Chapter Three Essay Composition (Structure, Agency, and 30 Rock)

Every workplace is a site of tension between the employee’s agency and structure. Different categories of worker experience different restrictions and rules that limit or increase their ability to make decisions and plan their workday for themselves. Within the intertwined relationship of structure and agency, there are opportunities to use the three levels of analysis discussed in Chapter Three to understand how this tension changes from one person’s job to another. The broadcast network TV sitcom 30 Rock takes place in a site of media production. It is about a struggling sketch comedy program, and the relationship its creative team of writers and performers has with the executives from their parent company. The head writer of the show within the show, Liz Lemon, must continuously move between the Vice President of the conglomerate that owns the show, and the writers, who require conditions of relative freedom to work. In the episode you are to watch, the Vice President, Jack Donaghy, embeds himself with the writing staff to better understand how they work, and his presence disrupts their creative process. In the meantime, a network page, Kenneth, must run a series of increasingly dangerous tasks for the show’s star, Tracy Jordan. Additionally, Liz must have a talk with an intern, Cerie, about her attire, which is distracting to the writers. Each story line focuses on the relationships between different categories of labor. Jack represents the executive class. Liz works in a middle-management position, as well as functioning at her show’s head writer. Tracy has the elite status only a star can attain. Kenneth is at the bottom rung of the corporate ladder, and he performs his many tasks with great enthusiasm and little regard for his own personal wellbeing. For your first chapter essay composition, you must consider the relationships within the episode (Jack and Liz; Liz and the writers; Liz and Cerie, Kenneth and Tracy) and explore how their positions display the tension between their agency and structure. What are the freedoms the Liz and the writers enjoy until Jack shows up? How does that circumstance affect Liz’s professional relationship with Jack? Jack offers to include Liz in an executive training program. How does that affect Liz’s status in her job? You must also apply the three levels of analysis to your work. Consider the key players of the episode as individuals. What is their relationship to the organization for whom they work? What does it them offer in terms of agency? How does it impose restriction on their work? And if we think about the institution of television, of corporate, commercially sponsored production, of the entertainment industry, how does that impact their jobs? And finally, consider the conversations Liz has with Cerie. How does this express an unwritten rule of the workplace and how does that affect both women? There are many things go consider in this short essay. The word count is 500 minimum (roughly two pages). Include the word count at the end of your paper. Format: All assignments must be submitted with 12-point, Times New Roman font. One-inch margins. (Square your margins on the left.) Set the paragraph style tab for “no space.” This will remove extra space between paragraphs. Double space sentences. Check grammar and spelling. Structure: Use a basic composition structure. An introductory paragraph with a stated thesis or argument; organized, developed evidence in body paragraphs (at least two is recommended); and a conclusion.