PORTRAYAL OF BRITISH SOCIETY IN HUMOUR
Evinová N.
P. J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia
The spread of media in the previous century enabled the production of new
genres with various functions. For instance, the news informs about the latest events,
action films provide excitement, and situation comedies entertain people. Nowadays,
people enjoy being entertained. Having come home after work and feeling exhausted,
most of them turn on TV. They do so because they desire to change the role from an
active participant to a passive participant. Broadcasting presents an instant programme
in the privacy of one’s home. People need no longer to go to the theatre or the cinema.
They receive information, entertainment and excitement at home. Viewers can be
denoted as consumers of the media production with the right of choice. Provided that
they do not like what they see on their screen, they can change the channel and find
something that meets their needs and preferences.
Regarding situation comedy, this genre is popular among viewers for various
reasons. First of all, it is short. Neale and Krutnik define it as “a short narrative-series
comedy, generally between twenty-four and thirty minutes long, with regular characters
and setting” [1990: 233]. Half an hour is a period which is enough for a rest, a meal or a
break from another activity. Second, sitcom includes regular characters and setting. For
a viewer it means that they are already familiar with the background and do not have to
concentrate on details. They can easily follow the storyline. Third, “series has only
continuity of character and situation. The events of one episode have no narrative
consequence for the next. Each episode is complete in itself” [Putner 1986: 152]. That
implies that a person does not have to see each and every episode of the sitcom to
understand it. Finally, it is an instant genre, i.e. the first third is dedicated to an arisen
problem, the second to the development and the third to the solution. Everything
commences and concludes in 30 minutes.
Situation comedy uses the following sources of comic mood.
1. Narrative is the basis for this genre. It contains a funny story which is usually
different for every episode. “Nothing is allowed to happen which might not
happen in reality. But since their primary goal is not to 'show' that reality, but to
entertain, they emphasize the surprising, the unexpected, the unusual and the
exceptional” [Ibid.: 156].
2. Characters and their typical features are comic as well. The way they are built is
based on contradiction and incompatibility. Sitcoms use role reversals to
highlight contradiction, e.g. a man pretends to have a migraine to avoid sexual
intercourse.
3. Situation comedy depends on situational humour. As it has been mentioned, each
episode is based on a story which is further developed into individual comic
moments. Particular behaviour in a particular situation can be entertaining. Comic
mood is achieved by disruptions of stable situations and exaggeration.
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4. Dialogues are an essential element of situation comedies. Verbal humour is
accomplished through communication. When characters use improper
vocabulary, it can end in nonsense, embarrassment of the speaker or listener, or
revelation that the person is pretentious and thus the situation and speech generate
laughter. Alliteration is another way of verbal humour. It is the case when
someone uses the same sound or letter at the beginning of words in a sentence.
Using the wrong register is also employed in this genre because it indicates the
violation of the level of formality. It is connected with class humour because
speech, vocabulary and accent are distinguishing factors between classes. Satire
is typical for British culture. It draws on and highlights social conventions, mocks
and attacks, and uses the norms within its province as a basis against which to
measure deviations.
5. There are three other ways of forming comic mood. Sketches are short funny
scenes performed within a longer unit, i.e. sitcom episode. A sketch is composed
of three acts - setting up a situation, complication, and resolution, which contains
a punch line. According to Cohen, sketches are divided into two types - quickies
and longer sketches. They differ in duration because the former lasts 20 seconds
and the latter is supposed to last less than two minutes [Cohen 2010]. Next two
types are: clowning, which means behaving in a stupid way in order to make
people laugh and slapstick, which is a remnant from the period of silent era in the
cinema. It is based on visual qualities related to physical actions. Mostly, these
actions are about hurting someone, but they are intended to amuse.
In general, it can be said that sitcom employs current themes which are topical for
the contemporary society. Scannell confirms that by saying that “broadcasting, because
its service was addressed to the whole society, gradually came to represent the whole
society in its programmes” [1989: 142 - 143]. For British situation comedies, the most
outstanding issues are gender, class and stereotypes. Gender differences are popular
because of their universal character. People feel involved in the battle of sexes and by
watching the sitcom they confront their opinions and attitudes. The British still consider
class an important variable of their present and future. Sitcom highlights elements
which can be amusing in certain contexts, e.g. an unnatural effort to gain status,
separation from lower classes, superiority, pretence, etc. Stereotypes have wide scope of
use. There are gender stereotypes (women talk too much, men are better drivers), class
stereotypes (working class members drink beer and sit in front of television all day,
upper middle class members are always nicely dressed and talk sophisticatedly),
stereotypes about ethnic minorities (they are all immigrants, form the underclass),
national stereotypes (the Irish drink a lot, the British are reserved in manners), and
many other which can be applied and ridiculed in the genre of sitcom.
Situation comedy is a dynamic genre because it reflects the society with its vices
and virtues. It represents a mild criticism of society in an entertaining form. By means
of humour it shows a mirror to the society. Thus they can see who they are in the
reflection. Tomaščíková claims that “although sitcom is found under the category of
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'light entertainment' […], it, nevertheless, can be enriching by presenting recognisable
social situations, regular social interactions of characters in common situations of home,
family, or work” [2005: 2].
Therefore, sitcoms are valuable sources of knowledge about British society. They
give account of the society from the point of view of its members and talk about various
aspects of everyday life. Sitcoms evaluate them and by the frequency of their portrayal,
it is possible to judge which are essential for the period. Thus, on the background of
sitcom, society can be studied and understood better.
Literature
1. Cohen D. Writing Sketches for a Living. [online]. [accessed 2010-03-13].
Available at <http://www.sitcom.co.uk/writers/writing_sketches.shtml>
2. Černý M. Homo Loquens. Vybrané kapitoly z lingvistické antropologie.Ostrava: Ostravská univerzita, 2009.
3. Neale S. - Krutnik F. Popular Film and Television Comedy.- London: Routledge,
1990.
4. Putner D (ed.). Introduction to Contemporary Cultural Studies.- London:
Longman, 1986.
5. Scannell P. Public Service Broadcasting and Modern Public Life // Media,
Culture and Society.- London: Sage, 1989.
6. Tomaščíková S. Sitcom within British Studies // Theory and Practice in English
Studies.- Brno: Masaryk University, 2005.
Summary
The paper introduces the genre of situation comedy, reasons of its popularity,
essential building blocks of humour and its relevance to the portrayal of society.
Besides providing entertainment, which is the main aim of sitcom, it captures the state
of society with its vices and virtues and thus preserves them for a further analysis.
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