...Gender Theory role in The Big Bang Theory In today’s society, technology plays a major role in ones day to day life, especially television. Each television show has its own theme, plot, and setting, which appeals to a particular audience. A popular comedy sitcom, airing on CBS, is The Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Theory centers around two physicists, Leonard and Sheldon, that are roommates, and their neighbor, Penny. Leonard and Sheldon are extremely socially awkward, and so are their friends, Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali. The television show displays the interaction between these four geeky friends with Penny and other women. Throughout the show, the audience recognizes that many of society’s stereotypes on gender are portrayed through these characters. To thoroughly analyze gender stereotypes and its role in The Big Bang Theory, one must first understand what gender theory is, and its role it plays in society. Gender theory began as the Feminist movement, which was started around the late eighteenth century. The Feminist theory was a proponent of gender equality. Mary Wollstonecraft played a prominent role in this movement (Allen and Felluga). The Feminist movement originally started with women wanting rights with education; but women realized just how unfairly they were being treated. Now they wanted the right to own property, which would come with the right to vote. The movement then went from public to private; women wanted equal rights in home and work (Allen...
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...T.D.W. Dr. Ann Savage MRC 465 T TR 11:00AM – 12:15PM Feminist Criticism Feminist Critique – The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory explores the ways in which individuals are stereotyped in today’s society. Through its sarcastic humor, the episode ‘The Wildebeest Implementation’ illustrates the American gender codes by defining the female and male roles through its various characters and plot scenarios and how these characters break or fit into their respective generalized roles. A woman’s femininity is often conveyed in the style of their wardrobe. Amy, the nerdy and less feminine character of all the female characters on the show, comes home in her first new pair of high heels. As she walks by Leonard in the hallway she makes note to him that women wear high heels to make their buttocks and breasts more prominent. Amy explains that she heard about Leonard’s double date with Priya, Bernedette, Howard. Leonard asks how she found out and she replies with a sultry flick of her hair saying, “Oh at the mall when I was shopping with Penny – because that’s what I do now.” The flick of her hair suggests that she is trying to transform herself into the pretty woman that most men desire. When she says goodbye to Leonard on his way out of the building, she tells Leonard to try not to “ogle my caboose.” However, the fact that she is attempting to assimilate herself into a generalized female role means that she really wants him to do the opposite of that and check out her behind...
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...Ideology and Messages About Culture in Prime Time Television Seven days a week, 24 hours a day there is something to watch on television. There are reality shows, newscasts, news programs, dramas, sitcoms, the list is endless. The Big Bang Theory, The Millers, Law & Order: SVU, and Blue Bloods are all part of the prime time lineup of shows throughout any given week. The Big Bang Theory, airs on CBS and was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. It is the story of two brilliant physicists that work at CalTech in Pasadena, CA. Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper are co-workers, best friends and roommates. Sheldon is “regimented, deeply eccentric, and non-conventional” in his thinking which is a consistent hardship on the relationship between these two friends (“Plot Summary”). They are friends with colleagues Howard Wolowitz, a mechanical engineer, and Rajesh Koothrappali, an Indian immigrant who works as an astrophysicist. The foursome are “self-professed nerds, [with] little or no luck with popular women” (“Plot Summary”). A neighbor, Penny, is of average mind but compared to this brilliant squad she’s made to seem of less than average intelligence. Leonard’s goal is to get Penny to be his girlfriend. Immediately following Big Bang is The Millers created by Greg Garcia and starring Will Arnett. Arnett plays the part of Nathan, a single reporter who has divorced his wife, a secret he’s kept from his parents for several months. His parents pay a visit only to find...
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...Elliot Alderson from a television show “Mr. Robot”. Elliot is an engineer in an IT company by day and a vigilante hacker by night who suffers from anxiety, depression and identity disorder. Although it is never clearly stated and only hinted that Elliot is autistic, an audience can distinctly see symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder in his behaviour, such as incapacity to communicate with other people, hallucinations, periods of delusion and detachment from society. At the same time, Elliot is a high-functioning individual who can gather information about people by observing them and who is fixed on an idea of fighting a current system in the world, where one percent of population owns most of the resources. He also proceeds to hack into big companies and is planning on removing all consumers’ debts by destroying one of the most monopolistic companies. The audience has an inside into Elliot’s mind, because he speaks to the viewers as to an imaginary friend inside his head. “Mr. Robot” is one of the contemporary series in which a character’s disorder is not the main feature about him. While it plays an essential role in the process of understanding of Elliot, this character’s storyline does not only revolve around it, but expands further, showing the prospects that can be reached by neurodiversity with the help of technologies. Neurodiversity movement argues that accepting people with neurological differences is going to initiate great discoveries in all fields of our lives (Mcgee...
