Parks and Recreation season 2 episode 1: 'Pawnee Zoo'
Representation - what groups are represented, how are they represented, and why?
Gay people
Positively and stereotypically. Confident, loud, and motivated by partying. In The Bulge , a tightly packed group of gay men excitedly chant Leslie's name, which constructs gay men as over enthusiastic, loud, proud and confident. Exclusively gay men. Use of Lady Gaga as a gay icon reinforces stereotypical representations of gay men. However, this episode arguably perpetuates a simplistic and straightforward stereotype of gay men, which can cause issues for gay men in real life, as it constructs an idea, standard, and stereotype. Gay men in this episode are an accessory and a function rather than being a fully fleshed character attribute. The gay best friend stereotype. Thingy is represented as feminine for the purposes of comedy, which also represents stereotypes surrounding gay people
Middle-aged women
Awkward and cringy. This also reinforces a stereotypical representation of middle aged women. Lacks knowledge on current life, on LGBT+ lifestyles, is clueless, ditzy, scatty, and barely competent.
Young people
[The homeless] - creepy, stalker-y, but also, really funny. Homelessness is a joke in this narrative. The MES of the pit in his former garden is a ridiculously over the top aspect MES. The serious issue of homelessness is so unrelatable to working class audiences that it is treated as straightforward.
Media language - close textual analysis
Genre - what genre is this show and what are the conventions that make it?
Genre - comedy
Subgenres and styles - situation comedy, mockumentary
Conventions of the mocumentary - handheld camera, single camera setup, long take, shakeycam, low production values
This Country, Modern Family, The Office, Brooklyn 99 (borderline!), Trailer Park Boys, Always Sunny
Generic fluidity - how genres change over time. Genres will evolve to appeal to the tastes of the public
Comedy elements - foolish characters for the audience to identify with, fast paced punchy editing, the use of reaction shots, use of song, dance and movement, use of colour constructing a positive atmosphere
Audience - how does this product appeal to multiple audiences?
Uses and gratifications -the ways in which audiences use and take pleasure from a media product
Uses and pleasures of Parks and Rec - themes of the show provide escapism for the target audiences. The characters provide an escapist fantasy, through being relatable. They make mistakes, but then they solve them by the end of the episode. This is in stark opposition to real life, where being threatened with forced resignation and having to go on local news to defend your job would of course be highly stressful and upsetting.