcolm ascribes the blame for his absence to the bus company, to the too wide range of products in the hospital’s gift shop and eventually to his allegedly selfless readiness to help his father. Even though Malcolm is attempting to conceal his fear and to convince the viewers of his powerlessness against

the circumstances that ostensibly spoiled his intention to visit Stevie, the audience knows that he is not reliable based on both the petty pretexts and on his unconscious body language which reveals his true feelings. As has been mentioned, besides exaggerating, Malcolm tends to voice his dissatisfaction, testiness or disappointment by means of sarcasm – which is in many cases an indicator for his unreliability as mediator for the audience. In Burning Man (S07E01), for example, he even makes use of sarcasm twice in order to complain: first, about waiting too long line in front of the First Aid tent and then about his so called new life in which the Shaman lady rejects him directly after his rebirthing ceremony. His sarcastic utterance “great; who knew this life could even be crappier than the last one?” is not only an exaggeration, but also an apparent indicator for the audience that Malcolm’s feelings are hurt and that thusly his following comments in the remaining episode might not be objective or trustworthy. Another instance of sarcasm can be found in the episode Funeral (S01E11) in which Malcolm reacts to Julie’s explanation that she is going to the concert with another boy with the viewer-oriented remark “oh, yeah. Life’s fair.” Apart from being a clear sign of his disappointment, the comment shows his egocentricity as he blames his great aunt for dying and consequently for preventing him from going on his long-awaited date with his crush. Even if his sarcastic complaint is disrespectful with regard to his great aunt’s death, it does not represent a surprising reaction for the viewers and is therefore considered as a plausible and authentic behavior of Malcolm. Besides being a powerful way of expressing his negative feelings, Malcolm’s sarcastic remarks perfectly suit his dissatisfied, but highly intelligent personality due to the fact that sarcasm is, on the one hand, cynical and on the other hand said to be the humor of smart people. As it matches two of his most prominent character traits and is predominantly used in order to voice complaints or to show one’s disagreement with someone, sarcasm is considered a compatible form of communication for Malcolm and therefore enhances his authenticity. In other words, sarcastic comments enable him to authentically convey his overall dissatisfaction and his feeling of receiving unfair treatment, especially by adults, to the viewers. Owing to the fact that sarcasm is a form of criticism predominantly used by adults and not always understood by younger people, Malcolm tries to demonstrate that he is mentally on par with adults and therefore does not want to be treated as a child.

Moreover, due to Malcolm’s being aware of his elevated IQ, he frequently appears as a know-it-all and generally assumes that everybody else around him is stupid or at least inferior to him. This feeling of superiority over other people is one of the reasons for his conviction that he deserves better and for his arrogant belief that he can outsmart anyone. One example of Malcolm failing as a result of his presumptuousness can be observed in the episode Stilts (S06E20): Sam, who has lost his job as stilted advertiser for the Lucky Aide store pursues Malcolm who is his replacement and whom he blames for his dismissal. After a while, Malcolm realizes that his persecutor is more skilled on stilts, but in his panic he is convinced that he can outwit Sam by means of his intelligence. Thereupon, he spontaneously decides to use two shopping carts as skates and as he steps into them, he addresses the camera and arrogantly utters “once again, brains triumph over... .” Before being able to finish his presumptuous statement, the carts begin to drift apart and eventually leave Malcolm in a painful position doing a split. Malcolm’s reaction in this scene is authentic because the preceding analysis has found proof in various other situations (e.g. in Old Mrs. Old, S02E11, Standee, S06E03, or Humilithon, S04E02) that his mastermind, on which he always relies, turns out to be incapacitated as soon as he is in a state of panic. In situations like these, he is not able to think clearly and consequently frequently ends up making rash and defiant decisions. However, his genius mind is the only source from which Malcolm gains some self-confidence, as he otherwise suffers due to his standing as nerd and social outcast. His unpopularity causes on the one hand his pronounced egocentricity combined with a feeling that everyone else is treating him unfairly and, on the other hand, his wish for acceptance among the audience. The former can be observed, for instance, in the episode Therapy (S02E08), in which he moans the sentence “as near as I can figure, my school was created for the sole purpose of making me miserable” into the camera. When he has to cancel his date with his crush Julie owing to his great aunt’s death in the episode Funeral (S01E11), Malcolm is angry and vents his resentment by complaining about how unfair his life is. Instead of feeling sorry and respect for his dead relative, he behaves as if the universe were against him and his great aunt died on purpose to make him feel miserable. Likewise, in numerous other scenes in which he does not address the audience directly, Malcolm places himself and his needs above those of the others and acts as if the whole world revolved around only him. The viewers are thus familiar with this self-centered behavior and consider it the authentic thinking of his character. To prove his longing for acceptance, the justifications that he provides for the audience

serve as the most obvious examples. Thus, whenever Malcolm feels that the viewers might consider his behavior reprehensible, he tries to explain himself in order to make them comprehend his reasons. For example, when he does not show any compassion for his feverish mother in the episode Smunday (S01E15), he adds: “I’d feel more sympathetic, but two months with no TV has killed the part of me that cares.” By claiming that this hard punishment crafted by Lois has temporarily killed his ability to feel sorry for her, he tries to justify his indifference and refuses to take responsibility for his behavior. Likewise, further instances of Malcolm shifting the blame onto others in order to still be considered a likeable character can be detected in the episodes Stevie in Hospital (S07E19) and Therapy (S02E08). Furthermore, Malcolm has a tendency to attribute too much value to particular utterances of other characters and therefore frequently runs through strange thought processes in his mind in order to figure out what these utterances might have meant. His inclination to overthink is visible, for instance, in the episodes Lois vs. Evil (S01E09), Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04) or Hal Grieves (S07E14). In Lois vs. Evil (S01E09) a simple “Hi Malcolm” by his crush Julie Houlerman suffices to confuse him and to trigger a train of crazy thoughts about what answer she might be expecting to hear from him. Instead of realizing that he should just greet her back, Malcolm starts considering all possible options to reply with and when he finally comes to the decision to say “hi” back, Julie has long since passed him and does not hear him anymore. In the episode Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04), he tells his girlfriend Sarah that she is a good kisser. When she, however, does not return the compliment but only thanks him and heads home, Malcolm is made completely insecure and goes through an emotional rollercoaster as he tries to figure out what might be wrong about his way of kissing. Whereas girls that Malcolm likes cause his insecurity and consequently his unsettled lines of thought in the first two examples, in Hal Grieves (S07E14) it is his conscience that initiates his inner conflict. While Hal is still in shock about his father’s death and does not shed a single tear, he wishes to establish a better relationship between him and his sons in order to make sure that they will remember him positively and grieve for him after his death. Even if Malcolm is at first scandalized by the fact that Reese and Dewey exploit their father’s vulnerability and thus wants to put an end to this situation, he abandons all his good intentions as soon as Hal offers to buy him a car. As his mental and emotional intelligence tell Malcolm to prevent his father from making the mistake of trying to buy his son’s love, he attempts to soothe his bad conscience and searches

for excuses that could justify his behavior. Therefore he tries to convince himself as well as the viewers of his innocence by claiming that his body’s refusal to act otherwise is a sign of his uncertainty about whether he is doing something wrong or not. In each of these three situations, Malcolm’s reactions are authentic owing to the fact that he has the urge to analyze things and statements that he does not understand until he finds an explanation or justification. Not only the excessive intellectual occupation with minor details, but also the general worry of making a bad impression on others, as well as the inclination to justify his actions are typical character traits of Malcolm and therefore support his authenticity. All in all, due to the fact that most of Malcolm’s reactions comply with his general demeanor within the series and are consequently also predictable to a certain degree, it is safe to say that his behavior and his actions are congruent in both his appearances as normal character on the story level and during his direct addresses to the audience. As a result, Malcolm predominantly appears as a transparent, credible and lastly authentic persona.

7. ANALYTICAL PART II - HUMOR IN MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE

Besides presenting myriad examples of situation comedy, much of the series’ humor is based on unusual and sometimes unhealthy relationships between individual characters as well as on the unconventional, funny representation of family life. Apart from that, the show also deals with delicate social themes such as racism, financial problems, social class, education, sexuality and disabilities, and thereby distinguishes itself from traditional, benign situation comedies of earlier times. Finally, Malcolm in the Middle incorporates several running gags as well as instances of teasing in order to keep the audience interested and to make them actively watch out for hidden clues. The various forms of humor in this show will be elucidated by means of the already mentioned episodes as well as on further examples that appear in the series.

