Pick a TV show (a series) and “unpack” the show in terms of the writer/director’s attitude and views about social class. Start with the basics: Who are the major characters and what is the setting? What are the major conflicts for the main characters (think big obstacles, the one or ones that span the entire arc of a season)? Does the show have anything to do with money or cultural capital–either the excess or the absence of these things? Think Desperate Housewives vs. The Simpsons.
Finally, explain the writer’s attitude about social class, upward mobility, and human behavior. (Another way to look at this last question is to put yourself in the shoes (or skin) of an alien–yeah, goofy, I know–and imagine this is the only TV show available on your alien planet. What would you learn about America just from this one TV show?)
Answer these questions in 3 distinct paragraphs. Please put a line break between paragraphs, just like I’ve done.
The TV show that I decided to write about is One Tree Hill, since I never miss an episode. This show is about a group of friends who all grew up in the same town called Tree Hill. This group of friends who go through so many life long changes: there are relationships, break-ups, and deaths. Haley and Luke who are best friends, but not in the “popular” group, but soon become in that popular group all because of Luke joining the basketball team. No one really knew that Luke was a good basketball player until his uncle spoke to the coach and explained that Nathan, Luke’s brother, was not the only Scott that could play basketball. Nathan became attracted to Haley and Brooke, the rich girl out of the group, became attracted to Luke. It all caused conflict because the two brothers despised each other.
They are all pretty much in the same social class except for Nathan and Brooke. Their families come from money. Brooke’s mother and father are extremely rich and soon open up their own clothing line, which Brooke later takes over. Nathan’s father, who is also Luke’s father, owns his own car dealership and is bringing home new cars every so often. As a bribe to get Nathan to live with him instead of his mother when they were going through a separation, his father decided to give him a brand new car. The people who have money in this TV series, enjoys showing it off. Haley, Peyton, and Luke do not have everything that Nathan and Brooke have. Even though Luke and Nathan have the same father, Luke never spoke to his father, and never received anything from him.
There are a lot of things that you can learn from this TV series. You learn about friendship, family, relationships, and money. The show is exactly right about most people who are rich. They enjoy showing off the money that they have, and to those who do not have as much money, feel inferior to them. Also, you learn to hold friendships and your family close to your heart. This was such a small community that their friends consisted of a lot of people, and they held them close to them. Luke had a close relationship with his friends because that was his family. The only other people that he ever had were his father’s brother, which was his uncle, and his mother. Therefore, your family does not only consist of blood relatives, it also consists of your close friends.
The CW’s new TV show 90210 displays money and economic class issues throughout. It is based on a few main characters, most of them being extremely wealthy and how careless and reckless they are because of their financial situation and their home lives. Annie and her family have recently moved from Kansas to Beverly Hills to live with the alcoholic grandma that doesn’t hold anything back. Her father has just become the principle of the school, so clearly they are not as rich as some of the other characters in this series, like Naomi. Her father buys her things to make up for his lack of presence in her life. In one episode he even buys her a brand new Mercedes SUV because he can’t take her to Vegas with him. Another character Ty, tries swooning Annie by taking her out to dinner. But the catch is, the restaurant is in southern California, so they have to take his family’s private jet to get there. One character not dealing with money issues, but family issues is Silver. Her mom is an alcoholic and treats her badly, so naturally she does not want to stay there. Silver ends up staying at a women’s shelter for a few nights and then Annie’s house.
Most of the conflicts in this show deal with social class or money in some way. Naomi’s family has so much they don’t know what to do with it, so they buy her gifts with all their money to make up for not being in her life like normal parents would be. Annie has the normal parents type, but she faces social class and relationships problems. There’s a love triangle going on between her, Ty, and another character, Ethan. Naomi and Silver used to be friends, that is until Naomi told everyone about Silver’s father having an affair, completely ruining their friendship. Naomi made fun of her for it, and in a way that can relate to social class because it makes Silver seem beneath Naomi.
The writer of this series seems to have a mocking attitude towards the lifestyles of the rich. Everything is so dramatic and played out in this series and you can predict what’s going to happen in the next episode just based on the preview clips. To an outsider, 90210 may make them believe that this is what really happens in everyone’s lives. Scandal, family drama, lies, and sneaking around aren’t all everyday occurrences for people, especially not for high school teenagers.
