How Many Marks Would You Say This Media Essay Is?

Right.. so i wanted to see how many marks (out of 25) you would give my essay so here it goes....

The question is:

We want to take your ideas seriously. Show us what you know about sitcoms. Tell us what their key features are and how the genre has changed over time. Don't forget to give plenty of examples.

My answer:

A sitcom is a comedy performance in which recurring characters take place in a humorous storyline in a common environment such as a family home or workplace.

One of the key features of a sitcom would be the characters. In every classical sitcom there is always an: aspirational character and a foil. The aspirational character is the character who is continually trying to better themselves to get out of the situation that they are in. The foil is the less intelligent of the group and often accidentally spoils the plans of the aspirational character.

For example, in ‘Only Fools And Horses,’ a late 1980’s British sitcom, the aspirational character is Del-Boy. He is continually trying to make himself rich by doing ‘dodgy’ dealing. Rodney is the foil, as he often messes up Del-Boy’s plans, even though he doesn’t do this intentually.

Another example would be, ‘Dad’s Army,’ a late 1960’s British sitcom, the aspirational character is Captain Manwaring. He wants to become a proper solider and not just a normal home guard. He works as a a bank manager, but wants to be of higher class. He is reminded of his class by Sergeant Wilson who is posh.(Everything Captain Manwaring wants to be)

Fawlty Towers is also another late 1970’s British sitcom. Basil Fawlty is the aspirational character. He wants to have a posh hotel, not just a normal guest house. However, all his plans never seem to work. His wife, Sybil is the one who often brings him down and spoils his aspirations. The character, Manuell, from Barsalona is the foil. He doesn’t speak a lot of English and often asnwers most questions in “Si” which means “yes,” and “Que” which means “what”in Spanish. The character Manuell, was put in the sitcom to convey Basil’s lack of tolerance and anger, as he usually physically and verbally abuses him.

Most sitcoms are aired on the BBC channels. BBC1 is used to air mainstream sitcoms. BBC2 is used to air cult sitcoms such as, “The Office.” BBC3 is used more as a trail ground for new sitcoms that they aren’t sure about yet, and BBC4 is used for more high-brow intelligent sitcoms such as, “The Thick Of It.”

Sitcoms used to be aired at family audiences, but as time changes so does the genre for sitcoms. Now, sitcoms are aimed at audiences aged 18-35 year olds. However, they can appeal to most age groups.

Some more key features of a sit com would be the location in which the sitcom takes place. The location is usually somewhere identifiable, such as a pub lounge, a living room, a kitchen, etc. The location rarely changes throughout the series, although there might be a few added sets now and again.



ALL CRITISIM IS WELCOMED. REMEMBER THE MARKS ARE OUT OF 25. :O
thanks!

 

AS level media studies OCR is it? I'm doing sitcoms too, I think your essay is really good, but you could expand a little more on points, such as why that age group and why BBC3 might show more 'alternative' comedies (ie because it's digital so more accessible by younger viewers, when on digital less likely to offend) etc.

 

thanks and its for GCSE media studies

 

For GCSE I think that should probably get a really good marl!