Assignment 1-4-6: Written Analyses-Analysis 5

            The theories I believe best related to my popular culture topic of The Walking Dead is rituals and heroes.  The theory of rituals relates to my topic because the group has certain rituals they follow in order to have a life as normal as possible in their situation.  Although the group is faced with unimaginable circumstances, they always seem to find a way to come out of it and typically form a new ritual from it.  For example, they have learned to shoot zombies in the head and then burn their bodies to ensure they don’t come back.  This is something they seem to do each time they kill a zombie now.

            The theory of heroes relates to The Walking Dead because the show is full of heroes.  Whether the hero is the leader of the group or a member who sacrifices themselves in order for the other members to survive, they are all heroes in their own way.  Some people may even view Carl, the child in the group as a hero because he has the maturity of an adult when dealing with the situations he has had to face.

            The most interesting thing I thought about The Walking Dead was how many heroes there are in the show.  When I first started watching, I knew from the beginning that Rick would be a hero.  I didn’t expect the rest of the group to help as much as they have or bring as much to the group as they have.  Although some of the characters may have smaller roles within the show, they are all equally important to the structure and safety of the group.

            I think that the analysis I have done about The Walking Dead will definitely make me view the show differently.  Before, whenever someone would make a decision I didn’t agree with, I would always wonder why they made that decision.  Now, I will view their decisions differently and try to see it from their point of view.  For example, towards the beginning of the show, Carl always left the house although his parents always told him to stay inside.  I would always seem to yell at the television that he was stupid and would cause more problems for the group, which usually happened.  Now, I understand more of why he left the house; he wanted to contribute to the group more.  He wanted to learn as much as he could so that he could eventually defend himself and his family. 

            This class has definitely made me understand that there are many different theories that apply to this show and it’s much more than a show about how to survive a zombie takeover; all the relationships and decisions made in the show have a big impact.

Assignment 1-4-5: Written Analyses: Analysis 4

            In movies, formulas are easy to find.  In television shows, however, formulas are a little more difficult to find.  To me, because movies have a definite beginning, middle, and end, it’s easier to see the formula used.  In The Walking Dead, it was difficult to find specific formulas because there is no definite end in each episode; it is usually continued in the next episode.

            One formula that I did see used in The Walking Dead is the use of children.  Horror films and shows typically use children in order to increase the feeling of fear.  The use of children in horror makes the audience stay on the edge of their seat.  The audience roots for the children to survive and make it to the end, although sometimes they don’t.  In The Walking Dead, the show started out with two children bur sadly one of the children did not survive.  The other child is one of the characters that everyone wonders what will become of after the zombies have been dealt with.

            Another formula I found in The Walking Dead is that of a love triangle.  At the beginning of the show, the main character, Rick, is in a coma but his wife Lori thought he died.  She started a relationship with Shane, Rick’s best friend.  When Rick finds the group and his wife, they end up back together; Shane, however, does not give up his fight to be with Lori.  This is a typical love triangle formula; two of the people end up together while the third is left by themselves to deal with their feelings.

            These formulas are important to the show.  Because the show is based in today’s world, it’s important that there are issues that come up today.  Without these formulas, this show would not have much of a story to tell and would probably lose much of its fan base.

Assignment 1-3-2: Journal Article Analysis

             In the article “I Was Just Doing a Little Joke There”: Irony and the Paradoxes of the Sitcom in The Office, Eric Detweiler discusses the different forms of irony in The Office.  He also compares The Office to a few different television shows such as Arrested Development and Seinfeld.  Whether you’ve seen an episode of The Office or not, everyone has most likely been exposed to the type of irony used in The Office.

            “The premise of The Office is this: a television crew is making a documentary about the typical American workplace, recording the everyday events that transpire at the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company” (Detweiler, 2012).  Detweiler describes a few of the cast members from the show and gives examples of the use of irony through these characters.

            One character Detweiler describes is Jim Halpert, “an affable prankster in his upper twenties, is a Dunder Mifflin salesman and the ironic center of the show” (Detweiler, 2012).  In most of the episodes of The Office, Jim constantly makes eye contact with the camera, sometimes shaking his head or raising an eyebrow, in order to spell out the ironic situation to the audience.  “As Jim is purportedly in a documentary, he is aware of the camera.  Given that he is often the only Dunder Mifflin employee aware of the ridiculousness of his coworkers’ actions, he seeks to extend the in-joke beyond himself through a commiserating glance” (Detweiler, 2012).

