Possible Response Questions:
• What is this writer’s argument? Do you agree? Disagree? Explain.
• Select a passage and reflect on it.
Through your readings, discussions, etc.., what have you learned so far about the impact of the Holocaust? ...the effect of stereotypes, prejudices, racism? ....the effect of the images on the wall?
(What I am looking for in your response is more than just a basic reflection of sorts, but a DEEPER demonstration of your comprehension of this content. I am looking for impactful and relevant responses to show your unyielding capability of synthesizing information together in providing a well-written response.
The writer's argument is that today's shows doesn't focus or talk about the real life struggles of everyday Americans. I don't know if I fully agree with his claim because some shows that I watch today does talk about coming up from nothing and the struggles of people in our society. For an example the show Star is about two foster girls meeting a daughter of a famous rock star and creating a girl group. In the show they talk about the everyday struggledlz of people on America today , from homelessness, homosexuality, assult, injustice,police brutality, all in which people face in today's society. I do agree with some of the things the author said far as hiw deep these shows go into talking about these struggles but I do believe that shows today do express the importance of real life struggles.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the authors argument, but I do not agree with you with his claim. His claim is that the modern television shows do not fully show the problems in society. You might have a small amount of non-popular shows that actually do show this, but the majority of shows just skim over the problems you listed. They either skim or make the problem seem lower than it really is. You can take the show Parks and Recreations, and see how this is. They are lower middle class people that are able to afford upper class items without consequences. In all the author's clam is solid.
DeleteI do agree with the writer in the sense that the media is avoiding hitting sensitive topics. If we look at some of the shows the writer listed, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Empire, they avoid hitting topics that hold a lot of meaning. Even though Breaking Bad does talk about cancer and how it effects a family, it merely uses it as an excuse to drive its plot. Back in older days of television they had no problem hitting sensitive topics, like East Side/West Side and Honeymooners. Though lets compare reasons as to why we have such a different set of "problems" talked about in modern television. In the United States there's this idea of political correctness. This means not to say anything that could offend people. When there is something or someone famous that doesn't follow this idea of political correctness, then they risk being called out and frowned upon by mass public media. If we look at the case about Jamie Fox said that Miley Cyrus would "end up on a stripper pole" she was massively criticized by the media. That was one person talking about one other person. Now if we look at a bigger picture about a TV series showing what it is really like in poverty, homosexuality, the idea of "police brutality", and so on, people might get offended. If people get offended, then the show gets lower ratings. If the show gets lower ratings, then the writers, show makers, and possible the actors might look bad. If that happens then their wages might get cut, and we all know that people don't want that to happen to themselves. It all goes back to the risks of modern culture, and whether TV producers are willing to push it. Right now they are playing it safe, but that might change as culture changes.
ReplyDeleteSimply watching American television, no matter how well-acted, the show will by all means be riddled or at least moderately forgery. A big problem - perhaps, the most troubling part - of TV regardless of where you live is they have to show what the audience likes. American television, for say, is way different from, uh, TV in Japan simply because we prefer different types of media. Americans may find a Japanese film boring albeit incomprehensible, and vise versa. Also, older films (take Freaks or Song of the South, for example) can be downright offensive and not even try to avoid sensitive topics. These spark ample controversy, so today MOST distributors know to play it safe and it will be worthwhile in the end. South Park, however, just..no. (Also, besides the Hitler sitcom (Hail Honey I'm Home, so controversial it never made anything after the pilot), what does this have to to with the Holocaust?)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the writer. Today's media is trying to avoid real world problems. TV shows are based on our lives but they don't show real problems and real solutions. These shows were created to appease use, not to inform use of the world we live in. Shows that were created to inform use are seen not funny and not worth our time. Reflective television shows are seen this way by reviewers and celebrities and not by everyday people, facing everyday problems. In the 3rd and 4th paragraph you're being told that all shows are the same with different backstories. You're also being told that TV is real but consist of fake problems. Most shows have a good vs. evil or one side against the other but have different characters and plots, an example would be 'The Walking Dead' and 'Orange Is the New Black'.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out that Television shows are made for our entertainment and what the audience wants. I believe that giving us what we want to see is basically covering up the reality of what's going in the country we live in. Even the shows that inform us don't talk about real problems people encounter in life. When I think of informative shows I think of animal planet and even that's pretty entertaining depending on the show you watch. I just think television in general is just a huge platform to get your mind off the issues around you instead of making people aware and spreading them.
DeleteThe authors argument in this article is claiming that current television shows do not show the real, everyday struggle of Americans. I can totally side with the author on this one. Okay, now lets be honest here, most shows that you see on TV today, like the "Modern Family", shows a upper class, Caucasian family, who are just living life without any political or economic problems. This show is in fact the opposite of what the "Modern Family" in America is. Political and economic problems such as being in debt or having to struggle to get by are not displayed in these shows, making life look easy and effortless. Older shows such as "Good Times" really displayed how most people in America are out here living, through incorporating a lot of everyday problems that people experience into the show. These everyday problems can be anything from living paycheck to paycheck, having debts, dealing with government issues, and having a broken family.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you,about "Modern Family" not showing what a "Modern Family" actually is like but think about this for a second, how did you know that that's not what a "Modern Family" is like? The answer is simple, you use your own experiences in life to decide what most modern families live like. This background knowledge of knowing what a "Modern Family" is like comes from your parents, grandparents, experiences with friends, and online resources, NOT T.V. because T.V. is only used to entertain the "Modern Family" not teach it.
DeleteThe authors claim is that T.V. shows today don't offer the same real world experiences that the older T.V. shows from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's aired. The author also feels that characters in T.V. shows like "big bang theory", "black-ish", "modern family, "NCIS" and "criminal minds" don't show the full scope of life, he thinks that most of the real world things like paying bills is avoided and is only mentioned for personal fulfillment purposes.
ReplyDeleteI think that the author is right but for the wrong reasons, the purpose of television in the 60's - 90's was to show people real world things because you couldn't get the information any other way but with today's rise of technology there is no need to watch T.V. for real world information because all of the real world information is online. If I were to compare the stats of a number of views on T.V. news, and a number of views on websites and apps, the online news would win no matter what you tried to compare. Most television shows today are created to entertain the viewer not teach the viewer, this is because the only thing that matters is views. Views make money, and if views equal money then content doesn't matter and all you need to do is have a good title and characters that relate to the everyday person. If you want to teach the world about life issues or problems you need to find a reason that someone will want and care to learn about the topic you want to share, complaining, that television is changing, doesn't help.
I agree with you & like how you included how television back then was used to show real world things because that's the only way they could revive it compared to today, where we find things out online. That was a good point you made. I also agree that most tv shows are created to entertain people but there are some shows that talk about real world problems
ReplyDeletelol, this isnt my class but thanks for the answers
ReplyDelete