Gender and Stereotype in Sitcom Essay

In both sitcoms, Black Books and Men Behaving Badly, comedy is generated and dependant on the representation of stereotypes shown through characters. Some follow stereotypes and others don’t, but throughout both sitcoms, this is where the humor comes from, and this is extremely visible in the two episodes chosen for each sitcom. In Men Behaving Badly, the two main characters, Tong and Gary have fixed views on gender and couldn’t be closer to the modern day stereotype of a youngish male. They are two men who are lager swilling and football crazy, and even though both in their thirties, adult life hasn’t dawned on either just quite yet. The mise – en – scene of their flat is very boyish and the pub is dark and dingy. They never change throughout the sitcom and seem extremely content with their laidback lifestyles. Much of the humor is generated from this because the middle aged male audience can relate, and wish they were in that situation. The audience will understand their jokes and think of the times when they were probably the same. This behavior also allows them to get away with much more, for example in this episode neither gets back from the pub until the early hours and Gary misses Dorothy specially prepared romantic meal but avoids confrontation. They also both have female companions. Dorothy is Gary’s on/off girlfriend who is always extremely forgiving, and could be considered as the female stereotype in many aspects. She says she wants a proper relationship, but knows it’s unlikely with Gary. She cooks him romantic meals and is always working hard to please him. Deborah on the other hand is not in a relationship with Tony, but knows she can use him for a bit of fun whenever she likes. An example is at the end of this episode when she tells him to wait outside for her naked in the shed in the early hours of the morning, for the second time in a matter of weeks. Tony obviously falls for it, with him being the sex crazed stereotypical man that he is portrayed to be, and comedy is generated from this. Deborah on the other hand, is the stereotype of the attractive and sophisticated girl upstairs, the one who is definitely most likely to take advantage of men. Women can relate to these characters, with the struggles they go through and the laughs they have mocking their men, and this is how the audience is formed. The whole audience is able to relate through the portrayal of stereotype in this sitcom, and humor is generated along the way. Men will find the parts played by the men funny, and the women watching vice versa, but it can be viewed by all in confidence that laughs will arise from any episode. The women mock the men, but the men get their own back with their loutish, get away with anything attitudes, and by the end everyone is satisfied. On the other hand, in Black Books, most of the comedy is generated due to characters deviating from their stereotypes. Bernard is the only main character who does not. He is a stereotypical Irishman, who is an incredibly easygoing, drinking smoking lout, whose witty humor generates from him ordering about his only employee and best friend Manny. Manny is the other half to this relationship, and the much more the feminine personality wise. His appearance is of a hippy, and for much of the time he is acting as the forgiving wife to Bernard’s demanding husband role. Bernard tells Manny that he hasn’t washed his things, and Manny replies politely, ‘I want a herb garden’. In their relationship though they both conform to stereotypes, Bernard of the bad husband and Manny of the forgiving wife. Bernard is forever ungrateful for Manny’s effort for example he says after Manny has spent time cooking a meal, ‘What kind of filth is spewing out of your hatch tonight?’. Manny is used to it though, and just ignores his petulance. Bernard also mocks Manny’s female ways in saying that, ‘Ill wait until you put your teeth in dear’, before speaking to Manny. In the episode watched, much of the comedy derives from this repeated bickering between the two, and contrasting stereotyp es. They both eventually go and see a psychiatrist who almost changes roles around, but eventually, as with every episode, the equilibrium is restored by the end, and Manny’s subordinate role is re-established. The third main character in the sitcom is Fran, and she is much the glue between the two males as she can relate to both ways of life and confront their problems. She derives greatly from her stereotype though, and acts as an extremely masculine female, smoking and drinking, and is told by her friend she smells. In this particular episode Fran even tries to make a menz to her ways by stopping drinking and smoking and taking up yoga, but this vision is not long lived. When her friend Eva and she are together the mise – en scene is bright, light and modern, but by the end of the episode she is back as being considered one of the boys in the way. She returns to the dingy bookshop and has the last line in this particular episode, a belch, which sums her up in a way. By the end of the episode the unity of the group is definitely restored, and so are all normal ways of living. Manny and Fran’s deviations from stereotype are back in place and Bernard’s was never in doub t. This particular sitcom provides a different type of comedy to Men Behaving Badly; in that stereotypes do not have to be adhered to in order to produce comedy. A different type of humor is created, whereby the audience is laughing at the characters rather than relating to them. All in all, the humor created by both situation comedies comes back to the portrayal of stereotype, or deviation of it by characters, but Black Books just shows a different edge to how it can depend on the stereotypical representation of gender in situation comedies.

