English Arguementive Essay
The Essay is due on 03/12/2014. I was thinking of choosing the paper urgency set at three days but I didn't want to take the risk so I chose 48 hours option instead. Below are the instructions. Thank you for your time. The Essay needs to have an argument. 1). Analyze the representation of family life in three different contemporary television programs. I was thinking that the three contemporary shows can be: "Two and Half Men", "Mob Wives", and "Modern Family" 2). How are the shows written today in comparison to television programming by Stephanie Coontz? This is reference to Stephanie Coontz's work on "What We Really Missed about the 1950's" which talks about 1950's television programming shows in the 1950's such as "I Love Lucy" and "Leave it To Beaver". 3). What do contemporary programs say about family, relationships, economy (amongst other things). 4). If 1950's programming is now perceived not as representational but instructional, what can we say about the programming offered to viewers today? 5). Make connections with at least of the two of the previous readings from "Rereading America" by Gary Colombo (Ninth Edition)... Connection #1: I think there's a connection with Stephanie Coontz's "What We Really Missed about the 1950's" with the TV show of "Two and a Half Men". For example, unlike 1950's programming, "Two and Half Men" showcases families which experiences financial difficulties and personal problems. This something that Coontz was talking about in her article. For Stephanie Coontz's "What We Really Missed about the 1950's" it's from pages 27 to 44. of "Rereading America" by Gary Colombo (Ninth Edition). Connection #2: Another connection I think can be with the co-written work of Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian: "The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement" with the TV show of "Mob Wives". For example, shows different images of women and their problematic families. The images the women portray is important because gender roles is a topic that Gerstel and Sarkisian described in their article. Through the five lead characters, gender roles are clearly depicted and it shows how different types of women address such expectations . The show deals with many controversial issues from crime, sexual relationships, to materialism. For Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian: "The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement" it's from pages 47 to 56 of "Rereading America" by Gary Colombo (Ninth Edition). For "Modern Family" I have been trying to figure a connection, but it's tough to think with all the work I have... Essay Format Guidelines: At least 4 pages, Double Spaced, 12 point Times New Roman Font, 1 inch Margins all around. Cite your sources in MLA Format: I believe the Works Cited should be as follows: Coontz, Stephanie. "What We Really Missed about the 1950's". Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, Bonnie Lisle. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. 2013. 27-44. Print Gerstel, Naomi and Sarkisian, Natalia. "The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement". Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, Bonnie Lisle. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. 2013. 47-56. Print
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English Argumentative Essay
This essay provides an argument on the representation of family life in 3 different contemporary television programs: Two and a Half Men, Mob Wives and Modern Family. This paper provides a comparison of how shows are written today to television programming by Stephanie Coontz. This is in reference to Stephanie Coontz’s work on What We Really Missed about the 1950s that talks about television programming shows in the 1950s like I Love Lucy and Leave it To Beaver. This paper also discusses what contemporary programs say regarding things like economy, relationships and family. This paper also says about programming offered to viewers today if the 1950s programming is presently perceived not as representational but instructional. The paper makes connections with at least 2 readings.
First connection: There is a connection with Stephanie Coontz’s What We Really Missed about the 1950s with the television show Two and a Half Men. For instance, different from the television programming of the 1950s, Two and a Half Men basically showcases families that experience financial difficulties and people having personal problems. This is something that Stephanie Coontz discussed in her article. Television programming in the 1950s such as Leave it to the Beaver showcased a family that was perfect and wealthy with no problems whatsoever and people often compared themselves and others to such families, a family that is totally different from that in Two and a Half Men which is marred by problems (Coontz 14). The financial and personal problems depicted in Two and a Half Men is concerning Charlie, Alan and Jake. The sitcom was initially about a self-indulgent jingle writer named Charlie Harper, along with his edgy brother Alan, and Jake who was the son of Alan. Following Alan’s divorce, him and Jake move to share Charlie’s Malibu beach house. Charlie leads a free-wheeling life which is made complicated by Alan and his son Jake. In the sitcom’s 9th season, Alan is shown continuing with his life following Charlie’s death. Charlie has a new housemate and best friend, Schmidt, an individual who is dealing with troubles of his own following a terrible divorce. Eventually, Jake, Alan and Schmidt bond and become close friends. These 3 form a surrogate family unit. In What We Really Missed about the 1950s, Stephanie Cootz stated that the ‘50s was a decade of economic growth and prosperity in the United States and families lived the American Dream: family dinners, a house with a white picket fence, and everything in the style of Leave it to the Beaver where families were depicted as white, wealthy and perfect (Coontz 18). Nobody expected their family to act like the families in these television programs; however, they were what people would usually compare themselves and others too.
Second connection: the other connection is with the co-written work of Natalia Sarkisian and Naomi Gerstel in regards to The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender and Extended Family Involvement with the modern television show entitled Mob Wives. In Mob Wives, the images that women portray are significant since gender roles is a topic that Sarkisian and Gerstel d...