Burn Notice, a new show which began airing on USA two years ago, is about former covert operative, Michael Weston, who’s had a “burn notice” put on him, which means that his intelligence agency has put word out to other agencies that he is unreliable to do his job or can be seen as a threat. The show takes place in Miami, Florida, where Michael, along with his ex-girlfriend Fiona (a expert in explosives such as bombs and guns), and his buddy Sam (a former Navy SEAL and FBI informant) try to find out who sent out the burn notice on Michael and why. However, even though he pursues his own goal throughout the season, Michael always ends up helping someone out in Miami who’s in trouble with bad people such as a gang, a wrong business, or anything of the liking. I believe money plays a big role here since most of the time Michael does these jobs, they either involve someone with a lot of money or he gets offered a decent chunk of change to complete the task. The writer makes it seem that in Miami, at least, money and corruption run the streets and the way things go.
I feel as though the writer, Matt Nix, bears somewhat of a disliking towards the upper-class or the way they act in today’s world. The way Matt portrays the upper-class in Miami is that they are nothing but low-lives with money: drug-dealers, illegal importers, gang members, thieves, and mercenaries-for-hire. He makes it seem the only way they got to “the top” was through lying, stealing, murder, and dishonesty; many of these running rampant in our own world today. I find it most notable that, in a way, Matthew shows us the world in a big perspective in the views and actions of just one cities people in the world: Miami.
If I was from another planet, and this show would portray America for me, I’d be appalled. I would see America as nothing but a place of deceit, corruption, and heinous acts. However, at the same time, I would see characters like Michael; people who, despite their own goals, are willing to go out of their way and put their motives on hold to better the lives of some other people, and that in the long run would give me hope. It would give me hope that maybe this “America” that was being portrayed to me isn’t completely lost, and that in small amounts, these nice, courageous people represent light at the end of the tunnel.
The show that I decided to write about is One Tree Hill. It is on the CW network on Mondays at nine. The show is based around two brothers Nathan and Lucas that play basketball for the Tree Hill Ravens in North Carolina. Nathan and Lucas are only half brothers and for most of the first season despise each other. Nathan and Lucas share the same father named Dan Scott. Dan Scott is a very wealthy man that owns the local car dealership. Nathan grew up on the wealthier part of town with both his father and mother. Lucas on the other hand was abounded by his father Dan, and he left Karen to raise Lucas as a single mother.
Throughout the whole first season the boys are competing over basketball and girls. The boys have many fights on and off the court. While growing up Nathan was perceived as a spoiled rich boy; but underneath the surface his father was very inten se and would push him too hard in basketball. Lucas grew up with just his mother and she owned her own café. The money in their family was very tight. The writers would depict the two different social classes and how the lower social classes were treated differently. Throughout the show, Nathan’s father would buy him out of any trouble he would got in. In one episode Nathan stole a school bus and was able to stay out of any trouble because of his father.
I feel that the writers have a negative point of view towards the wealthy family. During the show you would see the wealthy treating the lower class poorly. They would show how the rich boys would avoid any trouble because of their wealth, how they would throw wild parties, and flaunt their money. I feel if I was an Alien from another planet watching this show I would too have a negative view toward the wealthy. Even though not all rich people act this way; in the show the wealthy class is shown only in a negative manner.
The TV I chose to write about is Entourage. It is a show about a group of friends, Vince, Turtle, Drama, and E, who grew in New York together and move out to California. Vince decides to become and actor and lands himself many major jobs. Turtle,E, and Drama live off of Vince’s money living the lavish life. Through out the series Vince and his entourage blow money left and right on numerous things. After their spending sprees they always end up with no money until Vince lands the big money making job. It is basically a continuos cycle.
The writers of this show portray the rich and famous as wreckless people. It is always a gamble when Vince is out of money and always pulls out a great job. These group of friends were once in the lower class and now are living in the upper class. The writers portrays the lives of the upper class as doing drugs, drinking, getting girls, and making money. Also he makes it seem exciting and fun because the group of friends are always having the best time. It gives you a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous.
