History and characteristics of US-sitcoms

Texte Universitaire , 2007 , 12 Pages , Note: 2,1

Philologie Américaine - Linguistique

The scripts of comedies imitate real life and fulfill the audience’s needs in everyday lives. That means people like to relax while watching other people’s daily lives including love, friendship, or working life. They want to escape from the pressure they had during their own day and enjoy funny and easy-to-understand-shows. Additionally, humor gives, as Bärmann (1989) claims, the audience a chance to breathe.
The evolution of TV series from the beginning of this genre of TV shows in the 1950s until today is important. The first TV series were comedies and variety shows but soon this concept was replaced by sitcoms. During the 1970s and the 1990s sitcoms changed as well as society. Rapidly, new issues like friends, emancipation, or the role of the family has changed. “The correspondence between reality and fiction has become in fact the most important thing for the public: present TV series want people to recognize themselves in the fictive and unreal characters.”

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• The history of sitcoms
• Characteristics of sitcoms
  • Strands and stacks
  • Canned laughter
• References (including additional literature)

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This text aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the history and characteristics of US sitcoms. It explores the evolution of the sitcom genre from its origins in the 1920s to its contemporary forms, highlighting key developments and trends. The text also examines the defining features of sitcoms, including their narrative structure, humor, and character development.

• The evolution of sitcoms from radio to television
• The impact of social and cultural changes on sitcoms
• The use of humor and storytelling techniques in sitcoms
• The role of characters and stereotypes in sitcoms
• The relationship between sitcoms and audience expectations

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The introduction sets the stage for the discussion of US sitcoms, highlighting the importance of humor and the evolution of the genre. It also introduces the concept of "mass humor" and differentiates between situation comedy and stand-up comedy.

The chapter on the history of sitcoms traces the development of the genre from its early days on radio to its rise to prominence on television. It examines key sitcoms from different eras, highlighting the changing social and cultural contexts that shaped the genre. The chapter also explores the influence of the women's movement and the rise of ethnic sitcoms.

The chapter on the characteristics of sitcoms delves into the defining features of the genre, including its narrative structure, humor, and character development. It examines the use of standardized storytelling formats, the importance of character stereotypes, and the role of canned laughter.

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include US sitcoms, history of sitcoms, characteristics of sitcoms, situation comedy, stand-up comedy, humor, storytelling, character development, narrative structure, canned laughter, social and cultural context, women's movement, ethnic sitcoms, audience expectations.

• Université: University of Hannover
• Note: 2,1
• Auteur: Irina Wamsler (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2007
• Pages: 12
• N° de catalogue: V284775
• ISBN (ebook): 9783656844105
• ISBN (Livre): 9783656864356
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: history, us-sitcoms