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...Studios are the propagators of negative stereotypes and inescapable stigmas that were once ended. Unfortunately, they are resurfacing in our sitcoms, newscasts and big screen movies. Historically, the portrayal of minorities in movies and television is less than ideal. Whether its appearing in disparaging roles or not appearing at all, minorities are the victim of an industry that relies on old ideas to appeal to the "majority" at the expense of the insignificant minority." There are many types of stereotypes including gender, religion and race. The two types I will be discussing in my paper are race and religion....
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...society has applied the stereotypes perceived on the groups being stereotyped. Through the use of advertisements, television shows, and films, the media silently manipulate how the audience views each gender. Advertisements are to blame for the constant reminder of gender roles. In one advertisement for a neutral product, sidewalk chalk, a group of girls were coloring on the sidewalk while one boy rapped and performed a small dance routine. It was very apparent that the young boy was the leading character. Allison Lantagne asked, “Are consumers of sidewalk chalk actively trying to send this message of submission to their 9-year-old girls?” This is likely not the case, but the advertisers are continuing to send these messages to the consumers. There are other advertisers who are breaking the stereotypes. Tide has taken measures to move in a better direction. In one commercial, a man makes the statement “I’m a stay-at-home dad,” and later goes on to braid his daughter’s...
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...David Anderson Soc 343 People organize their knowledge about the world around them by sorting and simplifying received information. Therefore, they create cognitive schemes, which are certain representations of the reality displaying its most typical and fundamental elements and properties. The media Now I would like to focus on the attendance of gender stereotypes in the mass media, which nowadays has a great power and reaches large audiences. In order to create a medium which is universal, understandable and acceptable for numerous and diverse recipients, senders very often use stereotypes, which fill the social life and evoke certain associations. However, mass media not only gives people information and entertainment, but, also affects people’s lives by shaping their opinions, attitudes and beliefs. Men have been perceived as the head of the household and women were mainly housewives. Nowadays the differences between male and female roles are smaller, however mass media still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes. Moreover, due to their great influence on people’s attitudes, they can depict certain social groups in negative and unrealistic manner. They can be a very useful tool for those remaining power. By manipulating the message, media can create a certain image of reality, which is consistent with the policy of the dominant group. As a result, the reflection of a real world is incomplete and distorted. Although people are aware of the unequal representation...
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...differences, and this leads to discrimination, stereotypes, and prejudice. Africans are reported to have arrived in 1619; this was during the time that the white population was the majority. These Africans were then transported down the James River on the ship White Lion. These Africans were traded and sold for food, and some were also transported to the city of Jamestown in the state of Virginia where they were sold again into slavery. (McCartney 2012) The Roman Catholics immigrated to America at a time that Protestants were the majority, and the Roman Catholic were the minority. In a census taken in 1757 stated that there 1,365 Catholics in Pennsylvania, and the territory was home 200,000 – 300,000 inhabitants. (Horvat) The diversity in the United States today includes Hispanics, Koreans, Muslims, and the list continues to grow. In the year 2050 the minority population, excluding non-Hispanics and single-race white, is projected to be 235.7, while the entire United States population is projected at 439 million, and soon enough the minority will become the majority. It is also projected that in 2039 the working age-population to become more than 50% the minority, and reach 55% by the year 2050. (Government Census) Today Hispanics account for a little less than 13% of America’s population, while the African American race accounts for 13.6% of the population. The majority today will need to learn how to move past common stereotypes, and embrace the diversity before reverse discrimination...
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...COMM 330 Final Review • Stereotype - a set of beliefs (cognitive) - can be positive / negative • Prejudice - an attitude (affect) - can be positive / negative — is stored in the mind — i love Mexican food (prejudice) • Discrimination - a type of behavior - can be positive / negative — is the act/ behavior • Traditional relationship among the three stereotypes —> prejudice —> discrimination • Discrimination is communicative — is prejudice, ex: “i like a dodger fan just as much” later that day ends up beating up a dodger fan. - generous definition of communication: Festivals, Marches, Tattoos, Violence, Clothing, and Language are all communicative - if discrimination can be positive / negative, then so can communication (be positive / negative) • Communication Accommodation (Adjustment) Theory: explores how discrimination occurs communicatively • Main Premise: we adjust (accommodate) our communication based on our communicative partner. - attitudes of communicative partner’s social group are important - types of accommodation • Converge: —> social identity - we desire a positive social identity - we want to feel good about our own group membership —> social comparison - we compare our group in relation to other groups (“relative” others) — relative means that when you are comparing the same genders but different ethnicities they’re the same, but different — in-group rejection: when you reject yourself • Social Comparison - we compare our group...
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...“gift from heaven” (Kaufman, 2017, pg. 235). The Romantic era, Lord Byron especially, pushed the idea of the tortured artist. This idea quickly led to the belief that in order to be a true artist, the person had to have some sort of mental affliction (Kaufman, 2017). In order to gain the respect of their culture, some would fake illness or act eccentrically, however, a vast amount of artist were genuinely sick. Media provides the opportunity to educate the public and promote acceptance, unfortunately, media often promotes outdated negative stereotypes that only increase the stigma surrounding mental illness. The American Psychiatric Association (2017) notes that media...