If I was from another planet and this show portrayed America for me, I’d think that these people are living life to the fullest. The writer makes the lives of the rich seem so fun and never a dull moment. I’d also think that these people are pretty crazy with the way they spend money with no definate income in their future. I’d portray America as a fun place with the opportunity to go from poor to rich in the matter of no time.
The show I’m choosing to write about is a show on Comedy Central called South Park. It’s basically a show about the life and times of four second grade boys named: Kyle, Kenny, Stan, and Cartman. There are also a few adult favorites in the show like Miss. Garrison, Chef, and Stan’s dad Randy. The show takes place in South Park, Colorado and its always winter there. The great thing about the show is the obvious satire towards everything going on in the world. No one is safe. Although the show at sometimes can be pretty immature and outrageous, it’s very well written and usually comes back together with a good moral. Most of the conflicts in this show have to deal with the constant bickering of Kyle and Cartman. One episode was about the internet shutting down on a lot of people for a long time. People flipped out and started migrating to California just because they had internet there. They really went over the top and made it look like people had lost everything just because they had lost the internet. It just makes you think about how people get so wrapped up in things like that.
Most of the people in South Park are white lower middle class Americans. Kenny’s family is lower class and the boys make fun of Kenny all of the time for being poor. Token Black, pretty much the only African American to appear on the show is really rich, and in one episode is made fun of for being rich. He brought a DVD over and the boy’s had no idea what a DVD was. (It was one of the older episodes.) Cartman isn’t rich but he’s very spoiled. He’s always trying everything in his power to get money. Almost every episode involves money or a bet between Kyle and Cartman some how.
If aliens watched this show they’d probably be appalled with America. However, I think they would understand a lot of the culture and language used. They would probably think that America was primarily white, lower-middle class, flannel wearing people. The show is animated too, so the aliens wouldn’t really have any idea what real humans looked like. The writers in this show really did a great job of making everyone look stupid but especially the rich celebrities. The attitude towards the upper class isn’t very good in this show.
The O.C. was a show that is no longer on air. It was a great TV series to demonstrate the way America works with social class. The main characters were Ryan, Marissa, Summer, Seth and his parents Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. The show was about of group of teenage kids who grew up to make family like friendships and relationships they believed would last forever. At the beginning of the series the Cohen family brought one of Sandy’s clients home to live with them. It was a boy who was in big trouble and needed some straightening out. At first the Kirsten and Seth were not thrilled about having Ryan stay with them, but they soon began to love him like family. The teenagers went through a series of fights, love, break ups, and even deaths.
Everyone from The OC come from money except Ryan, but living with the Cohens he now knows what it is like to have money. Everyone in the town are rich and flaunts their money in different ways. The Cohens are down to earth people who give money to their boys and charity. While Marissa and Summer’s parents just flaunt what they have through the materialistic items they own. The director would sometimes show you about the “outskirts” of the OC, where Ryan use to live. When they did the two different towns you really understood the different social classes America has.
If The OC was the only television show I could watch I would be able to know that America isn’t only about rich people. I would see that there is the extremely rich and extremely poor. I would understand what poverty is and know that some people with money are nice enough to give their money to help the less fortunate. On the other hand, I will also see all the rich people who only care about themselves and show off their money with everything they own.
I haven’t turned on my television since college started and hadn’t intently watched much of it prior. The only show I explicitly know the characters in would be The Simpsons. The Simpsons is a show portraying the lives of a family, ironically the Simpsons, who are a middle-class family residing in a made-up town called Springfield. The family consists of the mother, Marge, children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, as well as the father, Homer. Following the characters around, you are introduced to their friends, family, and acquaintances who almost all happen to be middle and lower class. The only character who is fully drawn out and upper class is Mr. Burns. He has a full-time butler, all the money he could ever ask for, a mansion and cars to show off, and in case any visitor were to give him a negative notion, guard dogs called by the click of a button.
Big obstacles in the show that span throughout the seasons are mainly family issues that take place within the household of the Simpsons. Financially the family is less than struggling compared to other individuals and families on the show but apparently the quote is true: money can’t buy happiness; they are always fighting and unsatisfied. Chances are that whether they were lower, middle, or upper class, these problems would not differ.
