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How are sitcoms conventionally humorous? (Representation (IT Crowd (The…
How are sitcoms conventionally humorous?
Language
Sitcoms are known for their humour and their way of communicating with the audience through the language they used. :
Friends
Joey Tribbiani, who owns the stock character of both the goofball and the charmer, has his own catchphrase which he uses in order to 'win' over the ladies. The phrase is 'How you doin'?'.
Phoebe Buffay, who owns the stock character of the goofball, experienced many traumas throughout her child life meaning she did not receive an education. This is portrayed through the way she handles more difficult social situations. An example of this is...
https://youtu.be/D_orL8BFFqo
The IT Crowd
Moss, who owns the stock character of the goofball, is also socially awkward and often finds it quite hard to communicate his feelings. He consequently uses humour to hide this... 'I came here to drink milk and kick ass... and I've just finished my milk.'
Roy, who owns the stock character of the wisecracker, is presented as quite a dim character and also uses humour to try and hide this. He acts as if he doesn't care which adds to the tone of the sitcom. An example of this is...
https://youtu.be/p85xwZ_OLX0
Miranda
Miranda, who owns the stock character of the goofball and the square, is a socially awkward woman who wants to be in love but finds it very difficult. This is relatable to a sitcom because people can identify themselves with her character.
Stevie, who owns the stock character of the stick, tries her best to run her gift shop however, with Miranda often leading her astray she finds it difficult to always be the sensible one. She acts as a big sister figure for Miranda.
https://youtu.be/zGI1WxOjkWw
Clothing
Friends
Monica
Monica wears usually quite plain tight tops with light baggy jeans and trainers but this doesn't really relate to her job as she is a chef. Towards the end of the TV series, she begins to dress more like Rachel, wearing dresses and high heels
Ross
Ross wears quite baggy trousers with shirts which connote his personality which is very relaxed and casual. Although, Ross can also quite uptight and stress so it can illustrate that he also dresses smarter than other men in the show such as Joey.
Rachel
Rachel is the most successful out of the women as she works in fashion for the majority of the series. Consequently, she wears quite fashionable clothes such as dresses and is generally very smart.
Chandler
He usually wears suits because he is the only male who works at an office and has a reasonable amount of money throughout the first few seasons, however as the TV series continues, we begin to see these outfits becoming more scruffy looking for a relaxed occasion
Phoebe
Phoebe is usually wearing quite light clothes and many would say that she an unusual dress sense. She dresses quite quirky as she doesn't have an office job, she is a masseuse.
Joey
He very rarely wears a piece of clothing which isn't black or white; this demonstrates that he isn't a very complex character, quite straightforward. He wears large biker boots and usually has quite scruffy; this could be associated with someone 'cool'.
Sound
Added laughter
Sitcoms often add laughter so that the audience know when it is funny as many comments are sarcastic and can be taken in many different ways. This is one of the main elements of sitcom.
Theme tune
Friends
The theme tune for Friends is the song, 'I'll be there for you' by The Rembrandts. The title of the song gives the audience an insight of the topics they could present. This sitcom is about 6 friends who are always there for each other, hence the name of the song.
IT Crowd
The theme tune of the IT Crowd is electric music and is under the of punk music. It has been most likely recorded on either an electric guitar or an electric keyboard. This links to the topic of the sitcom which is technology.
Representation
IT Crowd
The opening titles of the IT Crowd is an animation of the three main characters and both Roy and Moss are bashing a computer with a hammer, this suggests that they have quite childish behaviour. Also, there is an animation of the three of them falling down a chute in their building. This could connote that they are falling down the hierarchical society which lands them in the basement.
Miranda
The opening titles of Miranda is a series of pictures from when she was young. This signifies that Miranda is quite careless of what other people think of her as many people would believe that they are personal. There is also quite a quirky tune in the background which could arguably reflect her witty personality.
Friends
The opening titles of Friends are the six main characters playing and messing around in a water fountain with a large white house behind them. They are all dressed quite smartly such as suits and dresses, however, they are also acting very childish which suggests and tells the audience that is it a comedy because nothing is really being taken very seriously.
