Sit-Com Analysis

To analyze morality and the media I chose to watch the shows Parks and Recreation and Friends. After watching three episodes of each I observed many interesting things that I would not have if I wasn’t looking closely and analyzing the way these characters interacted within themselves and with others. The shows are similar in that they are both sitcoms but one is newer age comedy and one is based in the 90’s, and this time period difference was prominent when analyzing them side by side.

In Parks and Recreation, I observed that there are certain characters that talk extremely negatively about themselves and others while others have positive outlooks on themselves and life in general. One character in particular that is negative is April Ludgate. She thrives when she is making fun of other people no matter how kind or nice they are to her. When it comes to meeting strangers she immediately finds the worst quality they have and point it out. She is very blunt and rude most of the time and this is assumed to seen as funny by audiences. Her nonverbal reactions to people are also used as comedic relief within the show. For example, there is a scene where one of her coworkers says she looks nice today as a genuine compliment and she completely turns her back an ignores him as her reaction. She then proceeds to mock him by making fun of what he is wearing. She is clearly objectifying him because of his choice in style. When she is wronged by one of her coworkers she does not try to communicate effectively and solve the problem, but instead seeks revenge. This ends poorly for her and her coworker because they both end up getting in trouble for the social media revenge that April decided to take. April clearly has a very low standard or morality within the show. Prolonged exposure to this kind of behavior for viewers could potentially have a negative effect on viewers. This effect would be most prominent on young adults because of the fact that they are going to imitate TV characters that are presumed to be funny and this will lead to them mocking and putting others down in reality. The transfer of this kind of behavior from acting on TV to real life people is a danger of this kind of view on morality for TV characters to have.

Another character from Parks and Recreation that is close to being the exact opposite of April, is Leslie Knope. Leslie has a very optimistic view on life and treats other people in ways that someone who sees the glass half full would treat people. She holds herself in very high standing. For example, she wins a seat on city council and is so proud of herself and her hard work and she shows it. She doesn’t gloat about winning but is clearly so happy for herself. To display how high standards of morality that she has, she does not rub it in her opponent’s face. She shows respect and invites him to her after party and truly feels bad for him even though it was in her benefit that he lost. Her nonverbal reactions are a lot of smiling when she meets people. She always embraces people, even those she is not close to. She also talks about her coworkers as if they are the best people on Earth. She is always there for her best friend and is very positive with her no matter what. She also believes that she lives in the best city in the world, and makes it clear to everyone who she meets. Her positive outlook on everything and everyone she meets shows very high morality. She holds herself at a high standard and expects others to reciprocate as well. This kind of attitude for a regular viewer of this program would have a positive effect on their mentality. If you imitate Leslie Knopes kind of humor then it would benefit your life and even others around you because of the positivity and high morality that comes along with it.

Parks and Recreation is a very funny show and some shows now a days that are assumed to be funny are mostly negative and dark humor. This show finds a good balance between two different