The writer of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, does not portray a large amount of social class in his episodes. The show is based on dramatic family issues in a very comedic way and the middle-class family gets by without much trouble; however, graced with a minimal amount of luxuries too. An extreme lower-class is not portrayed, therefore I can only assume that according to the thoughts of Groening, most of the world, or in this case Springfield, is relatively stable within or around the middle-class. Because of this, I think that if an alien were to watch The Simpsons and have no previous knowledge of America, they would most likely perceive us as nearly a communistic country (relating to the fair distribution of wealth) rather then there being great differences in people’s income.
The writers of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone believe, in my opinion that the upper class has many foolish beliefs and engage themselves in many dumb activities. They believe that the middle class is the only class that some sense left in them. The characters, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Theodore Cartman, and Kenny McCormick are all middle class third graders. The show is set in a fictional town called South Park, Colorado. It is similar to a town called Littleton Colorado where Matt and Trey grew up. Some major conflicts with the characters are found between Kyle and Cartman. Cartman is the idiot that always does stupid stuff like looking for leprechauns and pretending he has turrets so that he can curse in school. Kyle always seems to see through the lies that Cartman tells. This ends up leading 2 conflicts between Kyle and Cartman.
The show has a lot to do with having an excess of money. The show portrays people that have money ass stupid. Episodes such as the one with Tom Cruise making fun of scientology, And Al Gore’s manbearpig, and even Doug Herzog, the head of comedy central. South Park had an episode were the makers of family guy (who were actually the makers of South Park) and the head of fox network (who is the head of comedy central) had a big argument over whether to show the image of Muhammad. Well the story goes on but basically The head guy of “fox” just gives in to whatever anyone else says even if it means compromising free speech which we all know is the 1st amendment because if he didn’t do it they would loose money. The writer’s attitude on the upper class is taken to another level. They “dissed” the head of their own network very blatantly and didn’t even care.
If I was an alien and saw that this was the only TV show in America I would think that the rich are all a bunch of idiots that have so much time because they barely work that they come up with crazy religions, talk about shit that really isn’t going on , and hurting everyone else because of there stupidity. At the same time, however I would realize that there are some people in this world that do know what is going on but they are usually the little guy and they don’t usually get heard any way’s, like Kyle.
In the 1990’s the television sitcom called the “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” aired on NBC. The major characters in this television show were Will Smith, Phillip Banks, Vivian Banks, Hilary Banks, Carlton Banks, Ashley Banks, Nicky Banks, and Geoffrey Barbara. The setting of the show was in a mansion located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California. The sitcom was formed around the main character named Will Smith. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother feared that he would get hurt in Philadelphia. She wanted Will to get a higher education and become a successful person. Therefore, she sent Will Smith to live with his uncle and aunt in Bel-Air. Will Smith was a street-smart teenager from West Philly. In the end, Will Smith develops into a fine young man who was educated and was able to consider himself as part of the Banks family.
Throughout the television show, Will Smith struggled to fit in with his relatives who were the wealthy Banks Family. Will Smith had many obstacles in his way when he first arrived in Bel-Air. He considered his relatives as people who were not black, because they were wealthier than any black people he had ever met in Philadelphia. He has many disagreements with the Banks Family on education. Will Smith believed that education was not important in the beginning of the sitcom, because he thought life was about fun and games. By the end, he conquered the obstacle of feeling inferior to his relatives and felt differently about the wealthy black people who he thought were snobby and spoiled. Will was able to realize that his life in Philly would have never made him a successful person. Will learned that an education can help someone become successful and surpass any obstacle in their way.
The show had to do wealth and prosperity. The Banks family was a wealthy family in California who had an excess of money. They believed that it was important to have money and become educated. There was a limited amount of leisure time for the Banks Family. Their lives consisted of studying and becoming educated. When Will Smith came along he introduced laughter and fun to the family. Will came from a single parent family with the absence of money.
In the sitcom, the writer’s attitude about social class was that wealthy people get more valuable possessions than underprivileged people. The writer placed the Banks Family in a mansion in Bel-Air with a butler to do all their deeds. The writer developed a story about how a teenager off the streets made the upward climb in social class when he joined the Banks Family. Human behavior was presented in the sitcom by Will Smith despising his wealthier relatives at first, because usually people who are poor are jealous of the rich. The wealthy Banks Family was spoiled with many valuable items. If I were an alien watching this show, I would think that people who are wealthy are stuck-up and people who are poor despise them for being so wealthy. As an alien, I would get the impression that all poor people wish they could become wealthy someday. As an alien, I would think humans were foolish for not having one social class based on equality.
