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| The Mary Tyler Moore Show: | The Mary Tyler Moore Show is a satire of contemporary American culture. Mary embodies one of its paradoxes: a new freedom for women (and men) and a new sense of limits. She is one of a growing number of characters who are depicted as being trapped in circumstances. Ted, of course, is television. | ||
| The Bob Newhart Show | Bob, the official wise man, is surrounded by endearing crazies. | ||
| Lucy and Comedy's Lovable Fools | Lucy represents our narcissistic, foolish selves, trapped in a world of limitation. | ||
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Two societies in conflict: a society of life that embodies humane values and a society of death. The society of life is led by Hawkeye, a trickster and a subverter of institutions. |
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| Gilligan's
Island & Exile: Image Essay Gilligan's Island: Exiled in Paradise: Text Essay |
Gilligan's Island as a kind of parable about the human condition. | ||
| Andy Griffith and Comedy's Healers | Sheriff Andy Taylor is an archetype of the wise man and benevolent helper. He is one of many characters who do good, without necessarily taking the credit for it. | ||
| Blue's Clues | Not really a sitcom but close enough. The main character is a real person who acts like a cartoon. | ||
Situation Comedies and the Liberating Power of Sadism |
Situation comedies mock the limitations of personality that keep us from leading a more complete life. But they use the depiction of our limitations to create the good feeling of the joke, thus giving us the message that it is okay to be flawed and that life is good after all. Like most popular fiction, their purpose is to give us a sense of hope. | ||
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