English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Author: Jay Patel

Fresh off the Boat!!!

Since this is the final blog post of this class, I am going to discuss the greatness of the show Fresh off the Boat as my free choice! Fresh of the Boat is a great show that would be relatable to many viewers, especially ones that are first generation Americans. Even those who are not first generation Americans will find this show hilarious. This show provides a very unique story with a very unique family. This show is actually the first show to star an Asian family in many decades. This is related to our topic of feminism and television because it took too long for American television to start having main roles as women. In addition, this show was written by a woman. It is amazing to see the content she has produced in such a new category while taking the risk of staring an Asian family as it had not been done in so many years. This show has been a great success and a monumental milestone for television. Something I personally enjoy about this show is that it gives a nice break from other shows that rely on suspense and drama. This show does not have any cliff hangers and is very enjoyable to watch just to relax and have a good time. There is not a need to be super focused and drawn in to enjoy the show. In addition, it is a good show to watch as the episodes are only 20 minutes and because there are not any cliff hangers, you do not have to worry about wasting too much time binge watching the show. This show does a great job in incorporating the aspects of a tv show that makes it complete: writing, cinematography and direction, theme, and gender.

When you promise your friends something but don’t have the means of completing the promise

Gender??

Fresh off the Boat has an interesting and unique representation of gender. In the family, everyone is scared of the mom, including her husband. She makes all the big decisions and can be very feisty. This is a nice change to having the man always in power. Gender power is definitely represented through age at the same time. The grandma is very quiet and only speaks when spoken too. Her feet are also bound, and she cannot walk. This show does not have much relating to queerness, so far at least. In season one episode five, the main conflict was between the family and their in laws because there has been an ongoing “competition” on who is more successful and financially stable. One aspect of the competition was looks and Eddie’s mom curled her hair because that represent money and Eddie’s cousin’s mom got breast implants. This shows how body appearance is connected to value in this show and community. This is intriguing because in today’s day and age, class and value is trying to separated from looks and appearance. However, the setting of this show is in 1995 when this present wave of equality was not as present. As a result, this show has an accurate depiction of what society was like over twenty years ago. Over the duration of this episode, the two families continued to battle for the prize and the two moms battle to be the favorite of their mom. Eddie’s mom was always the favorite but lost her spot after she “abandoned” her. Overall, this episode was not very related to any gender representations beside the stereotypes of Asian culture. It was ironic to see how Eddie’s cousin’s family was lying the entire time and how happy Eddie’s family was when it was confirmed that the Miata was used.

When your sibling is talking bad words about you indirectly

Fitting In

One of the biggest themes of this show is about the family fitting in in their new community in Florida after moving from Washington, DC. Every family member has their own issue(s) with their new environment, except Evan of course. Evan fit in just fine and even has a girlfriend when he’s like 10 years old. Eddie, the main character, goes to many lengths to fit in at his school. This is really interesting because it is relatable for so many kids that are a minority. Being the only or one of the only kids in the class of a certain race can definitely be very difficult. From first experience, it’s easy to want to fit in with everyone else, even if it goes against your own values or family traditions. This show does a great job at showing the struggles a minority family without crossing the line with offensive stereotypes. The kids at Eddie’s school think he’s lame because he does not have Jordan shoes, and not going to lie I bought Jordan shoes for the same reason. One lesson of the episode is shown through Eddie’s mother. She’s having trouble finding other women in her neighborhood, Honey, that she gets along with, until one day she meets a neighbor and gets along with her really well. The only problem is that all the other women of the neighborhood hate Honey and this could potentially be bad for the family business. She initially decides to cut the friendship off, but later realizes that she should be true to her real friend, even if she will face adversity in the future for doing so. This scene demonstrates the purpose of staying true to yourself, and the people who care about you. Hopefully Eddie follows the same path as his mom, but that does not seem very likely at the moment.

Image result for fresh off the boat season 1 episode 3

Eddie has high expectations lol

Typical TV show, but only in terms of cinematography and direction

Fresh off the Boat is not any typical TV show: well except when describing cinematography and direction of the show. Cinematography and direction can have a very important impact on the delivery of a show or movie; it can play a role of how suspenseful the situation is, give a feeling of the environment, and many other impactful roles. Just like any other show, Fresh off the Boat uses the typical shots, for example, shot reverse shot, pan, and zoom, and common environments. It has a mixture of long shots and quick cuts to really show what is going on in the scene.

These details often go unnoticed by the viewer, and to some extent that is the goal of the person filming: to fully immerse one into the experience of watching the show. This goal is surely met. The cinematography matches the environment and setting to where emotions can be displayed from what we see. To display conflict occurring between multiple people, the scene displays a shot reverse shot to emphasize the emotion felt by each person, instead of a single shot where the emotions of two people could be generalized. For the most part, the show has a bright setting, and that is what you would expect from a reality tv show with a family with young kids. So far at least, there have not been any emotionally dark time times and I would imagine that being the case as the show is made for families.