There are plenty of shows that demonstrate social class and the issues that come with it. The show I chose to write about is Gilmore Girls. The set is based in Stars Hallow, Connecticut a very close knit community; everyone knows everyone’s business. Lorelai Gilmore and Rory Gilmore are two of the main characters in the series. Lorelai is Rory’s mom, and throughout the series she must deal with the struggles of caring for Rory as a single mother.. In addition to Rory and Lorelei, Richard and Emily Gilmore are also prominent characters in the series. Ironically, they both are Rory’s grandparents who unlike Lorelai who struggles to climb the social ladder, are very wealthy. They not only live in one of the nicest houses in Hartford, but waste money whenever it is possible. When Lorelai was 16, she unexpectedly became pregnant with Christopher Hayden’s baby, her current boyfriend at the time. Richard and Emily immediately flipped out when they found out. This unending stress forced to run away, and she ended up in Stars Hallow. She started her life here and eventually opened a hotel of her own, essentially rising in social class.
Within the series, many of the conflicts rise because of complicated relationships the characters hold. Lorelai’s parents, due to the fact that they are in the upper class, they hold high expectations for their granddaughter Rory. Basically, Lorelai didn’t succeed these expectations due to her unexpected pregnancy, so Rory takes the pressure. This pressure creates a constant struggle between Rory, Lorelai, and her parents. Although, Lorelai can’t provide for Rory fully without her parents help. In effect, Richard and Emily Gilmore end up paying for Rory to attend a private high school as well as attend Harvard for college. Unfortunately for Lorelai, her parents were allowed to have a larger affect in Rory’s life if they helped out financially. This privilege was the start of unlimited conflicts in the series, especially when it came to relationships that Rory held. Her grandparents continually pestered her to date different privileged and well polished upper class bred boys. While on the other hand, Lorelai continues to fight with her parents about how Rory deserves to make her own decisions. There are countless moments when the audience is led to believe that the family will never speak to each other again. Yet, the thing that truly keeps them together is money. Without the money given by Richard and Emily, Rory would not be able to attend the prestigious schools that she goes, and attempt to rise herself in society. Evidently, it keeps the relationships continue on the show.
I think that the writer’ tries to show the realities of family relationships. He shows the constant struggles that we must go through, but in the end, we are typically forced to love them anyways. In addition, I feel that the writer was trying to point out the struggles in rising in social class when creating Lorelai as the main character. She is not only dealing with rising to the upper middle class society, she has to constantly deal with her parents flaunting their money at her as a tease. On top of all that, Lorelai must deal with the pressure from her parents to raise Rory correctly. At the end of each episode, the writer attempts to give us a better understanding of the constant struggle when trying to change social classes.
House, a dramatic comedy about doctors diagnosing patients in a comical sense. The series consists of 6 main characters 3 of which have been moved to minor. The main character is Dr. House, an emotionless man who deals with an everyday handicap and an everyday drug addict. He also has a team of diagnostic doctors and ex-diagnostic doctors that helps to create an uneasy atmosphere in the hospital. Other main staff staff members include: Dr.Cutti and Dr.Wilson, who is Houses best friend. The series always takes place in the hospital and every week there is a new patient with a new disease that the doctors raise around the clock to try and diagnose what could be wrong. As I watched an episode I saw a lot of variety in the way social class presented conflicts in the series and even how patients may have been treated.
The conflicts presented in House are usually between House and some other staff member or between House and himself. When House has a conflict with another staff member he always has to be right, one episode Dr.House was trying to see how far Dr.Wilson would go as far as being a friend, over a time period House borrowed small amounts of money from Wilson and slowly increased how much he asked. In one episode he asks Wilson for 5,000 dollars even though he had it. Another conflict presented is House vs. himself; everyday house deals with a handicap and a drug addiction. This become tough on him one season when the FBI gets involved with his addiction to a drug he first took after his life changing surgery.
