As the “Little Britain” comedy sketches are reasonably short, stereotypes are used to provide an explosive burst of identifiable comedy to have the audience laughing from the beginning. Examples of this are characters such as Daffyd- the homosexual Welsh man. It is noticeable he is homosexual, because a homosexual stereotype is used, by his tight leather clothes and feminine actions and voice. Another stereotype is the ‘Min Mart’ sketch, in which an Asian man runs a shop. It shows him as inquisitive and eager to sell his goods. He also is eager to make chitchat with customers. This is a typical stereotype of Asian people working hard in a shop. In a sense it could be positive or negative. Positive being because of the hardworking element, or negative because of poking fun at Asian shopkeepers.
Vicky Pollard will be analysed in depth to demonstrate how stereotypes are used as an advantages of good comedy. She supports a typical teenage stereotype.
To refer to the coursework scene in Series One: Episode One, Vicky Pollard represents young people as; having a lack of respect towards authority, drinking and smoking and having a degree of promiscuity. These factors incorporated into the comedy sketch make the audience laugh, because they can relate to Vicky Pollard. Whether they have a teenager or not.
At the beginning of the scene, the opening frame is a classroom location. The teacher tells Vicky Pollard to wait behind. A group shot and over the shoulder shot are used to show the wider area, the shoulder shot to show the different characters perspectives. The use of props such as school uniforms and classroom furniture establishes a location- the classroom. The use of children also helps to anchor the location. The stereotype is shown because it supports a school pupil stereotype. This scene also shows a negative stereotype of teenagers, because Vicky is in trouble already.
Following this scene, later on, Vicky makes her way to the front of the room; she slowly drags her feet and smokes in from of the teacher. This shows ignorance towards the teacher. A long, wide shot of the classroom showing Vicky kicking her bag across the floor, the camera slowly pans to the left. Silence is used to build tension, as well as Vicky moving slowly. The stereotype is portrayed, by Vicky’s over exaggerated ignorance and hostility towards the teacher.
Sequentially, the scene moves on Vicky’s explanation of why she has not handed her coursework in- but her reasons are completely unrelated to the coursework. The dialogue spoken by Vicky is informal and she often uses expletives, a mid-shot/over shoulder shot is used to show the Teacher’s point of view as he looks at Vicky. The stereotype is clearly used, because teenage slang and expletives are used to create a negative teenager stereotype.
Nearing the end of the scene, Vicky makes up excuses in a irrelevant and inappropriate manner. A close up is used, to focus on Vick’s facial expression and the dialogue. The way inappropriate language and sexual terminology is used, along with promiscuous language supports the promiscuous stereotype of teenager.
The next programme this essay will analyse for stereotypes is Shameless.
Shameless is a comedy drama series set in a rough Manchester housing estate. The programme was first broadcast in 2003 on Channel 4. The star of the show is Frank Gallagher played by David Threfal. . Frank is aged 42, always under the influence of alcohol and irritated, overemotional and the biggest encumber of the family. Frank is the boyfriend of Sheila Jackson- played by Maggie O’Neil. Sheila the agoraphobic lives in a world of drugs to compose her. After a despondent marriage Frank is a light at the end of the tunnel for her. This essay will analyse and demonstrate how stereotypes are presented.
The scene in question is the 2004 Christmas Special, Series One. The opening scene begins with a wide shot, incorporating a high angle of the Chatsworth Estate. It shows us a bird’s eye view of the estate, revealing tower blocks and council housing. Frank Gallagher does a narrative voice-over. Also revealed in the high/ wide-angle shot is the typical grey Manchester weather. In addition to this Frank’s voice is in a caricature of a Manchester accent. The media effects used, such as the use of poor housing, bordered up windows, the grim Manchester weather and a Mancunian accent create a stereotype, which the audience find amusing.
Following this, Frank introduces the audience,, to the rest of the Gallagher family. Some of them are running and the eldest daughter of Frank; Fiona is chasing Liam the youngest of Fran’s children. The characters are shown in close up to show their faces. The shots are on a “hand held” camera to show panic as they are running. The frames are quick using jump cuts. The image portrayed is of a family with lots of children, making it a big family. It shows Frank as not bothered with his children’s activities. They don’t think of him as a Dad. They are also always on the run. But, despite this they are all an extremely cohesive family.
After this section the view or audience see that Veronica and Kev are hugging in the street at nighttime. The scene looks reasonably normal as it zooms out to a wide shot to reveal a bonfire, however the audience realises as the shot continues to zoom out, that the bonfire is actually a burning car. Which all the neighbours are avidly watching, they all seem to be enjoying it. Editing is used along with jump cuts for a fast pace. Reminiscent of the fast paced life of Manchester. There is also a close up of Veronica and Kev and a wide shot of the whole scene- burning car, policemen, neighbours et cetera. This shows they are loving and have a close relationship (close knit). The violence and crime on the estate are portrayed as enjoyable, like a “show” or entertainment.
In conclusion, I believe that the stereotypes are shown accurately, because I can relate to them, i.e. friends or neighbours. Since I don’t consider myself to act like the stereotypes of Shameless then it doesn’t particularly offend me. On the other hand, I do find some aspects of it amusing. In addition to this I think that audiences outside of Manchester, maybe consider this to be emblematic of Manchester. However, as in any stereotype they are not essentially true, but just reflect or exaggerate widely spreads feeling.
In overall conclusion, Little Britain and Shameless use stereotypes to create comedy. For example, Daffyd, “ the only gay in the village” and Frank Gallagher the drunken Mancunian. Due to the general length of comedy shows stereotypes give an instantly recognisable burst of entertainment; this is a reason for a use in Little Britain. For Shameless, stereotypes provide grounding for the whole programme about Manchester, they also make the audience laugh because of the shamelessness of it all and that really we know it is all exaggerated, purely for comedy use. Conversely Shameless maybe a stereotypical Manchester set comedy, but some of the comedy aspects do challenge the negative stereotypes of Manchester. For instances the closeness of the community. I am aware that all stereotypes are amusing as they are usually exaggerated. Therefore I fully understand they are a harmless comedy device used to create laughter.