7.1. HUMOR ABOUT STRANGE RELATIONSHIPS

One of the striking characteristics of Malcolm in the Middle is the unusual relationships between the individual characters. Even though each relationship is slightly different,

some common ground between them can be detected. One commonality is, for example, the fact that there is not one single case of a ‘normal’ parent-child relationship: whereas Lois is dreaded by her children due to her tyrannical and punishment-based educational style, Hal is unable to handle his sons’ upbringing and therefore prefers to pass on this responsibility onto his dominant wife. When Lois cannot watch the boys, however, they do not hesitate to either seize the opportunity and to take advantage of their father’s missing assertiveness and good nature or team up in order to rebel against their common arch enemy – namely their mother. With regard to the individual parent-child relationships within the Wilkerson family, each of them is predominantly presented in an absurd or exaggerated way in order to create entertaining situations for the audience. Dewey, for instance, suffers due to the fact that his musical talent is overlooked and that he is often neglected as a result of his parents’ preoccupation either with themselves or with the trouble caused by their other sons. Examples for this can be found in the episodes Forwards Backwards (S04E05), where Hal and Lois miss Dewey’s outstanding performance as Abraham Lincoln as they have to bring Reese and Malcolm to the hospital after an escalated fight, or in Baby Part 1 (S04E20), in which the Wilkerson parents decide to induce Jamie’s birth without realizing that this date is overlapping with Dewey’s birthday. Malcolm, for his part, always has to fight against Lois who tries to take control over his life as she believes that, due to his high IQ, he is the only one in their family who has the possibility to escape poverty and to make something of his life. Their behavior manifests itself numerous times, but is most visible in Malcolm visits College (S05E16) and in the final episode Graduation (S07E22). In the first example, Lois thwarts Malcolm’s plan to spend his first overnight visit at college alone stopping him from gaining his first experience of living on his own. In Graduation, she turns down a lucrative job offer that Malcolm was about to accept. When he is thereupon enraged and confused and wants to know why she sabotaged his chance to become rich and finally have a better life, Lois explains that their whole family has planned for him to struggle all his life in order to eventually become the first President of the United States to care for poor people like themselves. The fact that Malcolm is not allowed to accept the great job offer which would make his life easier and is instead forced to bow to his family’s unsurpassable expectations is completely absurd and therefore also amusing for the audience. In contrast to Lois who tries to take control over Malcolm’s genius to ensure a better future for him, Hal depends on his son’s ability to get him or their whole

family out of trouble – often in a highly unconventional, but successful way like in the episode Reese Joins the Army Part 2 (S05E22): When his company is involved in a huge scandal and Hal refuses to make a false testimony against his employer, the company exploits this occasion and uses Hal as their scapegoat. As the situation looks hopeless and Hal is faced with going to prison, Malcolm finally finds evidence of his father’s innocence and hence saves the whole family. However, the evidence that exonerates Hal reveals that he has not been going to work on Fridays for fifteen years and instead has used the time to do some fun activities on his own without telling anyone. Obviously, the fact that he did not show up to his workplace on Fridays and that neither his employers nor his family have realized this, is completely ridiculous and therefore perfectly fits the general humor of the show. Contrary to Malcolm, Reese is dim-witted, aggressive and only interested in causing trouble, which is why his parents have almost given up on him and do not have big plans for his future. Sometimes, Hal and Lois seem to have a bad conscience because of their treatment of Reese and want to make up for it e.g. by trusting him or giving him some responsibility. In the episode Garage Sale (S04E15), Lois realizes after a visit at her sister Susan that she treats Reese like a hopeless case and wants to counteract this behavior by putting him in charge of their garage sale. Even though Malcolm complains about the futility of Reese’s sales techniques and even Lois herself does not agree with them at all, she does not interfere. However, when Malcolm finds an old computer worth more than 1300 dollars and Reese destroys it for no reason instead of selling it, Lois eventually loses her temper and shouts at him for being so stupid as to throw away such a large amount of money, which their family needed so desperately. Even though it is absurd, Reese has proven that he only thinks about himself and that he is incapable of making reasonable decisions. Thus, his foolishness and unpredictability combined with his parents’ helplessness and bewilderment provide myriad examples of humorous situations for the viewers. Although it is Reese who gets into the most trouble ever since Francis’ enrollment in the military academy, Lois still regards Francis as her most difficult child and is, due to his resistance to any kind of authority, in a constant fight with him. Only in season six it is revealed why Lois has been so strict with her oldest son, namely in the episode Lois Battles Jamie (S06E08) by means of a series of flashbacks to Francis’ early childhood. These flashbacks first show how Lois is lovingly taking care of little Francis and defending him against a successful and angry Hal who repeatedly tells his

wife to finally discipline their spoiled child. While Lois is on the phone trying to persuade Francis’ pediatrician to write a note for Hal explaining that yelling at the kid could damage its psyche, she catches sight of Francis playing with lighter fluid and matches. She immediately hangs up, throws his teddy bear, which is soaked with lighter fluid, into the fireplace and calmly, but determinedly explains to Francis that:

Fire is dangerous. Fire can hurt you. Fire can kill you. I will not let that happen. Let me make one thing clear. I love you, and I will do whatever I have to, to take care of you, and keep you safe and happy and alive. I don't care if you grow up to hate me, but you will understand this: I will… do... anything. That is how much I love you. (Lois battles Jamie, 16:54 – 17:55)

After seeing this completely different side of his mother, Francis is obviously intimidated by her and voluntarily takes his place in his chair and behaves well. This scene delivers the decisive moment of Lois’ shift from the laissez-faire approach to her famous authoritarian education as well as to a parenting role reversal with Hal. However, she does not only apply this educational style for the good of her children, but also for herself as she thereupon admits that this was her first experience of this fulfilling “sense of strength and power, and purpose” and that she finally knew what she was “born to be.” By contrast, Hal gives up his strictness and finds his infantile side. Hal’s new attitude leads to a betterment of his relationship with Francis, but not to an improvement of Francis’ behavior. While Francis grows up blaming his mother for everything, he prefers his father; however, he does not listen to him either but manipulates and exploits his good nature. Lois and Hal do not only have difficult relationships with their children, but with their own parents as well. Hal grew up in a wealthy family, yet his relationship with his father has always been problematic owing to his father’s refusal to talk about problems and other serious issues. In contrast, Lois’ upbringing was characterized by poverty, an even more tyrannical mother than herself and an extremely strict and ill-tempered father who was – due to his secret second wife and family – frequently absent. Another bullying parent is Craig’s father, who, both constantly picks on him for being overweight and has lied to Craig for years claiming that his mother had died. When Craig asks Reese and Malcolm to teach him how to fight against a bully in the episode Living Will (S06E12), at first he does not inform them that the bully is, in fact, his father. Not only the unconventional fighting training and the unexpected revelation that his arch enemy is his father, but also the picture of Craig’s mother, who looks like a ridiculous female version of her son create humorous moments.

Even though Dabney’s mother and Stevie’s parents are not intimidating or distanced such as those of Hal, Lois and Craig, both Krelboyne boys are suffering from their overprotective education. The two are not allowed to do or even to watch anything that their parents consider violent and are therefore refused a normal childhood and adolescence. Whereas Dabney’s mother acts mostly out of her urge to control her son, Stevie’s parents justify their interdictions by referring to the high degree of danger due to Stevie’s physical disability and his severe asthma. When Reese, Malcolm, Dewey and Stevie lie to their parents about having a sleepover at each other’s place in order to sneak to their town’s fair in the episode Carnival (S02E23), the Kenarbans are worried about their son and spontaneously decide to check on him at the Wilkersons’ house. Since they only encounter a naked Hal and Lois who are seizing the opportunity of having the house to themselves in order to have undisturbed sex, the parents find out about their children’s trick. Whereas Hal and Lois are used to their sons’ shenanigans and thus become angry, the Kenarbans get exaggeratedly panicky and incessantly call for him as they are looking by car for the runaways. The discrepancy between the Wilkersons’ and the Kenarbans’ reactions to their boys’ lie as well as Kitty and Abe’s excessive fear for their son’s life serve as comic high-points. Contrary to Stevie’s shy and permanently smiling mother, Dabney’s mom Dorene swears by an educational style that is similarly controlling and authoritarian to that of Lois, however, Dabney does not revolt against her, but is instead famous for his absolute obedience and is consequently made fun of for being a mama’s boy. When Dabney is celebrating his birthday with his friends at home in the episode Hal’s Friend (S04E14), the ridiculousness of their mother-son relationship is brought to a climax: after forcing the boys to watch the video of Dabney’s birth, Dorene takes away her son’s new paintball gun that his grandfather gave him claiming that it “over-stimulates” him and will cause him to “be up until 9.” Despite Dabney’s silent protest and his guests’ indignation, Dorene does not change her mind and asks her son to open one of her gifts – which turns out to be a new hairbrush. As if the present were not already awkward and ridiculous enough, she thereupon proposes that Dabney tries it out on her while counting down from hundred to one. Just like Malcolm and Stevie, the viewers are most likely to be as aghast by this abnormal relationship between mother and son. When later on in the episode, Malcolm succeeds in persuading Dabney to sneak out of the house and to join the others at the paintball range, Dabney loses his self-control and lets out all of his pent-up frustration by shooting uncontrollably at one of his bullies

