Community is a sitcom based on the experiences of the characters at the community college they attend. In this episode the characters are in charge of developing a small skit or play, to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs. They are making the play to be shown to at-risk teens. Throughout this episode we see the characters preparing and eventually performing this skit in front of the teens.
Click here for the episode we watched.
Joel Mchale plays the lead character "Jeff Winger". Jeff is a student at the college who is forced to attend community college, after his law career didn't work out because he had lied about all of his education and qualifications as a lawyer. Chevy Chase plays "Pierce Hawthorne", an old man attending community college. Ken Jong plays "Ben Chang" the former Spanish teacher at the college, who also becomes a student at the community college. Gillian Jacobs plays "Britta", who is a stubborn younger woman also attending the college.
We watched this episode (the newest one) on Hulu. We had five separate ads throughout the program. A couple of the ads were for the video game "Call of Duty Black Ops." Verizon and Applebee's had ads in the program, as well as one commercial advertising for the movie "Cedar Rapids."
Since the setting of the show is a community college the show takes up certain stereotypes and gives a comedic slant as to how those interactions would play out. Since the characters of the show are all so different and of such different backgrounds it allows for an unlimited variety of funny scenarios for the sitcom. The show has a satirical style that plays off the stereotypes of people at community colleges. The United States population of community college students is HUGE! Meaning there is a huge audience that can potentially relate and be drawn to watch this show. Community is similar to shows such as "Parks and Rech" and "the Office". These shows all have real life settings that feature over exaggerated views of stereotypes.
Community is a show that is riddled with stereotypes. In everything from the plot of the show to the cast of characters portrayed. The whole show is based around the stereotypes of the community college life. As a student at LBCC some of the stereotypes are shockingly true to my life as a student. Although they may be exaggerated a fair amount they are still surprisingly accurate. The show features an interesting cast of characters and it manages to stereotype just about every one of them in some way or another. The typical "weird old dude", the middle aged single woman, and the exaggerated Asian crazy person are all present. Its not even that each character has to work overly hard to meet their stereotype, and that is what makes it so disturbing; it reminds you of real life. . .
The advertisements are definitely geared to a young adult crowed. They basically paint the picture of the life of a young twenty-something: play some Call of Duty, watch a movie, talk on your Verizon phone, and then go and get some food at applebees. Its probably a smart move for Hulu to cater to this audience because of the large amounts of young people who use the internet, as well as the demographic that watches comedies on Hulu. It is possible that the ads could be geared more strongly towards men than woman, but that is only because of the Call of Duty advertisement.
Community is clearly exaggerated in its portrayal of the community college lifestyle, but that is the way that sitcoms connect to their audience. They take a common situation and exaggerate it in order to make it funny. Community does this well, and often leaves you saying "that's so true", or "I’ve totally been there". I like the way that I can relate to the situations in the show. However, the show doesn't always "hit" on its potential ideas. Like any sitcom, some episodes just don't come across as funny to me. It is obviously not my favorite show, but I find more often than not it is quite entertaining.
According to this website checkit! reviews can be mixed. Some people have complaints about the show being overly stereotyped, and their claims probably have a fair amount of merit. But I think that is why the show is so great! They are exaggerated, but so is community college! Where else can you go and see a grown man wearing a pink pig hat, or a woman wearing no underwear, or even a man who wears short pink mini skirts every single day? Community college is full of all of these crazy things , and in my opinion real life community college might even be more outrageous than the show Community. Here is a link to the Community website in case you want to CHECKIT!
I watch community whenever I have the immediate opportunity. Not owning a tv has caused me to watch most shows online. For the most part I don't have much time to be watching tv, so I rarely do tune in to this show. We have some friends who do watch the show on a regular basis; the fact they all attend or have attended a community college could definitely play a roll in why they are tuning in.
After watching this show, you realize how easy it is to be relatable to the show. Since we are community college students, we are the target audience for the makers of this show. Producers of the show do an effective job of making the large target audience feel connected, since many of us have seen versions of the stereotypes in real life. There is real incentive for people to continue to tune in, you never know what theme of the show you will relate to next. Having shows that people can relate to is huge when looking for a core audience. "The Office" is another show people could just relate to, with so many people working in office settings. We can assume that this theme of relatable sitcoms will be around for a long time.
I watch community whenever I have the immediate opportunity. Not owning a tv has caused me to watch most shows online. For the most part I don't have much time to be watching tv, so I rarely do tune in to this show. We have some friends who do watch the show on a regular basis; the fact they all attend or have attended a community college could definitely play a roll in why they are tuning in.
After watching this show, you realize how easy it is to be relatable to the show. Since we are community college students, we are the target audience for the makers of this show. Producers of the show do an effective job of making the large target audience feel connected, since many of us have seen versions of the stereotypes in real life. There is real incentive for people to continue to tune in, you never know what theme of the show you will relate to next. Having shows that people can relate to is huge when looking for a core audience. "The Office" is another show people could just relate to, with so many people working in office settings. We can assume that this theme of relatable sitcoms will be around for a long time.
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