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...DBQ The scientific revolution started in the 16th century after the Renaissance era. The Renaissance means “rebirth” and during this time in the 14th and 16th century, a lot of people made observations and questioned their beliefs, and it opened up a window to mathematics, science, and the natural world. This took place in Europe mainly northern Italy which influenced the Scientific Revolution. Scientist developed new technology and theories, based on observation, and the natural world. Although scientists faced hardship in terms of government opposition, religious disagreement, and gender stereotype, Scientist created great advances in the 16th and 17th centuries. The government opposition, mainly monarchies in...
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...see this as a huge deal; finally, there is something I can relate to on T.V. Even though the Asian-American community has been excited and supportive of the series, it apparently does not appeal to the majority, and there have already been rumors of the show’s cancellation. But why is a show as innovative as Fresh Off the Boat being cancelled? The show has so many fans and is considered ground braking in the Asian-American community, but that is not enough to keep the show on air apparently. -As a minority in America, Asian Americans deserve to have their culture portrayed accurately in mainstream media. However, whenever there are Asian characters on television or films, the roles do not reflect the Asian culture, but reflect the stereotypes thought of the culture. Mainstream American pop culture has failed to represent Asian culture accurately in the media, which in turn has left a negative impact on the Asian American community. Asians make up roughly 5.3% of the population in the United States of America and is also one of the...
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...Xi Chen 355:100:GL Prof. Budd 28 Jan 2014 Essay #1 FD Millions years ago the world started with what scientists believe to be, the "Big Bang". Yet in a believer's eyes, the first living organism is created by the god that they worship depending on his belief. However, no matter how the world starts, thousands of different species live on the same planet, and share a single universe. The ending point of fighting over if evolution is true seems unreachable and the reason is what’s called “Survival of the Fittest”. Only the better one, the stronger one can survive. The same principle can also apply to an idea, or any ideas. In Jane Goodall’s essay “In the Forests of Gombe”, she tells the readers her own experiences when lives in a forest with chimpanzees, and her thoughts about religious beliefs and science. Jane Goodall believes that science, true knowledge is not the only part of the world, perhaps only a small part of the world, and religious beliefs are another way to explain the mysteries of life. In the world of science, god is like a joke, because it is against every pieces of the information that they study since no evidences can prove that god exist. On the other hand, a religious person believes the existence of god. It really is not important who is right or wrong in this case. They are all human and living together. Science and religions are both telling the truth of life, but in a different form. Science is direct, it tells one the lesson right away...
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...Bryce Dale U0846264 A Survey of Jewish and African American Humor Ethnic humor is a widely used social mechanism that can help ethnic groups, whether brought together by religion or skin color, come to terms with their identity as well as negotiate shifting relationships with other groups of varying backgrounds. Multifaceted in nature, ethnic humor can be used both internally to ridicule members of one’s own society as well as externally, ridiculing oppressing parties. Either way, ethnic humor allows for oppressed societies to advance in the face of adversity. The two most prevalent cases of this are in the Black and Jewish communities. I will go on to explain the similarities, such as ancient origins of Jewish and African American humor, and the differences, like the opposite routes the respective styles took as they modernized in American culture. Perhaps the reason for two largely oppressed groups to incorporate humor into their culture is best explained by T. Cohen when he says, “An absurdity can be and example, a symbol, or even, say, an emblem of incomprehensibility. To laugh at absurdity can be an acceptance of its incomprehensibility.” African American humor has even converged with Jewish humor on many occasions, such as the musical The Jazz Singer, where Jews portray black characters, and even more recently with Jewish comedian Larry David portraying ethnic differences between Blacks and Jews on Curb Your Enthusiasm. We will now examine how two ethnicities with...
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...defined by Oxford dictionaries as ‘the act of speaking or acting on behalf of someone’(Oxford dictionaries, Online, 2015). Media representation are the ‘ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective’ (Twin cities, Online, 2015) Representation in the media, however realistic ‘never really simply represents the world direct. They are always a construction, a re-presentation, not a transparent window on to the real.’ (Branston & Stafford, 2003:90) ‘Re-present’ has prompted questions of how accurate the portrayal of race, gender and class have been represented within the media. The way in which the media represents groups of people has led stereotypes, these ‘are not authentic individuals, but are assumptions about specific groups of people that are exhausted throughout the media’ (Branston & Stafford, 2003:90). ‘The selection & construction of undeveloped, generalised signs which categorise social groups or individual members of a group’ (Taylor & Willis, 1999:41). Stuart Hall has described this act as the; ‘The mental frameworks – the languages, the concepts, categories, imagery of thought, and the systems of representation – which different classes and social groups deploy in order to make sense of, define and render intelligible the way society works’ (Stuart Hall, 1985) By this he means what is understood in the media all comes from an understanding of words and symbols underpinned...
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