while shouting things like “brush your own damn hair!” or “get your own damn towel!”. Of course, soon after this, his mother rushes in and furiously scolds Malcolm for leading her innocent boy astray. To her surprise, Dabney does not obey her anymore as usual, but stands up to her and tells his mother that he is not her “little boy anymore” but her “little man” – to which she replies with a flabbergasted, but also enraptured reaction. The scenes depicting Dorene and Dabney’s relationship are full of absurd behavior and abnormal rituals that clearly deviate from usual mother-son relationships. Finally, the utterance “I’m your little man now” which contradicts his act of rebellion against his domineering mother evokes laughter since it is being perceived as ridiculous by the audience. Besides the disturbed or unnatural mother-child relationships, Malcolm in the Middle is famous for love relationships that are characterized by dominant women and submissive male partners. This phenomenon of couples with restrained, less assertive – and often obsessive – men and authoritative, confident women can be observed among every couple that regularly appears on the show, be it Hal and Lois, Francis and Piama, Kitty and Abe, Otto and Gretchen or Malcolm and any one of his different girlfriends over the seasons. Whereas some of the men are completely dependent upon their women and love them to an exaggerated degree like Hal, who confesses that he does not even think about women other than Lois and that he loves her much more than she loves him in the episode Cynthia’s Back (S03E14) or Craig, who is obsessed with Lois and who is not even discouraged when she explains to him in Cattle Court (S07E20) that there is only one single combination of circumstances under which she would probably agree to be together with him, namely:

I'm 90 years old. Hal is dead. I have dementia and I need someone to keep me from catching myself on fire. There's no money for a nurse, the kids won't do it, and I'm asleep 22 hours a day. Then, and only then, MAYBE could we be together. (Cattle court, 19:15 – 19:31)

Even though Abe’s love for Kitty is not extreme and unconditional like that of Hal or Craig for Lois, he still proves to be totally in need of her when she leaves the family in season five in order to explore her sexuality and Abe instantly takes her after having suffered from her absence for two painful years. Whereas Francis seems to be unaware of his more subtle dependence of Piama, Malcolm tends to be highly jealous and clingy when in a relationship. Manifestations of this behavior can be found in Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04), in which he wants to know about his girlfriend’s whereabouts all

the time and therefore gives her a pager so that they can stay in constant contact. Further examples of Malcolm’s devotion and obsession are offered in the episodes Forbidden Girlfriend (S04E06), in which he has to hide his relationship with Nikki from her controlling Vietnam veteran father, and Secret Boyfriend (S07E06), where he agrees to keep his relationship with the popular Vicki a secret so that none of her friends will find out about her intelligence and her nerd boyfriend. Malcolm’s comportment as boyfriend is highly amusing for the viewers due to the fact that he seems to completely lose his mind as soon as he is in love and because he even agrees to tolerate degrading treatment only to be together with his girl. More precisely, he stays with Nikki even though they have to meet secretly and are in constant fear that her father might catch them. He does not even break up when he is forced to creep away from him across the dirty and sticky movie theater floor. His abasement is even more extreme during his relationship with Vicki as he has to endure being pushed away and insulted by her as soon as some of her friends are in sight. Nevertheless, it is obvious to the audience that Malcolm primarily stays with her in this secret and hurtful relationship because of her high level of attractiveness. This situation appears as tragic and comical to the viewers owing to the fact that the only thing that stands between Vicki and Malcolm is their superficiality in different respects. At large, the humor concerning the love relationships lies in the men’s absurd obsession with their beloved women and their will to do anything for them regardless of how these women treat them. Besides being depicted as emancipated, bossy and disregarding of their partners’ endeavors, the women in this show seem to constantly draw upon their ability to manipulate their husbands and other male characters in order to obtain what they want. Their tricks reach from feigned sadness or crying over reverse psychology to intimidation and have an entertaining effect for the viewers since, in most instances, their informational advantage enables them to see through the women’s real intentions. The fact that the viewers are laughing at the characters for falling for the tricks that they have been able to figure out themselves, points to their laughter being based on the superiority theory. However, the female characters in this series are not reduced to only having bad attributes, but they are also the ones who keep everything in check and who help their husbands, friends and children in all kinds of matters and decisions. The men are not only obsessed with their women, but they are in many cases rather completely dependent upon them and fall into chaos as soon as they are on their own. One of the most representative and comic examples for the men’s inability to make decisions for

themselves comes up in the episode Living Will (S06E12), in which Hal has been chosen to carry out his neighbor’s living will and to decide whether to keep him on a life support system or to pull the plug. Since he is extremely indecisive and therefore always leaves the decisions to Lois, Hal is completely overtaxed by his power over life and death and falls into a psychosomatic paralysis of his upper body. After several days, Lois accomplishes releasing her husband from his condition by reminding him of the best decision he had ever made: namely getting married to Lois although his and Lois’ family were against this relationship and instead wanted him to marry Lois’ sister. Moreover, Lois’ words eventually also help Hal to work out the perfect solution for his problem and although she praises him for it and thus intrigues the viewers, the solution itself is never being revealed to them. This way of intriguing the audience without ever offering them the answer is typical for the series’ famous mischievous humor.

7.2. HUMOR ABOUT SOCIAL CLASS

Besides the extraordinary relationships mentioned above and typical situation comedy elements such as amusing episodes in family life, Malcolm in the Middle also deals humorously with a number of serious issues by means of traditional clichés, reversals of traditional concepts and satire. With regard to social class, the most striking feature is the significant difference between the Wilkerson family and the Kenarbans: whereas the Wilkersons fulfill nearly all of the stereotypes of the lower middle class such as low- level jobs, poor manners, verbally and physically aggressive behavior, cheap clothing as well as a high level of consumption of fast food and television, the well-mannered and educated Kenarban family with their bourgeois housing and clothing style is clearly intended to represent their upper middle class counterpart. Moreover, the background music played during two particular scenes in the Pilot episode (S01E01) is supposed to intensify the contrast between these two families: while the shot of the Kenarban house and their decorated front yard (see screenshot below) as well as the awkward silence between Malcolm and Stevie in Stevie’s room is accompanied by harmonious bird’s twittering and joyful music (08:37–08:56), the Wilkersons’ lunch scene is accentuated with a bizarre and stressful tune that is consistent with the male characters’ way of bolting down their food (15:19-15:46).

Figure 22: Official promotion picture of Figure 23 (above): Abe and Kitty Kenarban The Wilkerson family21 [Carnival (S02E23), 03:21] Figure 24 (below): The Kenarban’s house and front yard [Pilot (S01E01), 08:38]

A more subtle indication of the Wilkersons’ inferior social standing is their large number of family members. According to Western preconception, people with less education and lower social background tend to have more children than people who have graduated from college and who are employed in highly-skilled jobs. Consequently, Stevie, Dabney or Cynthia, who come from upper middle class families, are either a single child or have at most one sibling, thus providing a contrast to the Wilkerson parents whose unplanned pregnancies lead to a continuous increase of children – starting with four sons in the beginning of the series to five and, eventually, six as revealed in the last episode. By presenting Hal and Lois as uncontrollable sex maniacs that are not able to take care of their contraception, the show’s creators allude to the Wilkersons sharing some traits with so-called White Trash families who are notorious for their constant shortage of money and multiple unwanted pregnancies. Another conspicuous feature of the series is the fact that, whereas he is merely a badly paid low-level white collar worker, all of Hal’s African-American friends have college degrees and work in prestigious jobs, inter alia as a dentist, and therefore enjoy

21 Picture retrieved from http://www.malcolminthemiddle.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3477&title=season-1- promo&cat=663

a higher social status than he does. The same applies to several other white male characters in the show that are similarly as inept and gullible as Hal, such as his old high-school friend Larry, Lois’ co-worker Craig and Francis’ best friend Richie. All of them are uneducated and consequently work in poorly paid and low-skilled jobs as shop assistants or as cashier in a fast food restaurant. As opposed to these unsuccessful American-born men, the likewise clumsy Otto Mannkusser and his wife Gretchen, German immigrants and Francis’ bosses at the Grotto ranch, are prosperous businesspeople who have achieved the American Dream. By reversing the old cliché of white, US-born people being more educated, esteemed and more successful than persons of another skin color or another native country, the show both criticizes and ridicules a large part of contemporary American society that still holds this outdated and racist view. By means of exaggerations with regard to the mishaps that keep happening to these loveable, but naïve and dim-witted characters, the critique about social class fades into the background and gives way to the laughter of the viewers.

