This weekend, I will be going to New Hampshire to visit the boyfriend's family.
Cool story, they were actually featured on Episode 2 of Boston Med.
Which brings me to....
MY CLASSES! I've been going at school non-stop for a year now. No breaks at all! Perhaps the occasional long weekend and a two-week winter break, but that was about the extent.
Back to my story --
In one of my classes Television: Text and Context, we watch films and we analyze them.
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| http://blogs.e-rockford.com/bricksandclicks/category/the-daily-show/ |
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| http://blogs.tampabay.com/media/2008/04/at-the-daily-sh.html |
For example, one of the first weeks, we watched The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Our take (and the author's) on the show was that the show uses the conventions of comedy (through satire and parody) to critiques the news.
Bottom line: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert believe that there is a lack of objectivity in the news today. News is meant to inform people, however in reality, they aren't giving the substantive information needed so that the audience can make judgements for themselves. Instead, we have shows such as the O'Reilly Factor that are strongly opinionated shows. In the past, news featured experts giving facts and explaining the situation, now we have journalists that give their take on an event. Therefore, on the Stewart and Colbert use satire and parody to challenge these news reports. Because these shows are known to be comical, they do not need to follow the conventions of the news genre, rather they criticize it using their show and humour. The set up of the show is almost identical to news and the satire used is to challenge the news.
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| http://www.uniquewarez.com/tv_zone/311953-boston_med_all_seasons_720p_hdtv_reg_updates_megashares.html |
For my final project in the class, I have to make my own analysis of a tv series or episode. I have chosen Boston Med. I want to take on the critique that the show is highlighted to be a documentary, but in my analysis, I show that the show uses documentary conventions to drive the drama narrative. The show is a documentary about the people who work in Boston's Brigham, Children's, and Mass General. My overall point is that the show is a constructed fiction. It is meant to be a reality-based documentary, but I believe otherwise. Even though the show is unscripted, I don't believe that it is non-fiction. The filming does feature "real people" but I think the entire narrative is pieced together by TV workers. They create the central story. Therefore, the people in the show are seen as characters, rather than "real people." I feel that it is more drama than documentary because it doesn't highlight the major societal problems. For example, the show has a lot of talk about how the doctors and nurses are their for long hours, and thus, focusing on interpersonal relationships between the doctors and nurses. However, the show ignores the larger societal issue that it may be a problem. Perhaps that is an ongoing issue with hospitals where people work too much. Another point to note is that the show does not go into detail about greater issues that affect the entire society such as health insurance. At this point in MA, health coverage has been a large topic, yet the show overlooks it. I support my overall point using genre conventions. For example, the show uses documentary conventions such as the hand-held camera and one-on-one interviews. It helps to add drama and drive the central narrative with the doctors and nurses.
That is my presentation in a nutshell!!
Confession: Still love LOVE Boston Med! I was watching it on campus and got all teary-eyed. Quite embarrassing. All the stories are so touching! Today was actually the last episode. =( Will definitely watch it online tomorrow or this weekend! We also studied a critique on Sex and the City, yet...still LOVE IT! So...these "scholarly analyses" won't hold me back from great shows!!!!!
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