How to read Situational Comedy - Einzelansicht

This course will explore sitcoms in a broader sense as a particular format of television comedy. We will discuss the characteristics of four-camera sitcoms vs single-camera sitcoms, different modes of episodic storytelling, break of the fourth wall and meta commentaries, aesthetic features such as the laughter track, the media stigmatization of sitcoms, as well as their history, their representational strategies and problems and their place in mainstream culture.

Students will ideally have watched a number of sitcoms before this class so that they can draw from their own examples. We will discuss early sitcoms from the 1950s I love Lucy to well-known examples from the 1990s to early 2000s, like The Nanny, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends and others. Beyond these classical sitcoms, modern single-camera sitcoms will be examined, such as Scrubs, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fleabag, Derry Girls, Bojak Horseman, Community, Never Have I Ever, Kevin can F Himself etc.

Other points of reference may be: The Good Place, Reboot, Abbot Elementary, Miranda, Parks and Recreation, Arrested Development, Blackadder, Please Like Me, Superstore, Our Flag Means Death, Dinosaurs, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt, Schitt’s Creek, Modern Family, How I met your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Father Ted, New Girl, The Office, Black-ish, Will & Grace…

We may also discuss the comedy-drama, which shares similarities with the sitcom, like Ted Lasso, Gilmore Girls, Sex Education, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Boston Legal, etc. and characteristics of the television rom-com.

Essay