7.3. HUMOR ABOUT FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

As has already been mentioned, the Wilkerson’s low social status implies a low income and consequently financial difficulties. The shortage of money is a perennial topic in their house as the parents are either forced to refuse their kids a request or to sit at the kitchen table hammering away at a calculator wondering how to pay their bills. Moreover, the house is cheaply furnished and the boys often complain about their clothes that have been passed on from the older brothers to the younger ones and that are thus rarely new or modern. One humorous example of this reutilization of clothes can be found in the episode Funeral (S01E11) in which, Reese, Malcolm and Dewey are putting on their suits for their great-aunt’s funeral only to find out that none of them fit. After Lois’ inspection, she tells them to “upgrade” and the boys are shown passing their clothes from one to another. While Lois believes she has solved the problem since Reese’s suit perfectly fits Malcolm and that of Malcolm merely needs to be rolled up a bit for Dewey, Reese calls her attention to the fact that he is left without clothes. Finally, Reese ends up in an old suit of his deceased Uncle Fred by which he is first disgusted for a moment, but then immediately changes his mind considering it cool as he realizes that it is a “dead suit.” The way the boys look when they are squeezed into the too-small suits

as well as Reese being left standing next to them in his underwear and his reaction to wearing a “dead suit” are comic due to their absurd presentation and thus belong to the humor of the incongruity theory. The episode Watching the Baby (S05E02) provides a further, rather tragicomic example of this subsequent use of clothes from their brothers or other relatives: since he is stuck babysitting his toddler brother Jamie, who is crying all the time and has difficulty falling asleep, Dewey decides to tell him a fictitious bedtime story. The two heroes of the story, Dewey and Jamie, find out that their parents are secretly wealthy and hiding a “secret good house” under a trap door that is located in Lois’ locked closet which they only enter when their children are asleep. After the boys manage to trick Lois and thus to get the key from under her pillow, they see the full extent of their parents’ secret life of luxury. The high point of this absurd story, however, has only been reached when they accidentally discover a dramatically illuminated, brand new and therefore “perfect pants” in Dewey’s size. Filled with amazement, Dewey reaches for the trousers and thereby sets off an alarm. As there is no way to escape, Dewey hides and shifts the blame on the innocent Jamie. Besides the absurdity of their parents being secretly rich and the most ridiculous point of the story that Dewey would instantly betray his brother because “that’s the way it works around here,” his modest definition of perfection in the form of a new pair of pants is highly amusing as it completely exaggerates their financial situation. Like in many other instances, the show draws on exaggeration to ridicule serious topics and thus to defuse them by means of humor. Further indications of the Wilkerson’s financial problems are the unpleasant habits they have to undergo in order to save money. Examples for this are their unsavory and hated weekly “leftover parfait” which is presented in the episode Lois’ Makeover (S03E10) or their biannual shopping trips to outlet stores in the episode Billboard (S06E10) where they buy bargain-priced and therefore rather unfashionable clothes for the boys. When Lois loses her job at Lucky Aide in the episode Lois vs. Evil (S01E09), the family’s financial situation worsens to such an extent that Malcolm’s crush Julie notices how much they are struggling to even buy a proper lunch. Out of her wish to help Malcolm and his family, she consequently starts a food drive for them at school and proudly surprises Malcolm, who is deeply humiliated, with the yield. By chance, Lois gets her job back by the end of the episode and the Wilkersons’ money troubles are alleviated. Relieved that this nightmare is over, Malcolm confesses to the camera that he is now ready to settle his issues with Julie. Instead of thanking her as

expected by the viewers, Malcolm shouts at the girl “Look, we're not poor anymore! So, I don't want any more of your stupid pity, okay?”. As opposed to the “perfect pants” example that is based on exaggerations, this one uses unexpected twists and moments of surprise to create funny effects and is thus also assignable to the incongruity theory. Generally speaking, the shortage of money as well as greed is the topic of a multitude of episodes. For example, when Lois hopes to strengthen Reese’s self-esteem by leaving him in charge of their yard sale in the episode Garage Sale (S04E15), Reese does not realize that the earnings are meant to pay the repair costs for their house, but instead believes that he is allowed to keep it for himself in order to buy a jet ski. Similarly, Hal and Lois become selfish as soon as they come into some money, like in the episode Malcolm’s Money (S07E10) in which they plan preliminarily not to tell Malcolm about his 10 000 dollar fellowship genius grant in order to use part of the money for new water pipes in their house. Despite their good intentions, greed and selfishness take possession of the couple and Lois eventually makes an impulse purchase and spends all the money on a luxurious doll house, which accidentally catches fire and burns down. Whereas this sounds depressing rather than funny, the fact that Malcolm is granted another fellowship over 4000 dollars within the same episode and his parents therefore do not feel obligated anymore to tell him about their misdeed, cater for the humor in this precarious situation. Likewise, other characters, among them Francis, Ida, Dewey and Francis’ friend Richie are, at least once, overcome by greed and therefore exploit other people to obtain their money – either by stealing, lying or drugging them. No matter how elaborate, in the end, all of their plans fail and none of them gets to keep his or her money. Consequently, while offering a moral lesson about greediness, the show manages to entertain the viewers by destroying the characters’ plans in ridiculous ways.

7.4. HUMOR ABOUT ETHNIC GROUPS

In opposition to the dominant trend of earlier sitcoms, the cast of Malcolm in the Middle features a mixture of characters of different cultures and skin colors. In addition to the white American characters like the Wilkersons, Hal’s African-American friends Trey, Malik, Brian, Steve and Abe including his family, as well as Lois’ Eastern European mother Ida, Francis’ Inuit wife Piama or his German bosses Otto and Gretchen at the ‘Grotto’ ranch, represent recurring characters of different skin color or origin. Similar to

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the criticism on social classes, the show’s creators show an inclination to the exaggeration of popular clichés to point out commonplace racism and to satirize it. One illustrative example of this satire can be found in the two-parter Baby Part 1 (S04E20) and Baby Part 2 (S04E21) in which Lois invites Hal’s African American friends over in order to frighten off her racist mother Ida, who is terrorizing the whole family. Although, at first it seems that their presence suffices to get rid of her, she changes her mind and decides to stay once Lois’ contractions set in. When Steve eventually becomes tired of Ida’s racist comments, he confronts her with the fact that he and his friends are more educated than her and that, unlike her, they are loved by their friends and family. As he adds that he owns nice things and that he probably earns more money in a year than she has done in her whole life, Ida is unimpressed and snappishly answers “big deal, so you’re a drug dealer!”. Thereupon, Steve is completely annoyed and scares her away by putting on a frightening face and shouting “booga-booga” at her. These two episodes thus include two prevalent stereotypes against people of African- American origin: firstly, their alleged tendency to ‘earn’ their money by being drug- dealers or criminals and secondly, that they are primitive and dangerous people who are to be feared. Both the way Steve and the others try to conceal their true personality in order to scare Ida and her ridiculous reactions such as claiming that he is a drug dealer or fearfully running away like a child, are clearly intended to demonstrate the ridiculousness of these clichés and hence to provoke laughter as well as critical self- reflection within the audience. The episode Standee (S06E03) provides another example for humor dealing with the issue of racism against African-American people by means of prejudices. In this episode, Lois tells Craig that she finds the standee of a black janitor called “Slappy,” who is holding a mop in one hand and a six-pack in his other, offensive and racist and quickly removes it. Obviously, the standee alludes to the bias that African-Americans are sloppy people who have a poor work ethic. After Malcolm, who is also employed at Lucky Aide and in an even superior position to his mother, sets it up again and refuses to take it down, a conflict between the two begins. In order to prove to Malcolm that he only wants to keep the standee to display his superiority over her at work and that it is truly offensive, Lois puts it up at home during Hal’s poker evening with his African- American friends and asks them for their opinion. While the men are making fun at the fact that they are supposed to solve the conflict between Lois and her son, Abe, who had accidentally spilled his beer before, returns with a mop and a beer in his hand and thus

