Discuss the representation of men and women in one episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

There are two sets of characters that are similar in different ways. The first would be Will and Jackie, although Jackie is a female and from the characteristics of all the other females you expect her to be a little ditsy and wants to look good all the time she isn't like that. Jackie in many ways is a female version of Will, this is because she is a very strong character and stands up for herself. Like Will does the same but it isn't as obvious with his character because that is the way, which you expect a male to act. Both characters are similar in this way because Jackie doesn't seem as though she was brought up in a rich household so she has been able to see the way that many different people live, like Will was brought up in downtown Philadelphia they have been able to see what the world is like outside the rich life which Will's family are used to living in.

The other characters that have similar characteristics are Phil and Carlton. With these two characters they are similar because Carlton acts like his father about a lot of things. He tries to be like him because he thinks that he is a good role model and he has a successful job and is in control of a steady household. But they are also similar in a way because they both want the attention from Vivien and feel as though they are being ignored because of the new baby.

The character with obvious differences from the rest of them is Will. He seems to be more understanding about what is happening in the real world because he has the background of living in a working class environment and having moved into the rich upper class household. All the other children don't seem to be as understanding because they have been brought up in a shielded rich society where they are only able to act how their parents want them to.

Will is also very different to Carlton in other ways apart from that of their upbringing. Will acts in a stereotypical of which most lads of the age 18 act, but his character is exaggerated. Whereas Carlton has many characteristics with which you would associate with a young women, such as his dancing, the way he runs over to his mum with his arms open screaming "mummy". Will is more able to look after himself and be responsible for himself even though he is always getting into trouble he manages to sort everything out, but if it was Carlton in the same position he wouldn't be able to sort out his problems he would be more likely to go to his mum or dad to get them to help him because he has been brought up with them looking after him and he has never had to look after himself.

Ashley and Hilary are different in some ways but in other ways they are very similar. Hilary is very materialistic and obsessed with the way she looks and what other people think about her, but Ashley seems to be more down to earth and wants to live her life to the full of which she can. You can see this in Ashley because when she needs someone to talk to she always goes to see Will who is the only character who has lived on the other side of the 'classes' so he is more able to help her with her problems. If Hilary were to go to Will she would just think he was stupid and wouldn't understand what he meant by what he was saying.

Throughout the show we are brought into looking at things through Will's eyes and this causes us to think that what he is doing is ok and nothing is wrong. Also the way which Will sorts everything out by the end of the show makes us feel for him because we think that even though he is making mistakes and getting into trouble he is able to sort everything out so really underneath his 'cool' image he is a nice guy.

We are always given the message that we should laugh at Carlton because of his stupidity and his foolishness. Also we laugh with Will because he makes all the jokes about the other characters and even though he is being slightly nasty we find it funny because it is the kind of things we would laugh at in every day life. We are also laughing with Geoffrey because he can see how the Bank's family act and he comes out with jokes about the way the family are and they are usually because of how much money they have, yet they all come out with really dense comments.

From Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air we are given the impression that men are all in some way childish and we are shown more of Will to be the stereo-typical male, flirting with all the ladies and a bit of a comedian. They are also shown as the stronger sex because they always manage to get their way when it comes to women. On the other had women are shown as being ditsy and only bothered by their looks and other materialistic characteristics. Also they are shown as being easy taken in by a male's charm and if they were to see a man with a baby they would immediately go over and start to talk to them because their maternal instincts take over.