This episode (season 1 episode 2) did not really have any aspects that visually stood out compared to other episodes, but that is probably because I am still very early on in the series. As a side note, I really like this show so far and it has made me laugh multiple times, especially at the parts that are relatable! It’s a good break from the other shows I am watching that are more serious.

CLC reminds me of Kumon lol

Doctor Who????

Press, Andrea, and Terry Strathman. “Work, Family and Social Class in Television Images of Women: Prime-Time Television and the Construction of Postfeminism.” Women and Language, vol. 16, no. 2, 1993, pp. 7. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?

url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/198874239?accountid=11107.

The source “Work, family and social class in television images of women: Prime-time television and the construction of post feminism” discusses the transformation of how women of various social classes, families, and work divisions are represented in America’s prime time television over many decades. This document does not relate to the show Doctor Who and its companions, however it still provides multitudes on information that is relevant to the topic and correlates to Doctor Who. This source is valuable because it provides a foundation of how feminism and women have been portrayed in American prime time television. For younger generations, this is especially important as they have grown up with television shows and series that star women and that are created by women; however, this was not always the case. This source explains how women did not have a significant impact in television until the last twenty years. This knowledge is crucial before comparing how feminism has evolved (if it has) in the show Doctor Who. This source is also valuable because it provides very specific examples of the points it puts across.

 

Laville, Helen. “Prime-Time Feminism. Television, Media Culture and the Women’s Movement since 1970 / Seeing through the Eighties, Television and Reaganism.” Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television, vol. 19, no. 2, 1999, pp. 297-299. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?

url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/208166591?accountid=11107.

 

The source ” Prime-Time Feminism. Television, media culture and the Women’s Movement Since 1970 / Seeing Through the Eighties, Television and Reaganism” argues how feminism has evolved, specifically in television, since the 1970s. This source provides very thorough and relevant information with specific instances and examples for and against the argument of the article. As a result, this source is valuable. Because it provides information on how certain periods have progressed and digressed in terms of the role of women in television. In addition, this source incorporates the political tensions at the time with the rising popularity of President Reagan and Reaganism. This is unique compared to other sources as it introduces a new conflict that is very influential on America’s prime time television before, during, and after President Reagan’s terms as president and vice president. This source is also valuable because of provides viewpoints from two other diverse sources with Feuer’s and Dow’s books.

“Who’s Sexiest in a Tardis?” Daily Record, Mar 21, 2005, pp. 4. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?

url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/327852459?accountid=11107.

 

The argument of this source “Who’s the sexiest in a tardis?” is the determine the most attractive companion in the show Doctor Who. The source provides a small reasoning for each competitor of companions and how they prove to be attractive. This source is valuable because of the reasons why one companion was more attractive over another companion. This is important in relation to feminism as women were avoid objectification: “[Peri] caused an outrage during the mid-80s with several scenes in just a bikini. In this time period, it was not very common or normal for a woman to wear revealing clothing. The source also includes many quotes from the audience with their opinion to the companion at the time of the show airing which can show how one would have reacted to women decades ago versus how it is completely normal to see women in revealing clothes, such as bikinis, on television. A comparison to be made with this article is the power each companion had with their attractiveness to determine if power as a character was or was not proportional to attractiveness in terms of how to character was allowed to portray herself.

 

“So Who is Your Favourite Dr Who Assistant?” South Wales Echo, Jun 19, 2008, pp. 8. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?

url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/342278487?accountid=11107.

 

The argument of the source is to give brief descriptions of all the companions of the show Doctor Who in order to make a personalized decision on who one thinks was the best companion in the show. Each companion has details on her personality, time in the show and general character. This source can be valuable, not in the descriptions of the female companions, but in comparison to each other as this show has been running for many decades: comparisons made between companions can give an idea of how the companions progressed throughout the years, specifically her role and how it relates to the respective wave of feminism. This source is also considered valuable because the information present leads to new connections about the time period and how feminism was present in prime-time television. It is also interesting and important to consider if any of the companions lost any roles or power as a character as the years went by. It is fascinating to follow up this consideration with the fact that the next doctor in Doctor Who has been announced a being a female for the first time in Doctor Who History.

 

Beck, Debra B. “The “F” Word: How the Media Frame Feminism.” NWSA Journal, vol. 10, no. 1, 1998, pp. 139-153. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?

url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/233237862?accountid=11107.

