An Exploration into the Representation of Families in Sitcoms

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Exploration first draft

        The purpose of my exploration is to scrutinise whether family stereotypes within the media are merely exaggerations, or whether they are accurate observations. I have focused mainly on sitcoms as they are known for their absurd situations and characters, but they have a hint of truth to them at the same time. I narrowed this exploration down to three famous British sitcoms: Outnumbered, Only Fools and Horses and The Royle Family. I mainly wanted to challenge the viewpoint that all sitcom characters are created for humour, rather than for being similar to our own family members.

        Roy Stafford defined sitcoms as ‘a setting and a group of characters providing the opportunity for a comic narrative’ (Stafford, 2004). Most British sitcoms are based on the concept of families, and build on these characters throughout series and episodes. Typical family members might include a grumpy Grandad or boisterous brother for example. In Only Fools and Horses, they base the early episodes on two brothers and a Grandad, later becoming two brothers, their wives and their war veteran Uncle. The main stereotype from the show was that the brothers were very argumentative towards each other but remained close throughout, and the Grandad - or Uncle - was a forgetful and dopey, but loveable man. They were frequently put into tricky - arguably unrealistic - situations but the main outcome was an equilibrium whereby they were all a wholesome family, no matter how bad the foregoing conflict was. This is something very common amongst television shows and comes under Todorov’s narrative theory of a status quo at the start followed by a disruption but finally ending with the same equilibrium as seen in the beginning, which is somewhat unrealistic in real family lives. The show may originate from the early 80s, but shares many common elements to those 30 years on and remains as relevant as ever.

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        After observing an episode of Outnumbered, I noticed how different the narratives were but how similar the overall message and moral was to Only Fools and Horses. The sitcom is based on a set of parents with a young son and daughter, and a teenage son living in a semi-detached house in the south of London; a fairly normal setting and one that the audience can relate to. The character Ben is a prolific liar, whilst his sister Karen is a smart and argumentative girl and Jake is an average, mood-swinging teen. The mother and her sister argue frequently; the ...

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