            Another character Detweiler describes is Pam Beesley, the secretary at Dunder Mifflin and Jim’s confidante.  Pam has the typical “woman’s job” on The Office and is constantly being told to take notes at meetings and staff gatherings (Detweiler, 2012).  “’Female characters are shooed  or shamed away from writing for academic or other public purposes’ (38).  This also holds true in the case of The Office, but only in a certain way.  Pam, as a secretary and receptionist, is employed in a job historically marked as female in both sitcoms and the ‘gender-segregated workplace’”(Detweiler, 2012).  Although people view Pam as just a secretary, she also has an important role in the show as Jim’s accomplice.  “Key to their relationship is the fact that Pam can keep up with Jim’s irony, detachment, and sarcasm.  Jim provides opportunities for Pam to use literacy ironically” (Detweiler, 2012).

            Another character from the show that Detweiler describes is Michael Scott, the office’s boss.  Michael tries hard to be well-liked by all of his employees, and sometimes goes too far with his jokes without realizing he does.  Most of these inappropriate jokes are made during staff meetings, and responses from Jim and Pam are always seen; Jim will usually look at the camera, shocked and open-mouthed, and the audience feels that they are part of the joke and understand Michael’s mistake.  While his irony is usually not intentional, Michael is a very ironic character in The Office.  “Michael, in contrast to Jim, is often unintentionally rendered ironic by his situation.  When, for instance, he hits an employee with his car right after stating, ‘This is going to be a very good year,’ the irony of the situation is beyond his control”(Detweiler, 2012).

            While so much irony is unlikely to happen to someone, The Office lets the audience sit back and enjoy a laugh at this ridiculous amount of irony.  I’m sure we all have a boss or co-worker that may act the same way and this show takes everyday office activities to the extreme to make us laugh.  “It ridicules the everyday, but does not drive the viewer to turn off the television (or the salesman to quit his job with the paper company)” (Detweiler, 2012).  I believe this article does a good job of describing the show.  I’ve seen a few episodes of The Office and have laughed so hard that I’ll get funny looks from my family.  While it deals with everyday situations, it makes you realize how ridiculous some things can be.  I liked how Detweiler describes each character; all of the main characters are an important part of the show and I don’t think that the show would be the same if one of them weren’t there. 

References

Detweiler, E. (2012). “i was just doing a little joke there”: Irony and the paradoxes of the sitcom in the office. The journal of popular culture, 45(4), 727-748. Retrieved from http://olinkserver.franklin.edu/search~S0?/tjournal of popular culture/tjournal of popular culture/1,1,3,B/l856~b1119754&FF=tjournal of popular culture&1,,3,1,0.

Assignment 1-4-4: Written Analysis #3

            Everyone has a different definition of what a hero is to them.  Some may consider the typical superhero from comic books or movies, like Superman or Spiderman, heroes while others may consider their mom or dad to be their hero.  Regardless of what the reason is, a person’s hero is in the eye of the beholder.

            My popular culture topic, The Walking Dead, is full of heroes.  Practically every character, aside from the zombies, can be seen in someone’s eyes as a hero.  I think the biggest hero of the group is Rick Grimes.  The show starts off telling Rick’s story; he is a sheriff that get shot and is unconscious when the zombie outbreak begins.  Throughout the show, Rick learns how to defend himself and when he is reunited with his family and the group they found, he steps in as the leader of the group.  I believe Rick is a hero because he jumped into the leadership role without question.  He makes sure that his group is safe and has food and water in order to survive.  Rick has also put his own life on the line in order to save members of his group.

            The remaining members of the group can also be seen as heroes because each has had a heroic moment.  Herschel, the doctor of the group, was a hero when he saved Carl, Rick’s son, when he was shot.  Glen was a hero when he volunteered himself to go into a well to kill a zombie so it wouldn’t contaminate the group’s water supply.  T-Dog was a hero when he sacrificed himself in order for Carol to escape when they were overrun by zombies.  Because the group is close and consider each other family now, each member is willing to do anything for one another; I think this makes each of them a hero.

            A hero can be old or young, male or female, a real person or an imaginary character; whatever someone’s view of a hero is is up to them.  Someone’s hero may have saved the world while another person’s hero may have worked a 12-hour shift, cleaned the house, and still had time to make dinner.  No matter what the reason is, a hero is one of the most important people in our lives.