The Reality Of The Television Show Friends - 1385 Words

Friends is a popular American television show that aired on NBC. The show first aired on September 22nd 1995 and the last episode aired on May 6th 2004. The show lasted ten years, which covered two decades, and covered a lot of what is considered to be America’s culture today. The producers of the show wanted to represent what people’s lives of that age and time were like on a daily basis; the purposelessness, the non-stop coffee drinking, the quest for spouses, and the feeling that they were â€Å"stuck in second gear,† as the theme song says. In this paper I argue that the television show Friends, presents typical stereotypes that are exposed throughout the show but specifically through genders roles, race and style. Most young people,†¦show more content†¦It follows from that that they make frequent use of stereotypes, which are a typical source of humor, and can commonly be found in another more or less distant ancestor of sitcoms, â€Å"commedia dell arte† (Picouly). However, in recent years stereotypes in the media have been heavily criticized due to using the humor in the wrong ways. Media and entertainment have to be mindful when poking jokes because there is a fine line that cannot be passed. (Picouly). From the moment any individual is born, they are subject to strict gender roles that they are expected to conform to immediately in order to be accepted by society. Personal beliefs about the differences in gender traits and behavior come from socialization (Chandler Munday). Some stereotypical characteristics of being â€Å"masculine† include, being strong, tall, non emotional and competitive. Some stereotypical characteristics of being feminine include, being emotional, dependent, sensitive, overdramatic and nurturing (Heilman). The characters in Friends demonstrate how gender roles affect the way they view themselves, interact with the people around them and their every day lives. Friends incorporates characters who display stereotypical characteristics associated with being male or female, as well as characters who go against these gender norms and display traits that are typically displayed by the opposite gender. Joey is one of the male characters who display veryShow MoreRelated Reality Television Essay1638 Words   |  7 PagesReality Television   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Philo T. Farnsworth invented the electric television, he probably did not think that it would be used to show people eating bugs, finding husbands based on votes of viewers, or living on deserted islands. But that is exactly what you can see any given night on television now. This newest form of television programming fad is the reality television genre. Reality television is now on every station, every night, everywhere. 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