Annotated Bibliography

Overview: Our group will be analyzing various television shows to see how they depict youth, consumerism, economic inequality, and other social issues.  Mainstream sitcoms as well as dramas and reality shows from both network television and premium cable will be explored.  We will compare and contrast shows such as Friends, Modern Family, The Wire, King of Queens, Big Bang Theory, Breaking Bad, Rosanne, True Life, and others in order to see what they show both overtly and subliminally about the above issues.

Three possible research questions:

1.      How strongly does depiction of economic hardship effect the quality of lighter sitcoms? Does having an unrealistic depiction of character’s economic situation in the name of comedy have a negative impact on the viewer?

2.      When we compare a gritty urban crime drama such as The Wire to a sitcom like Friends what do we see in terms of the balance between socially responsible/realistic material and the need to still be entertaining?

3.      Can there be reality TV that is entertaining, informative, and actually reality?

Simon, D. (Writer) (2006). Home rooms [Television series episode]. In Simon, D. (Executive        Producer), The wire. Baltimore, MD: HBO. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uonc7BEZ4g

This is a clip from the HBO series The Wire in which the issues of funding for inner city schools and No Child Left Behind are addressed.  This clip depicts a real world issue involving the lower class in a gritty urban setting which is different from some of the material in the lighter sitcoms we will be analyzing.

Eiesenberg, D. (2004, 11 01). Nbc's new reality. Time, 164(18), 62-63.

This article explores NBC’s decline in ratings after the end of Friends and Frasier and how it is losing its 18-49 year old viewership.  This article can help us show the business value of some of the sitcoms we are analyzing and how the loss of such shows can really damage a network.

Thomashoff, C. (1995, 4 17). The joy of six. People, 43(18), 80.

This article gives background about the concept of the show Friends, what makes it so popular, as well as input from the stars of the show.  We can use this information when we analyze why people are drawn to the show despite some of its departures from reality in terms of the financial situations of the main characters.

Power, R. (2013). The wire and alternative stories of law and inequality . Indiana Law Review, 46(2), 425-487.

This journal article focuses on the five seasons of The Wire and how they depicted inequality in Baltimore.  This source will help in addressing many of the issues we have discussed in class regarding the gap between the rich and poor via the show.

Simon, D. (Producer) (2006). In Simon, D. (Executive Producer), The wire. Baltimore: HBO. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A118kV5PU48
The second part of this clip from The Wire shows the harsh reality of what faces many youth in urban areas without education which is a life of poverty and sometimes crime.  This is another source we can use to emphasize the show’s realistic depiction of urban youth.

Crane, D. (Producer) (n.d.).In Crane, D. (Executive Producer), Friends. New York: NBC.            Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86kPVkZUeTg

This is a short comedic clip from friends in which Chandler is talking about his job interview he is going to.  This clip is useful because it shows the massive apartment they live in and it also is making jokes about finding a job which is something we can analyze.

[Web log message]. (2013). Retrieved from http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad/2013/09/breaking-bad-series-finale-delivers-a-record-10-3-million-viewers/

This blog entry from the official Breaking Bad blog discusses the record setting episode of Breaking Bad and also provides some background on the show.  We can use this to have another example of a wildly popular cable show that is not a sitcom.

[Web log message]. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.thewireblog.net/

This is a blog dedicated to The Wire that provides in depth analysis of many of the issues in the show.  This is another great source with a variety of posts that we can use to further our analysis of this show.

Nielsen. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en.html

This is the Nielsen website that shows the ratings and popularity of different shows on television.  This is a good source because we can use hard data to show how popular the programs we are analyzing are.

Kimsley, M. (1990). Bart for president. New Republic, 203(4), 4.

This older journal article discusses Roseanne as well as the Simpsons and what their depictions of lower middle class mean politically.  This will be useful as Roseanne is one of the few highly successful sitcoms that is about a lower class family.

Friends central. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://friends.wikia.com/wiki/Friends_Wiki

This website has background information about the characters and numerous episodes of Friends.  This will be useful as a reference point for basic information about the show as well as character backgrounds.

Television without pity. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/

This is a website that gives numerous reviews of many television programs.  This is a good source for seeing what critics think of shows and is also a way we can gauge the popularity of certain programs.