 

The source “The “F” word: How the media frame feminism” argues how feminism has developed over the previous decades in various media. This article takes an unconventional approach in how “feminism became a national “dirty word” and why it can be perceived that way. The source proceeds in chronological order with make the source quite valuable as it allows for a clearer and more visible comparison on how feminism in media changed year by year. An important aspect that Beck introduces is how there was a “Mass rejection of feminism by young women, largely in response to negative images that are at least perpetuated in media.”  This is critical because an opinion against feminism by women is not typically included in research relating to feminism as it could go against one’s argument. Another valuable aspect of this source is how it makes conclusions: many sources leave it up to the reader on what to think about the topic which can sometimes become difficult when many points of view are put upfront.

 

McDonald, Soraya N. Who should Play Doctor Who? Former Time Lord Sylvester McCoy Says it should always be a Man. WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post, Washington, 2015. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?

url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1702098561?accountid=11107.

 

The source “Who should play Doctor Who? Former Time Lord Sylvester McCoy says it should always be a man” argues how the seventh doctor of Doctor Who, Sylvester McCoy, believes the doctor should always be a man. This source is extremely valuable as it gives the point of view from a former star of the show. His view is very powerful and influential because he was such a prominent character. This article shows how many people are not afraid of expressing their views not only for feminism, but against feminism. This provides valuable cross source connections where the animosity can be seen through many people. This source also gives background information on how ever since Doctor Who first aired on television, the doctor has been a man and the main companions have been women. This article is interesting in the sense that regardless of what Sylvester McCoy said, the next doctor has been confirmed to be a woman.

Slight change in direction!: Writing

So I ended up watching Fresh off the Boat, and it’s off to a great start! The cast is definitely very unique and nothing like shows I have previously seen. The writer of this pilot episode is Nahnatchka Khan. Nahnatchka Khan is was on June 17, 1973 and has also been a part of American Dad! and Don’t Trust the B—– in Apartment 23. Khan created Fresh off the Boat with the mindset that minorities are very underrepresented in television. Being part of a minority herself, an Iranian American, Khan experienced what it was like growing up in the United States as a child of foreign parents. The dialogue is very realistic: Khan takes into account how the parents would have an accent, but the children do not. Growing up in American really allowed Khan to imbibe her personal experiences in the writing to make the show more realistic, and so far, she has been very successful. In addition, Khan has found a good line between if the stereotypes she uses are offensive or not. This really adds to the quality of her content because other minorities similar to Eddie’s family would not find that Khan is taking advantage of stereotypes in order to make the content more comical. There are not any voiceovers, that are apparent at least, and in my opinion, this adds to the realness of the show. Something that really stands out to me about Fresh off the Boat is that it reminds me of the show Full House with an awesome twist to it: a large family living together solving family problems with a lot of love. Another important fact about the writing of this show is that it is the first American tv show to star an Asian-American family since All American Girl which first aired in 1994… This is definitely a jump in progress to make American television more similar to life in American, similar to the topic of our class.

I have definitely felt this before lol

Is there a tomorrow??

Hi, my name is Jay Patel. My major is Industrial Engineering and my anticipated year of graduation is 2022 (hopefully). I have taken many English courses, more like literature, in high school and many of them have been rewarding. These courses required a lot of reading which wasn’t that great, mainly because all the texts were chosen for us, but I definitely learned a lot about the world of literature and how it can vary. English 1102 will be my first English class at #GeorgiaTech, and I am very excited!

Me telling people how classes are vs how they actually are

For modes of communication, my favorite is electronic. Electronic, such as television, movies, social media, YouTube, etc., typically provide suspense and brings joy the viewer in an efficient manner. I personally struggle with the mode of writing. Partially due to my lack of patience in the sense that I like to see results immediately (being a slow reader does not help). The written mode is also the part of communication that I want to improve the most, especially with how important it can be in the real world.

I love our course theme! I surely love watching tv, however I usually try to limit myself to not watching at all because once I get started, it is so hard to stop. When I’m not in school and have nothing to do, I can watch tv shows all day, and now I have an excuse to do that during the year lol. I just came off of the last episode of Quantico and pretty sad that it got cancelled (Priyanka Chopra might have been my favorite part about the show, ngl). In terms of future and current shows, I’m in the process of season two of The Good Place and can’t wait for season three of The Man in the High Castle to be released!

For the blog, I chose to review No Tomorrow and it seems pretty interesting and funny. It’s about this neighborhood girl who meets an attractive guy who thinks the world is going to end with an apocalypse in 8 months. He convinces her to let go of her worldly obligations and to #liveyourbestlife. I feel like as a student at a competitive institute, up until now many of our educational actions in life have had the thought in mind if it will help me get into college: now that we’re here, are we going to keep worrying about the future at all times or are we going to live in the moment? I chose #notomorrow to see how the characters live their lives when they know that tomorrow won’t be a thing for them very soon, and for all we know, it might not be for some of us.

 

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