Wednesday 4 May 2011

TASK 5 - Dominant , negotiated and oppositional readings (simpsons)

Dominant reading :


The simpsons is a program appropriate for all ages. With the show revolving around a nuclear family type ( married parents and blood related children , pets etc) the programme is family friendly. It uses current issues and trends with a twist to add comedy to everyday lives. Through the main characters never changing age , image etc and remaining the central characters in the text the program is made to remain current and to appear as though it is a 'classic'.


Negotiated reading :


Although the Simpsons can in general be positively recieved by all audience types it could be argued that at times it takes realistic and current storylines too far and over exagerates them to the point where they can no longer allow audience members to gain personal gratifications from viewing the text .


Oppositional reading :


Although the Simpsons is made to appear as though it is directed at a family based audience catering to audience members of all ages and racial backgrounds etc , it simply reflects the bias of the westernised world and elite. It reinforces gender differences in a derogative manner and undermines the role of women through the low status of Marge in the family. It also reinforcenegative stereotypes of ethnic groups for example those of an Asian background simply portraying asian men to be shop keepers and asian wives to have large numbers of kids which is not nececerily the reality. Thus making it inapropriate for younger viewers .

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