Reseach paper on the tectonic plate and hot spots in Yellow Stone Research

Reseach on the tectonic plate and hot spots in Yellow Stone National Park, Wyoming - Research Paper Example The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is home to an enormous biodiversity of insects, birds and mammals, all of which are coming under increasing pressure from a growing human population. Human Population and Economics The population of Wyoming alone is estimated to be around 522,830 (Local Census) and the GYR has one of the fastest population growth rates in the U.S. (Hansen et al.). Population growth in the GYR is driven by ecological and social, rather than economic factors, with ‘quality of life’ being the predominant reason stated for relocation reasons. The most common businesses are tourism related or are service industry businesses such as insurance and real estate firms (Rasker and Hansen 30). A large percentage of the population is also retired (Ibid 31). The state GDP as of 2005 was $27.4 billion (Local Census) Historical population levels were far fewer and centered on extraction industries such as mining, logging, grazing and agriculture. These industries now only represent 5% of the region’s economic output (Rasker and Hansen 30). Developments are being built on the 3million acres of privately owned land that was previously used for agricultural purposes. These lands fringe the federally owned parklands of the GYR (Rasker and Hansen 30). ... he GYE Animal populations of the GYE include large and varied populations of herbivorous, insectivorous, and predatory bird species, insects, reptiles, fish and herbivorous, omnivorous and carnivorous mammals. Many of these species are registered as endangered. The grizzly bear is common to the region, as are large herds of grazing ungulates, including some of the last bison and Elk herds in North America. The wolf has also been successfully re-introduced to the region (Yellowstone National Park). Most bird species reside in lowlands where primary productivity is at its highest and the climate most agreeable. This places them directly in competition with human populations for productive lands (Hansen et al.). Geology, Volcanism and Seismicity of the GYE YNP is located in a volcanic caldera or ‘super volcano’ that was formed about 600,000 years ago (kya). The Yellowstone caldera (YC) lies above a ridge centred, mid-continental hotspot/magma plume that continues to be volc anically active (Foulger and Natland 922). The ridge forms the north-easternmost part of one of two volcanic chains in western America that are linked in origin to the Juan de Fuca Plate subducting beneath the North American Plate (Suppe, Powell and Berry 400). The YC is situated at the convergence of the Western U.S. Plate and the North American Plate. The Western Plate’s eastern boundary is fastened to the Yellowstone hotspot and it is slowly drifting eastwards, creating the Great Basin (Suppe, Powell and Berry 400). A volcanic eruption has not occurred since 70kya when lava flows covered much of the region (Brantley et al. 1). The YC continues to be volcanically active, as evidenced by YNP’s famous geothermal features and the high frequency of earthquakes that occur in the region. Thousands

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Employment Law - Essay Example Those terms include the payment of 40,000 pounds annually and a discretionary bonus of 6,000 pounds provided he meets company deadlines. Although the bonus appears to be a flexible term in the sense that the company may at its discretion decline the payment of the bonus, the annual salary is a fixed term, agreed between the parties. A contract of employment is in many ways no different from a commercial contract in that it contains an exchange of agreements by which the parties are bound to observe.1 Like a commercial contract, an employment contract cannot be waived unilaterally unless the contract itself makes specific provision for variations of the type undertaken, although the contract may be varied by operation of statue without either parties’ consent.2 On the facts of the case for discussion there are no statutory provisions applicable to David’s salary under the contract with C Plus. It therefore follows that the variation could not be effected by the employer without David’s consent. It would appear that C Plus may be erroneously relying on a Section 4 Statement under the Employment Rights Act 1996 which permits variation of a Section 1 Statement.3 A Section 1 Statement is typically issued following the initial stage of employment and sets out the terms of employment. A Section 4 Statement will reflect changes to a Section 1 Statement. However, since a Section 1 Statement is not a contract in and of itself, but evidence of the existence of a contract,4 an employer can only logically rely on the validity of a Section 4 Statement if the employee to whom it relates agrees or does not voice an objection to it.5 Even if the employer fails to voice his or her objection to the Section 4 Statement the court may still deem it ineffective.6 David did however, voice his objection to the variation of his salary under the initial contract and by doing so makes the Section 4 Statement/variation of the contract invalid.

Crisis in Public Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crisis in Public Relations - Essay Example However, the design and findings is not as strong in the abstract because of the lack of detail, making the main point vague. Background The background is defined specifically with two crises’ that led to the investigation. This allows the reader to understand what the research is about and why it is important to portray. Creating this basis with the latest outbreaks makes it easier for the reader to understand the importance of communication during a crisis and why this is important to convey to the public. This is combined with statistics, referencing and case studies that create a clear and simplistic understanding of why the research study is important. Literature Review The literature review begins with theoretical implications that relate to communication and how this builds with a crisis. This then links to the case studies that are used in the background and leads into theoretical frameworks to imply the importance of crisis communication. The ideology is furthered wit h Coomb’s crisis response strategies and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as well as media framing. The strength of this section is with using the theoretical framework as the main ideology for the case studies. ... The questions are defined with a narrow focus and with the understanding that this will link back to the theories and case studies previously mentioned. Even though these are strong and imply specific results, it is noted that the researcher has a stereotype from the case studies, specifically toward Asian nations. This is noted as the main hypothesis is examined based on the stereotypes constructed earlier. This creates too narrow of a viewpoint and doesn’t provide complete insight into the questions being asked. Method The definitions that are provided in the methodology are clear and have a structure that places a strong basis for the research. One is able to trace the different findings and understand the main methodology which is used to conduct the needed samples. This is furthered with creating a strong way of analyzing the results to retrieve the correct information while building a time line to gather information. While the researcher provides the strong definitions a nd basis, the methodology as a whole is not as strong. The resources chosen to use connects with includes both national and local papers for the US but only has national papers for Korea. This doesn’t allow a broad investigation of the results desired. There is also a lack of information in terms of where the information was coded for the newspapers and why the study was conducted this way. These gaps may have altered the findings and didn’t provide a strong methodology to retrieve complete results with the investigation. Data / Findings The findings that are listed are clear and easy to understand where one is able to understand the communication crisis difference. This is further defined

