You may come up with your own topic as long as it fits within the course. If you have any concerns about your topic, discuss it with Jody or your TA. You are asked to write an approximately 2000-2500 word analysis of a TV show or shows that focus on the issue of social representation. You must provide a close analysis of at least three different shows/episodes. Essays must be relevant to class texts and lectures. You are required to draw upon class materials and least two outside academic research sources. You may use or adapt one of the following questions. Feel free to modify these questions. Lectures and readings should clarify the significance of all of the following. I chose: Consider animation’s relentless critique of both television and the culture as a whole. In the last few decades, animation has positioned itself outside the mainstream and has offered some brilliant social and ideological commentary. Long past are the days of the and t
he ; and all offer intelligent, sophisticated cultural critique wrapped in the façade of crude humor and fart jokes. And yet… And yet why does always end in family unity and harmony? Why do we love Homer, Hank ll, Daria, Peter Griffin, and even Cartman so much? How does a show like redefine the TV family? Can the grotesque be considered subversive? If so, what exactly does it subvert? Begin by thinking of the ways these animated shows stand in opposition to the traditions they draw upon. Try to recognize the ways they refuse or openly mock traditional values, beliefs and ideologies – like of middle-class decorum or the nuclear family. What do they express for us and how do we account for their popularity? Think about what the Flanders represent or the ways takes on current issues and controversies. Consider the ways a show like exposes and mocks, in subtle ways, the values of Middle America in the flyover states. Purchase the answer to view it