Assignment Brief:

Question: Analyze the way a single television episode represented one or more salient cultural or political issues of its time and place.

You will choose one episode of a television drama or comedy from the 1940s, 1950s or 1960s to analyze. You’ll need to do a little research about what the important political and cultural movements of that time period were, in the place it was made.

For example, if you choose an American show, you might discuss how your program represents the most important events or issues of the Civil Rights Movement or the migration of the middle class to the suburbs, depending on when the episode you choose was on the air.

If you choose a British or Irish TV show, you’ll have to put it in a British or Irish context. You might ask yourself:

1. Does the show seem progressive or conservative for its time period?
2. Who seems to have control over the action?
3. Is it a comedy or a drama?
4. How does that influence its theme?

The answer to one or more of these questions will be your thesis statement or argument. The show and class reading(s) will provide the support for your argument. Remember to use TV-specific details like genre and close visual analysis alongside the plot when you choose your evidence from the show.

Details Your essay must have a thesis statement or argument. It must use specific detailed examples from the episode you choose to support your points. And it must reference at least one-course reading. Course Reading filed below.