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matches the standee that Lois is criticizing for its racism. This coincidence does not only cause Hal and his friends to laugh hysterically, but also the viewers who are amused by this unexpected twist as well. As already mentioned several times before, the element of surprise represents an essential part of the humor based on the incongruity theory. However, the humor about ethnic groups is not reduced to that against African- Americans, but includes white people from other cultures as well. Lois’ mother Ida, who is apparently of Eastern European origin, corresponds to the stereotype that Slavic people are cold, primitive and avaricious chain-smokers. There are several occasions in which she proves that she does not care much for her family but instead prefers to focus on her own good, for instance, in the episode Grandma Sues (S04E09), in which she decides to sue Lois and Hal after slipping on a leaf in their front yard, or in Ida’s Boyfriend (S05E11) in which she incessantly drugs a wealthy Chinese man to make him agree to a marriage with her thus enabling her to have access to his money. When her family finds out about her vicious plan and wants to prevent the wedding, Ida has no compunction about drugging all of them including the infant Jamie. Besides creating funny situations based on Ida’s extremely ruthless and egoistical behavior, her clinging to unusual or obsolete Slavic traditions contributes to the viewers’ amusement. One example for this can be found in the episode Ida’s Dance (S06E18), in which Lois tries to win her mother’s respect by outperforming her in a traditional Slavic dance requiring dexterity. Both the extraordinary dance and the bizarre-looking folkloric outfits that Lois and Ida are wearing are completely unfamiliar to the majority of the audience and might therefore be considered as absurdly comical. The same kind of humor applies to the allegedly Slavic ritual that is supposed to test whether Reese has become a real man in the episode Bride of Ida (S07E11): according to this tradition, Reese has to defeat Malcolm in three completely absurd challenges in order to prove his manhood and consequently to be rewarded with marriage to Ida’s beautiful Slavic helper Raduca. By pretending that this sexist contest in which a wife can be won in an Eastern European tradition, the show supports the cliché that people of Slavic origin are primitive and superstitious. In addition to African-Americans and Eastern European people, Native Americans and Canadians are presented according to common clichés. As opposed to the Inuit Piama who seems to represent an exception to this phenomenon, her father, who once appears in the episode Poker No. 2 (S03E18), corresponds not only

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physically, but also with regard to his behavior to the stereotyped image of a Native American. More precisely, besides the typical long, black hair that he wears in a ponytail, Piama’s father is, mostly as a result of his alcoholism, constantly out of money. When he fails to get any money from his daughter, he brazenly seizes his first encounter with Francis to ask him for money and thus creates with his impertinence a humorous moment for the viewers. However, Malcolm in the Middle also makes fun of positive clichés that circulate, for example, about Canadians. In the episode Victor’s Other Family (S05E20), the secret second family of Lois’ father Victor is Canadian and is portrayed in accordance with the claim that people from Canada are always kind and try to dodge any kind of conflict. This manifests itself when Lois confronts her father’s second wife Sylvia about her hate for Ida which Sylvia smilingly corrects by saying “I don’t hate, dear. I’m Canadian.” This absurd answer is one of the most obvious examples in the show of ridiculing widespread stereotypes about other cultures and countries. A completely different way of making fun of such clichés can be observed with regard to Francis’ German bosses Otto and Gretchen Mannkusser who seem to contradict every stereotype about their culture. For instance, whereas German people are said to be cold, reserved and distanced, the Mannkusser couple is very warm- hearted, welcoming and good-natured. Furthermore, especially Otto shows no inhibitions with regard to physical contact with Francis and even sleeps naked when he and Francis are to share a bed in the episode Hal’s Friend (S04E14). Another bias about Germans is that they have a remarkable organizational talent and, once again, Otto does not possess the skills of his countrymen. His lack of organization paired with his good nature leads to Francis ending up as the only worker present in the episode Humilithon (S04E02) since Otto has sent all of the others on vacation at the same time. Besides these discrepancies with the viewers’ expectations of German people, Otto’s clumsiness provides for numerous comic situations. Of course, Malcolm in the Middle does not only make fun of minorities in the United States, but of the predominant mass of white people as well. For instance, some of the recurrent white American characters such as Hal, Francis, Reese, Craig or Jamie’s babysitter Polly share traits like ineptitude, stubbornness, ignorance, indecisiveness and frequently get, by reason of these characteristics, into trouble. With regard to clichés about white Americans, they are said to be hard workers in order to fulfill the American dream. The American work ethic serves as basis for many

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humorous situations of which the two following extremes might be among the funniest: first, when Malcolm is forced to turn down a promising and highly paid job offer in the final episode Graduation (S07E22), because his family expects him to go to college and after further years of hard work, to eventually become president of the United States; and second, Hal’s confession in the episode Reese Joins the Army: Part 2 (S05E22) that he has been absent at work on Fridays for fifteen years. Whereas Malcolm’s example ridicules work ethic by setting the goals too high and bringing the American dream to an extreme, Hal, who is aware of his virtually inexistent promotion prospects, has given up and does not show any unnecessary effort at his job anymore. Another supposedly typical American characteristic is their excessive patriotism. One example in which this national pride is being made fun of can be observed in the episode Family Reunion (S04E03), in which Hal’s father Walter is obsessed with the Civil War to such an extent that he shows his vast collection to Malcolm and even takes him to join him in one of his crazy, imagined re-enactments of the fights. In Pearl Harbor (S06E04), Hal is so annoyed by his neighbor’s Christmas decorations which always surpass his own that he decides to decorate the house on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor and thus have nobody to compete against. However, his hated neighbor regards this as a challenge and, once again, creates a more impressive commemoration display. The following morning, Hal and Dewey, who are furious about being outperformed again, spread worms all over the decoration and watch the spectacle of seagulls destroying the artwork by pushing over the individual parts and defecating on them. This scene is presented in slow-motion and by means of dramatic music and special sound effects which make it clear that this supposed attack is supposed to allude to the events that actually took place at Pearl Harbor. By drawing an indirect but still highly obvious and exaggerated comparison between the white seagulls and the air raids of World War II, this highly serious topic is portrayed in a mitigated, non-violent and entertaining manner. The actual humor of this episode lies, however, in the fact that Hal only uses his patriotism as a pretext since he apparently only wants to show off his creation and make his neighbors marvel at his piece of art without having to compete against his enemy. Hal therefore, once again, does not fit the image of the hard-working American who is ready to take part in any competition and to fight to the ultimate, but rather prefers to give up and to find an easier alternative. On the whole, the majority of the male white American characters in Malcolm in the Middle – with exception of the Krelboyne kids – are shown to be more interested in

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low culture such as television shows or dangerous sports than in books or high culture activities. This is why Malcolm, who is lolling on the couch and watching television with his brothers in the Pilot episode, states that these occasions are the best thing about their family life. With regard to interests outside the house, Hal is, among other things, fascinated by stock car races and the destructive power of rolling machines, whereas his sons enjoy playing tricks on others, destroying things as well as trying out dangerous stunts with their bikes or unsafe sports like street luge. Lois’ co-worker Craig, who is too lazy and not courageous enough for such daring adventures, is presented as a nerd and stay-at-home who prevailingly amuses himself with computer games and comic books. As opposed to these white male characters with their lower education, lower social standing and their preference for simple and sometimes even childish entertainment, the African-American characters in this show are highly-educated, well- situated and culturally enthusiastic. In this way, another cliché is being reversed, namely that white Americans are better educated and more sophisticated than the majority of African-Americans living in the United States. By portraying the Wilkerson men as well as Craig or other white male characters as kind, but inept, lazy, simple-minded and rather uncultured, the racist image of the superior white American man is clearly being undermined and ridiculed. However, even though the African American men seem to be superior to their white fellow male characters in this show, all of them share the same respect and awe of their domineering, emancipated wives who – without exception – wear the breeches in their respective households and thus provide for numerous amusing situations by manipulating and bossing around their intimidated husbands and children.