International business class (Discussion Board) Assignment - 5

International business class (Discussion Board) - Assignment Example es-spatial proximity of upstream and downstream industries enhances the sharing of information and this enables a continuous sharing of ideas and innovation, which can create competitive bias in a certain type of industry. Factor conditions- against the traditional thought, he argued that key factor of production are created and not inherited. The key factors are skilled labour, capita and infrastructure. These are the ones that can create a competitive advantage. He referred to those factors as the â€Å"diamond of national advantage†, by implication he asserted that it is the inter-linkage of these factors that would actually precede the attainment of the competitive advantage. Further, he pointed out that government policy and the chance of event had a role to play in the inter-linkage and hence a national competitive advantage factor. Texas cotton farmers have in recent years been facing stiff competition from other overseas farmers, particularly China and India. The provision of subsidy-government policy, a factor that affects the inter-linkage of other factors may have tilted productions in favour of the Asian giants. However, demand conditions in the American market for cotton products, new business strategies being employed and the existence of a system of powerful infrastructural development in the region might tilt the scale in their favor. The four advanced factors that Porter writes about are Demand Conditions, Related and Supporting Industries, Factor Conditions, and Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry. Texas cotton farmers were able to use Porters Diamond model to redefine their business strategy in order to remain competitive. One of the ways they did this was to upgrade on their machines and technologies. This propelled them into the new millennium and provided support for them to remain competitive in the national and global market. This helped them build up the industry into a new more effective and efficient operation. So national brands

Policy Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Policy Paper - Assignment Example In addition, certain malware programs are meant to transfer information regarding website activities to third parties (Vacca, 2013). The security policy addresses antivirus, spyware, and adware in a medium-sized organization. If defines the handling of computer gadgets in the organization including how regularly computer software maintenance is expected to be performed, the manner in which computer updates are conducted, the type of programs to be installed and used on computers. The policy also defines the means by which prevention and removal of malware programs from computers is done (Aycock, 2011). It also denotes the types of files attachments to be blocked at the mail server, anti-virus and anti-spyware programs to be run on the server. The policy also specifies whether the use an anti-spam firewall is acceptable in order to offer additional security measures to the mail server (Aycock, 2011). It also specifies the manner in which files should be availed to the trusted sites and the examination process to determine unwanted or hostile content. A virus has the ability to replicate and distribute to other programs in the computer (Aycock, 2011). It also causes damage by using up computer memory, reformatting the hard disk and deleting files. A spyware automatically gathers information from a computer and online activities and transfers it to other interested parties. Adware is financially supported or that which offers financial support to a different program through the display of ads when a computer is connected to the internet (Aycock, 2011). This policy is applicable to all computers and servers that are connected or associated with the organization network through wireless connections, standard network connections, virtual private network connections or modem connections. The policy explicitly includes computers owned by the organization, individuals or sharing the organization’s network. The computer

Healthcare Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Healthcare Marketing - Research Paper Example The Affordable healthcare Act however does not just look at the issue of affordability, it looks on so many factors. The factors that the Affordable healthcare Act has addressed are so many that they could not have been implemented all at once without causing some disruption in the market. As a result, it is being implemented in steps, with the last bit expected to be implemented in 2022, over twenty years after the first bit was implemented in 2012. One of the biggest problem that have faced the American healthcare in the last few decades was not just the inability by millions of Americans to afford health insurance, but the fact that insurance companies have been seen to not be faithful to their promise after a patient who has been paying them premiums gets sick (Selker & Wasser, 2013). This has been a challenge and many Americans have suffered in the past because they would hope to be covered when they were sick only for the insurance company they had insured themselves through coming up with excuses as to why they cannot be compensated. The affordable care act is very useful in making sure that the insurance firms will have to be accountable in making sure that they cover the patients when they get sick (Zuniga, Marks, & Gostin, 2013). This is going to bring in a new paradigm in the healthcare market. Definitely, the fact that most people were losing hope with insurance firms meant that they were choosing to not buy health i nsurance. This meant that even those who could afford healthcare insurance were becoming suspicious and refusing to buy it, thus increasing the number of people who have not been covered. The other issue that the affordable healthcare act seeks to solve is the issue of insurance companies refusing to pay out when an applicant makes an honest mistake on their application. This is one issue that has stained the American healthcare insurance and needs to be addressed. The affordable