I believe the writer portrays social class in this series by taking a common scene, a hospital, and turning it into something we would never think of actually happening in that atmosphere. When watching this one episode social class was very vibrant. A lower class african american came in with an unknown illness. At first they talk about him going to Jamaica with his rich friends so they never forgot where they came from. Then they discover that the father lied about where he worked because he said that he knows how hospitals work and the better his job the better his son gets treated. The series House is a great series to show social class because it takes life like situations and shows in a comical manor how a hospital may really work in an unethical way.
Friends created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, is an American sitcom about a group of friends in who live in two apartments across from each other in Manhattan New York. The show started in the year of 1994 and ended with the final episode in 2004. The group of six friends: Rachel Green, Ross Geller, Monica Geller, Chandler Bing, Phoebe Buffay, and Joey Tribbiani six friends in New York as they find the way through life and learn to grow up as they approach their thirties in their life time. All, ix of them would help each other with getting through and pass the obstacles that faced them. Monica is the excessively neat and organized of the group, who works as a chef while yearning to find her ideal love. Ross, Monica’s older brother, is a paleontologist with a lifelong crush on Rachel. He is a laid-back man with low self esteem and a recent divorcee. Rachel is the pretty, bubbly girl who spent most of her life as a spoiled rich princess. Now she must learn to face the real world. Chandler is Ross’ college buddy and the guy who will crack jokes at a moment’s notice. Phoebe is a lovable eccentric masseuse who easily could have fit in with Haight Ashbury in the 1960s. And Joey, the friend who has an inverse relationship between his good looks and his intelligence. He dreams of becoming an actor.
This television series deals with hardships and also wonder experiences. They all relatively are in the same social class as each other. The producer I believe portrays them as if they jus are everyday adults out of college looking for jobs and still trying to have a good time. Phoebe with the lower class has her background but now middle class strives to help the less fortunate. And Chandler the more upper class just lives life. As for the others their backgrounds are normal middle class people but strive to become more. As they try to become something more, they begin to interact with upper and lower class people. Through their journey they become
From this TV show people can learn a lot about people, themselves, and social class. The characters in the show are normal people like us and that can draw peoples attention and show what others are thinking and maybe feeling. Also we can learn to deal with others in different aspects of life like the show because it is just like our lives now. As for social class I never looked at it with this perspective but that that I have I become to think that people with lower, middle, and upper class can become one and be friends with each other. They strive to make each others time with them a pleasurable one. They all learned new things from one another and lived their lives together.
The TV show that I decided to write about is CSI Las Vegas; considering that I have seen every episode. There are several main characters in this TV show. They are Gil Grissom- CSI head investigator, Catherine Willows- CSI level 3, Warrick Brown- CSI level 3, Nick Stokes- CSI level 3, Sara Sidle- CSI level 3, Jim Brass- L.V.P.D Capt., Greg Sanders- lab technician, Dr. Al Robbins- chief medical examiner, and the other lab technician David Hodges. The setting takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada; under the bright lights, the hot desert sun and the cool nights. The show follows the nights of the detectives working at the Las Vegas Police Department Crime Scene Investigations bureau. Being the second busiest crime lab in America, CSI officers use the best scientific and technical methods to solve puzzles and catch criminals. The conflicts that they a;; face is when each of them is assigned to go out and find criminals based upon evidence they find. I think this is a major obstacle because not only to problems come up but their personal lives interfere with their job.
All the characters are all pretty much in the same social class; although they did not all start there. Catherine was once a stripper so she is constantly being reminded of what her life you to be like. In the show, even within certain episodes they have her talk about her life in that lower social class. Now that she has moved up in class it is still hard for her to think of the life she has once lived. Warrick is also the only other character that has moved up in social class; went from not having very much as a child to being able to afford what he wants. That is the only social class issue that is really presented in the TV show. All the other characters have been in the same social class from when they were younger.
have learned that you cannot always expect things are ok by the way things look on the outside. This meaning that there is always another side to a story that you don’t know until you ask. This might sound a little stupid but, this show has not only taught me about science but also about how to be a good person. CSI shows you how team work and dedication gets you places; even moved into a higher social class. Now a day’s social class gets you far in life because with money you can do many things.