7.5. HUMOR ABOUT (HOMO-)SEXUALITY

With its frequent innuendos concerning Hal and Lois’ sex life, Malcolm in the Middle is clearly following the example of groundbreaking 1990s shows like Married… with children, Roseanne or The Simpsons that had rebelled against the convention of sexuality being a taboo sitcom topic and which consequently made it a recurrent part of their stories. The central aim of these addresses was to create humorous situations and since the target audience of all of these shows were families, sex was only alluded to and never actually shown on the visual track.

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With regard to Hal and Lois, they are presented as a highly sexually active couple and as Hal reveals in the episode Poker No.2 (S03E18), they clearly exceed the average couple by making love at least twice a day. To support this claim about their extremely high frequency of sexual activities, numerous more or less explicit allusions to their sex life can be found throughout the series’ seasons. For example, when the boys ask for permission to have a sleepover at Stevie’s place in the episode Carnival (S02E23), their parents agree in order to have the house to themselves. As soon as the kids are away, the couple cannot stay away from each other and have not yet finished their special time when Abe and Kitty come over to see whether their son is okay. However, the importance of sex in Hal and Lois’ life is most evident in the episode Forbidden Girlfriend (S04E06), where Lois is prescribed antibiotics and is therefore not allowed to have sexual intercourse for a week. Despairing about this news, both try to control their sexual drive by transferring their surplus energy to other activities. Soon, the house is sparkling clean, Hal has considerably increased its value through carpentry and Lois has found out that they are getting back 800 dollars after finding an error in the tax returns of the preceding seven years. This implies that the chaos in their house is only due to their excessive desire for each other which consumes all of their energy. Even their children are aware of their unbridled sexual drive and exploit it for their own advantage. One instance of this can be observed in the episode Kitty’s Back (S06E05), in which Francis rewards Dewey for passing his agonizing “Brotherhood Initiation” with a dead sure way of getting away with any kind of trouble, namely by lighting a particular vanilla-scented candle. Shortly after receiving this piece of information, Dewey puts it to the test and is successful as Hal and Lois become stimulated by the scent and are distracted to such an extent that they forget to punish Dewey and instead libidinously rush into their bedroom. All these examples obviously share one commonality – namely the portrayal of Lois and Hal as uncontrolled sex maniacs. By exaggerating their sexual desire to an extent far beyond the norm, the show’s creators attempt to create absurd moments which provoke laughter among the viewers. However, the topics of love and sexuality in his series are not reduced to relationships between men and women, but also include several instances of same-sex love, which are treated with humor as well. Sometimes, homosexuality is only indirectly hinted at, as for example with Malcolm’s Krelboyne friends Dabney and Lloyd. For example, in the episode The Bully (S02E10), Dabney tells Malcolm that he is “bitter, sarcastic and handsome” and in Malcolm’s Girlfriend (S03E04), he rhapsodizes about

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Malcolm’s eyes saying “how can you look at those eyes and say no to anything he asks?,” which is followed by him and Lloyd dreamily sighing. In other cases, the allusion to homosexual love is more explicit, as for instance, in the episode Army Buddy (S07E08): whereas Reese believes that his former army friend, Abby, who is visiting him at home, has fallen in love with him, she is actually attracted to Lois and makes an unsuccessful pass at her while giving her a massage. Before Reese learns the truth, he decides to surprise Abby with a special present – namely his virginity – which he offers naked and with a decorative bow on his penis. Besides the unexpected twist that Abby is homosexual and in love with Lois, Reese’s misunderstanding as well as his unconventional surprise provides highly amusing moments in this episode. However, the show presents another way of dealing with homosexuality in a humorous way, namely by creating misunderstandings in which one or more characters believe that another character is homosexual, although he or she is in fact heterosexual. In the episode Lois vs. Evil (S01E09), Francis has been selected to be part an honor guard at a beauty pageant and unintentionally misleads the contestants into believing that he is homosexual. At first, Francis wants to clarify the situation, but when he realizes that the misunderstanding grants him access to their dressing rooms, he seizes the opportunity and plays along. When he tries to convince one of the girls that she is making him confused about his sexuality and that he might be in the middle of a change, she replies with a seductive gaze that the girls there know how to deal with such problems. While he and the viewers believe that the girl is offering him sex, the next scene shows Francis in a religious seminar which is supposed to exorcize the homosexuality out of its participants. Both the superiority and incongruity theory are represented in these scenes as, on the one hand, the fact that Francis’ trick fails, and on the other, the surprising twist in the situation cause the audience to laugh. A final example of misconceptions with regard to homosexuality can be observed in the episode Pearl Harbor (S06E04), in which Jessica lies to Reese and Malcolm, secretly suggesting to each of them that the other one is homosexual. In the following scenes, the boys try to be nice to each other and therefore behave apparently strange and unnatural in the presence of one another. They even go to the ABBA-musical with their family and pretend to enjoy it in order to make sure that the allegedly homosexual brother does not feel judged. Only when they make each other presents which obviously hint at their supposed homosexuality, Reese and Malcolm figure out that they have been fooled by Jessica. Owing to their informational advantage that none of the brothers are

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actually homosexual, the viewers share Jessica’s laughter about the trick being successful. Moreover, the boys’ insecure behavior towards each other during this episode as well as the inclusion of stereotypes about homosexuals constitutes the humor of this storyline. The clichés that are being addressed range from their alleged tendency to attach much more value to their appearance than heterosexuals as well as their alleged love of Broadway musicals, fashion and the former Swedish pop band ABBA. Besides ridiculing these generalizations, the show visualizes and makes fun of the still widespread insecurity of people when interacting with homosexual persons.

7.6. HUMOR ABOUT DISABILITIES

Besides involving topics like social class, ethnicity, sexuality and poverty for the purpose of provoking laughter, Malcolm in the Middle also does not recoil from making fun of disabilities. This topic is highly present in the show as one character of the main cast, namely Malcolm’s best friend Stevie Kenarban, is bound to a wheelchair. Furthermore, Stevie is missing one lung and has asthma, a combination which enables him only to talk very slowly and with great effort. Because of his condition, he is pejoratively known as Stevie “the Wheelie” Kenarban in his school. The first mention of Stevie in the Pilot episode (S01E01) is already of comic nature: when Malcolm complains about Lois arranging a play date between him and Stevie, Lois angrily rebukes him, saying “you listen to me, young man. That one lunch obviously meant a lot to Stevie. He's a human being with human feelings. Now, you are going to be friends with that crippled boy and you are going to like it. Understood?”. Lois derogatorily calling him “a crippled boy” directly after reprimanding Malcolm for being insensitive with respect to Stevie represents an inconsistency and is therefore considered amusing. The same episode offers another example of humor about disabilities, namely when the school bully Dave Spath misses Malcolm during their fight and thereupon slightly touches Stevie’s chin with his fist. Since Stevie pretends to be severely hit by Spath and even falls over with his wheelchair to exacerbate the situation, the bully’s attempts to apologize are futile and he is condemned by all the other students for striking a handicapped boy. In this example, the fact that Stevie takes advantage of his disability and of the other students’ pity in order to save his friend, represents an unexpected twist and therefore makes the situation funny. As evidenced in the episode Carnival (S02E23), Stevie uses the same tactic to manipulate his

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overprotective parents into allowing him to stay overnight at Malcolm’s house by sadly stating “it would help me feel normal.” Even though Stevie represents the main source of humor with regard to disabilities, there are also a few other situations and characters that, at least for a short time, intentionally or accidentally have to deal with a handicap and thereby create entertaining moments. For instance, Hal’s psychosomatic paralysis of his upper body in the episode Living Will (S06E12) reveals his absurd, but amusing ability to perform everyday tasks like flossing his teeth and changing Jamie’s diapers by means of his feet. In Reese vs. Stevie (S07E03), Reese is fed up with Stevie’s provocations and with the fact that he is not allowed to hit a handicapped person that he decides to fight with him in a private, lonely place. Whereas on the day of the fight, Reese makes his legs numb by means of ice water in order to provide fair conditions for his fight, Stevie tries to achieve the opposite result and illicitly takes a robot exoskeleton from one of his school projects which enables him to walk and to increase his effectiveness. When Stevie sees his enemy lying helplessly on the floor, he seizes the opportunity and beats Reese up for threatening and insulting him. The humor in this scene is not reduced to the power shift between the two boys, but also includes their creative or rather absurd solutions to establish equal chances. Even though the viewers might be tempted to condemn Reese for breaking the taboo of intending to hurt people with disabilities, he is in fact the only character that, at least in this episode, treats Stevie like an equal human being by refusing to let him get away with anything only because of his handicap. Therefore, besides presenting a surprising and amusing plot twist, the series also implicitly criticizes society for handling disabled persons with kid gloves.

7.7. FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ABOUT HUMOR

Whereas the preceding analysis of the humor in Malcolm in the Middle has shown that the series is not merely intended to entertain the viewers, but also to encourage them to critically scrutinize political and social issues. However, owing to the fact that the show belongs to the genre of situation comedies, a large part of the humor is based on the individual characters’ specific features, such as Lois’ frequent outbursts of fury, Hal’s ineptitude, Reese’s stupid ideas as well as the boys’ creative attempts to outwit their parents, Craig’s obsession with Lois etc. Furthermore, Malcolm in the Middle is famous for its unique and highly amusing teasers which have no connection to the remaining

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episode, but are used for the sole purpose of offering a humorous introduction to the individual episodes. Another characteristic of this show are its various running gags which either extend over several episodes, seasons or even over the whole series. The most prominent example for this is the secretiveness about the family’s last name. Except for a few attentive fans that caught sight of the name tag on Francis’ uniform in the Pilot episode (S01E01) and were able to decipher it as “Wilkerson”, the vast majority of the audience never came to know the family’s surname. The last episode called Graduation (S07E22) twice fools the viewers into believing that they are finally going to learn their name: during the graduation ceremony, Francis accidentally drops his employee ID which, to the audience’s disappointment, says “Francis Nolastname” and thus takes up the running gag. The second time, Malcolm is called up by his full name to deliver his valedictorian speech, but a short malfunction of the microphone drowns out the speaker and therefore averts the last disclosure of the name. Even though this might be considered mischievous, the consistent covering up makes clear that the last name is not of any significance for the story and that the focus of the show lies on creating a larger basis for the identification with the individual characters. Similarly, after Jamie’s birth in the episode Baby Part 2 (S04E21), his gender is intentionally not revealed and he is even given a unisex name to keep the viewers guessing. The suspense is even maintained up to the next season: when in the teaser of the episode Vegas (S05E01) Jamie starts urinating during his diaper change, Hal manages to step away just in time to prevent himself from being hit by the urinary stream and comments “nice try, mister,” the audience finally knows that the couple has welcomed its fifth son. However, before revealing that Jamie is a boy at the end of the teaser, the creators did not want to miss the fun of teasing the viewers for a last time and scripted a dialogue between Hal and Lois in which they are talking about some people who have not still figured out Jamie’s gender. This teasing of the audience for humorous reasons also appears in other episodes, such as for example in Hal Quits (S02E14), where Hal is working for the majority of the episode on an enormous painting which is never shown on the visual track, or in Living Will (S06E12), in which Hal’s perfect solution to his neighbor’s fate is never being disclosed. Finally, some of the series’ running gags are rather subtle and require regular watching in order to recognize them as such. The most famous example is the pet hamster of Dewey’s class that first appears in the episode Health Scare (S03E06).

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When Dewey is charged with taking care of the hamster called Bernard over the weekend, he decides to save the animal from the mean boy who is next in line to keep it at home and therefore puts it, together with plenty of food, into its play ball and sets it free. In several episodes after this release, Bernard can be seen rolling by in various scenes, reminding the viewers of its existence and its entertaining journey. The hamster’s last appearance is its arrival in Alaska in the final episode of the third season, Monkey (S03E22), exactly coinciding with Francis and Piama’s departure from this state. Other recurring jokes in Malcolm in the Middle are the numerous appearances of characters ridiculously dancing, such as Hal in the episode Roller Skates (S01E13) or Reese and Malcolm in Pearl Harbor (S06E04) and the fact that any birthday ends at some point in a catastrophe.

Altogether, the series’ humor has been demonstrated to be, on the one hand, highly critical with regard to persistent social problems such as racism or poverty and thus exceeding the usual topics of sitcoms, and on the other hand, to be consistent with the sitcom tradition by presenting typical situation comedy and various running gags. The success of Malcolm in the Middle can very likely be traced back to the fact that it offers a balanced amount of both kinds of humor, thereby making sure that its plot does not become either too political or like a traditional domestic sitcom which mostly ignores the world outside and is basically reduced to dealing with trivial issues concerning the nuclear family. Since large parts of the amusing moments are based on stereotypes and exaggerations, the show not only achieves making the audience laugh, but also encourages them to critically reflect on biased opinions and inequalities in their own social environment. By occasionally teasing the viewers, the sitcom provides a further way of inviting the audience to let go off their passive viewing position and to actively try to find hidden clues for the resolution of these secrets. Thus, the aim of the humorous scenes goes beyond a mere wish to offer entertainment, but also includes an invitation to the viewers to actively deal with some of the depicted events.

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8. CONCLUSION

The thorough examination of the most characteristic aspects of Malcolm in the Middle, such as its technical specifications, its underlying structure and its creative content has shown that this comedy series clearly belongs to the category of “narratively complex programming” or “quality TV.” With regard to its production, the show proves to attach much value to quality since a number of cinematic techniques have been adopted; therefore, as opposed to traditional sitcoms, which are shot on video in a three-camera studio setup, Malcolm in the Middle merely employs a single camera to shoot the individual scenes, which predominantly take place in real locations, on film. Furthermore, by combining some advantages of episodic series and serials, Malcolm in the Middle becomes a genre hybrid and thus follows the formula of narratively complex shows that aims at satisfying both irregular viewers with plot lines that are resolved within one episode, and regular viewers, who enjoy run-on story lines, running gags as well as developments of characters. With its key characteristic, namely Malcolm’s occasional instances of breaking the fourth wall with his glances, questions, statements and gestures into the camera, the show stands out from the mass of ‘new serials’ that emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This analysis has revealed that Malcolm addresses the audience for a multitude of reasons and motives, which can be roughly summarized in three categories, namely into comments providing explanations and unknown information, utterances that bring his feelings to light as well as reflective questions and statements. These groupings have been further subdivided into more specific subcategories which elucidate, by means of several examples, the most recurrent situations that induce Malcolm to share his thoughts and emotions with the viewers. The supplementary category dealing with Malcolm’s occasional stage directions, demonstrates the show’s willingness to experiment and to break the fourth wall in different ways. Besides being a stylistic device, the technique of breaking the fourth wall has also proven to have a number of effects on the audience. Thus, this technique enables Malcolm to invite the viewers to immerse themselves into the story or to achieve the opposite, namely to create an alienating effect by referring to the artificiality of the depicted events. Sometimes, however, Malcolm’s comments merely serve to strengthen his position as protagonist since each episode offers one or two additional plot lines in which he is not directly involved. Furthermore, the ability to talk to the audience

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implies supplementary functions as focalizer and/or as narrator. Moreover, since Malcolm is affected by the events of the story world, his reliability as mediator between the intradiegetic and the extradiegetic level is sometimes highly doubtable. Whereas this thesis confirms his credibility in the majority of his explanatory comments, it discloses that Malcolm’s accounts in situations in which he feels unfairly treated or infuriated are not to be trusted due to his general tendency to exaggerate his alleged misery. A further and more subtle way of expressing his dissatisfaction and bad mood are his sarcastic remarks, which therefore represent another warning for his unreliability. On the whole, the analysis has shown that Malcolm tends to voice untrustworthy statements as character rather than as narrator and that his principal motive is his wish for acceptance among the viewers. Consequently, his attempts to manipulate the audience response in his favor through unreliable utterances can, for the most part, easily be verified by means of the visual track or on the basis of contradicting descriptions provided by other characters. Considering that Malcolm in the Middle is a comedy series, Malcolm’s audience-oriented addresses have also been examined for humorous effects based on two of the most supported theories of humor, namely the superiority theory and the incongruity theory. Not only the protagonist’s instances of breaking the fourth wall, but also with regard to the series’ humor as a whole, exaggerations in the form of sarcastic comments, satire and unusual events, on the one hand, and making fun of people in inferior positions, on the other hand, clearly represent the main reasons for laughter on the part of the viewers. Moreover, absurd utterances and actions as well as unexpected twists have emerged as playing further significant roles in the creation of humor. The last part of this thesis defines the series’ prevalent topics, which turn out to be serious issues of contemporary society such as racism, poverty and sexuality. In order to adjust the criticism of these problematic social themes to the requirements of a benign comedy series, they are exaggerated, stereotyped or turned upside down. In this way, the show achieves both entertainment and induces the viewers to critically reflect upon clichés and injustices. In consideration of all these points, describing Malcolm in the Middle as classical domestic sitcom or comedy show does not do justice to the series since its interest in sociopolitical issues, uncommon filming techniques and deeply disturbed relationships clearly exceed the scope of traditional shows of this genre. The series’ central characteristic, namely the technique of breaking the fourth wall, covers, to a

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certain extent, each of the previously mentioned aspects and effects and thus serves as a red thread throughout the seasons. Furthermore, the influence of Malcolm in the Middle for the dissemination of this technique can be observed in more recent shows of both the comedy genre, such as Modern Family or Parks and Recreation, and drama series like Secret Diary of a Call Girl or House of Cards, which all feature at least one character that directly talks to the viewers. The constant reinvention of the breaking of the fourth wall proves that the destruction of illusions as well as the desire to enhance an active viewing behavior has not yet decreased in the television series context and therefore still represents a relevant part of current television studies.