The show I chose to write about is “Real Housewives of Orange County.” The stars of this show are six women living luxurious lives in Orange County, California: Jeana Keough, Lauri Waring, Tammy Knickerbocker, Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Barney, and Quinn Fry. The main conflicts of these women are really just finding something useful to do with their money. The camera follows them around all day while they go shopping, get Botox, and sip cocktails. Pretty much in every episode there is a catty argument and drama between one and more of the characters. Since they don’t have to worry about money at all, what else is there to argue about? Whose boob job is better?
It is amusing to see how these women behave and what they do on a regular basis. Although, I do have respect Vicky and Jeana who actually work for their money, the other four just run up their husband’s life insurance or constantly have their hand out. But who’s to blame them? If someone handed me ten million dollars, I’d probably be doing the same thing.
Since this is a reality show and there supposedly are no writers, the person who created this show must have a similar attitude as most of us do to the extremely wealthy: amusing. The show is merely for entertainment, so us middle and lower class Americans can look at these people and laugh. They act like no rule or law applies to them. They have so much money and so little time that they act ridiculous and waste it on stupid things like plastic surgery, cars, and houses. From this show we learn about the values and morals of the wealthy, most don’t have any.
I haven’t watch television in about two years. I just really don’t like it. The one show that I did watch though was Futurama. Futurama is a show about a guy named Frye, who lived in the year 2000 A.D. He had an accident and wound up in the year 3000 A.D. in a city called “NEW” New York. He is faced with a bunch of different people and obstacles. Some of the main characters presented in this show are Frye, Lela, The Professor, Dr. Zoidberg, Amy, and the robot Bender. While Frye is in “New” New York he has to deal with everything from a demonic super Santa Claus to gaining super powers. Lela, Frye and Bender also work for The Professor (Who ironically is Frye’s great-great-great-great grandson).
Some examples of social class that are presented in this show range from anywhere to low social class to very high social class. An example of low social class is Lela. She was abandoned as a child because her parents were shunned from society. She grew up, not realizing she had parents, very challenged. On the other hand, Frye, in the year 2000, was a low class citizen who worked as a delivery boy. Before he was frozen, his girlfriend had just broken up with him for some rich snob. As irony plays out in the series, Frye basically inherits a large sum of money from a deposit he put in one thousand years ago which was only 36 cents. He winds up with millions, but doesn’t decide to brag and boast about it.
This show displays how people with different social classes live and all the challenges they face. Even though this isn’t educational, it does show a basic meaning of how to respect those around you. Not everyone is as fortunate as they would like to be, but that’s just another part of life that we all have to deal with.
Showtime’s Weeds is a sitcom that deals with life in an upper-class neighborhood called Agrestic. People in this town are portrayed as uniform, working, jogging clones. The introduction of this series shows how the citizens of Agrestic drive their black Land Rovers into their driveways at the same time, and how they go jogging at the same time in the same outfits. The main character, Nancy, is a good-looking, widow who sells marijuana for a living. She chooses this career path to provide for her two sons, Silus and Shane. Another character, Celia, is sort of the enemy of Nancy. Celia tries to make Agrestic a totally drug-free neighborhood. This attempt is worthless, because Nancy’s son ends up stealing the drug-free signs and smashing the surveillance cameras. Nancy’s job allows her to interact with all different classes. She often deals to other small-time dealers who belong to a lower class. Because Nancy is a petite, good-looking woman, she often gets held up at gun-point for her “product” by members of gangs. On the other side of the spectrum, she is also able to sell her product to upper-class rappers like Snoop Dogg who then name a song after her called “MILF Weed”.
I believe that the writers of Weeds thinks upper-class people are so obsessed with their social status that they don’t realize the problems they face within the community. It is my understanding that Nancy hates and does not condone drugs-except for weed. She tells her sons that it really isn’t a drug and that it mainly helps people relax and wind-down. I believe this is her way of dealing with the guilt from her sons for being Agrestic’s biggest drug dealer.
If I were an alien and this were the only show that would be available to watch, I would wonder why people stress over making money. I would definitely wonder what marijuana was, and I would wonder why they exchange currency for a plant. It would seem odd to me how these people all look alike in this community, but how they all act very different. I would be enticed to come to America if Weeds was the best depiction of human life.