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9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

9.1. PRIMARY SOURCE

Boomer, Linwood (2000–2006). Malcolm in the Middle. Seasons 1-7. DVD. Fox Broadcasting Company.

9.2. SECONDARY SOURCES

Allrath, Gaby, Gymnich, Marion and Carola Surkamp (2005). “Introduction: Towards a narratology of TV series”. In: Allrath, Gaby & Marion Gymnich, eds. Narrative strategies in television series. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 1-43.

Auter, Philip J., Davis Donald M. (1991). “When characters speak directly to viewers: Breaking the fourth wall in television”. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 68.1-2: 165-171.

Bergson, Henri (1972). Das Lachen. Ein Essay über die Bedeutung des Komischen. Zürich: Verlags AG Die Arche.

Blanchet, Robert (2011). “Quality TV: Eine kurze Einführung in die Geschichte und Ästhetik neuer amerikanischer Fernsehserien.“ In: Blanchet, Robert; Köhler, Christina; Smid Tereza; Zutaver, Julia. Serielle Formen: Von den frühen Film-Serials zu aktuellen Quality-TV- und Online-Serien. Marburg, 37-70.

Brecht, Bertolt (1954). “Vergnügungstheater oder Lehrtheater?“ In: Schriften zum Theater, 1957. Frankfurt/Main.60-73.

Carroll, Noël (2014). Humour: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford Universiy Press.

Chatman, Seymour (1999). “New Directions in Voice-Narrated Cinema”. In: Herman, David, ed. Narratologies: New Perspectives on Narrative Analysis. Ed. by David Herman. Columbus: 322.

Critchley, Simon (2002). On Humour. London: Routledge.

Dalton, Mary M. and Linder, Laura R. (2005). The Sitcom Reader: America Viewed and Skewed. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Hoth, Stefanie (2010). “The Female Voice in Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives: Voice-Over Narration in Contemporary American Television Series”. In: Gymnich, Marion et al., eds. Gendered (Re)Visions: Constructions of Gender in Audiovisual Media. Bonn: V&R unipress. 79-104.

Kreutzner, Gabriele (1991). Next Time on Dynasty. Studien zu einem populären Serientext im amerikanischen Fernsehen der achtziger Jahre. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.

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Lauzen, Martha M., Deiss Jr., Douglas M. (2008). “Breaking the Fourth Wall and Sex Role Stereotypes: An Examination of the 2006–2007 Prime-Time Season.” Sex Roles, 2009, 60.5: 379-386.

Mittell, Jason (2006). “Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television”. The Velvet Light Trap 58: 29-40.

Monaco, James (1981). How to Read a Film: The Art, Technology, Language, History, and Theory of Film and Media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Morreall, John (1983). Taking Laughter Seriously. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Morreall, John (1997). Humor Works. Amherst: HRD Press.

Neumann, Birgit, Nünning, Ansgar (2008). An introduction to the Study of Narrative Fiction. Stuttgart : Klett 2008.

Ott, Brian L. (2007). The Small Screen: How Television Equips Us to Live in the Information Age. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Parker, Philip (1999). Die kreative Matrix: Kunst und Handwerk des Drehbuchschreibens. Konstanz: UVK.

Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith (2002). Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics. London: Routledge.

Savorelli, Antonio (2010). Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland.

Schuyler, Sarah (1988). “Confessions of a Sitcom Junkie”. In: Gail Dines, ed. Gender, Race and Class in the Media. A Text Reader. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publ. 476-678.

Smith, Greg M. (2011). How Much Serial is In Your Serial? In: Blanchet, Robert; Köhler, Kristina; Smid, Tereza; Zutavern, Julia. Serielle Formen: Von den frühen Film- Serials zu aktuellen Quality-TV- und Online-Serien. Marburg, 93-114.

Taylor, Ella (1989). „From the Nelsons to the Huxtables: Genre and Family Imagery in American Network Television“. Qualitative Sociology 12.1: 13-28.

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Wolff, Jürgen, Cox, Kerry (1988). Successful Scriptwriting: How to write and pitch winning scripts for movies, sitcoms, soaps, serials and variety shows. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books.

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9.4. LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1: Wikipedia (n.d.). “Malcolm in the Middle: Ratings”. Wikipedia. [Online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_in_the_Middle [2015, May 15].

Fig. 2: Wikipedia (n.d.). “Season 1 Fox Official Wallpaper”. Wikipedia. [Online] http://www.malcolminthemiddle.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=8924 [2015, May 17].

Fig. 3: Screenshot: “Malcolm introduces himself”. (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Pilot [S01E01], 00:31).

Fig. 4: Screenshot “Malcolm explains his parents’ shaving ritual” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Pilot [S01E01], 01:56).

Fig. 5: Screenshot “Malcolm’s perspective on his parents” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Pilot [S01E01], 01:52)

Fig. 6: Screenshot “Reese and Dewey asking to change Jamie’s diaper” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Block Party [S05E08], 00:06)

Fig. 7: Screenshot “Malcolm gleefully explaining that there is no diamond earring” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Block Party [S05E08], 00:17)

Fig. 8: Screenshot “Malcolm rubbing his money against his face” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Malcolm Babysits [S01E05], 07:56)

Fig. 9: Screenshot “Malcolm sharing the Inksters’ secrets addressing the nanny camera” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Malcolm Babysits [S01E05], 18:01)

Fig. 10: Screenshot “Malcolm sharing his unpleasant experience” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Funeral [S01E11], 03:44)

Fig. 11: Screenshot “Malcolm harassed by his older female relatives” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Funeral [S01E11], 03:55)

Fig. 12: Screenshot “Malcolm shocked about Cynthia’s enormous chest” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Cynthia’s Back [S03E14], 06:08)

Fig. 13: Screenshot “Malcolm overwhelmed, uttering ‘Mommy’” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Cynthia’s Back [S03E14], 06:13)

Fig. 14: Screenshot “Malcolm stupefied at Lois defending him” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Jessica Stays Over [S07E05], 08:21)

Fig. 15: Screenshot “Malcolm realizes that the new tactic is full of potential” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Jessica Stays Over [S07E05], 08:23)

Fig. 16: Screenshot “Malcolm pointing at Lois” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Home Alone [S01E03], 00:52)

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Fig. 17: Screenshot “Malcolm pointing at Lois, seen from his perspective” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Home Alone [S01E03], 00:53)

Fig. 18: Screenshot “Malcolm giving instructions to shoot from above” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Pilot [S01E01], 21:05)

Fig. 19: Screenshot “Camera showing Malcolm from bird’s eye view” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Pilot [S01E01], 21:06)

Fig. 20: Screenshot “The camera imitating Malcolm’s perspective” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Pilot [S01E01], 19:37)

Fig. 21: Screenshot “Malcolm’s perspective as his new classmates stare at him” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Pilot [S01E01], 19:49)

Fig. 22: All Enthusiast Inc. (2014). “Official Promotion Picture of the Wilkerson Family”. Malcolm in the Middle Co. UK. [Online] http://www.malcolminthemiddle.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3477&title=seaso n-1-promo&cat=663 [September 10, 2015].

Fig. 23: Screenshot “Abe and Kitty Kenarban” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Carnival [S02E23], 03:21)

Fig. 24: Screenshot “The Kenarban’s house and front yard” (Malcolm in the Middle, episode Carnival [S02E23], 08:38)

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