Paper Example. Intentions and the Meaning of the Show

"The Big Bang' by Donald Glover is a show intended to entertain as well as cover social commentary. Glover prepared it, covering social issues ranging from how young people seek education for success in life (Ruiz, 2017). For instance, the social aspect is presented by providing families such as Earn and his parents and the bond he shares with Paper Boi in life as cousins. In this regard, one of the major themes portrayed is a family establishment in society. The TV show portrays contemporary US society by showcasing how young African-Americans struggle to fit in society by trying different forms of engagement, including rapping, to earn a living. For example, Paper Boi is a rapper and uses the platform to generate income. Besides, the common occasions among youths in the US are characterized by violence as presented in the first episode when a confrontation ensues with a stranger who snaps off a side mirror and also in the shootout. Romance in the show is also presented between Earn and Vanessa. Education is an important theme that revolves around the TV show. Earn's parents are not willing to materially assist him because he has failed to study and opted to explore other forms of engagements, including cheap labor, to succeed (Cowen. 2016).

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The creator chose to use a TV show instead of other genres for some reason. According to Zhao, Dong, and Feng (2019), TV shows are crucial in helping people identify themselves with certain characters for clarity and shaping of behavior. The creator could have wanted to send a message to the society regarding various actions and their outcomes in life by bringing on board different characters. Also, TV shows usually leave the audience with suspense. Most likely, the creator wanted to attract more audiences who would bond with the show and keep track of it and their favorite characters. Suspense allows imagination about what will happen next. The creator wanted to engage the audience and surprise as well after releasing the next episode. The creator, however, did not use novels because he targeted the audience who are interested in watching TV shows for fun rather than reading to cover a bigger percentage of young people. The big bang is well-tailored to adhere to social aspects and diversity. Therefore, the creator uses the show to present characters from different backgrounds and their struggle to succeed in life.

Audiences

The intended audience in "The Big Bang" is the youth. This can be attributed due to the major theme revolving around how young people strategize to succeed in life. For example, Earn is concerned about how he can make it in life by dropping out of Princeton. Earn's parents are ready to educate him, but he is reluctant to continue with his studies. According to him, it is better to strategize on other platforms and emerge victorious in life. Paper Boi is a young person who wants to be successful by engaging in rapping. He is about to release a hit and Earn it. Earn seeks a position as Paper Boi's manager as a means of survival and making it in life. Vanessa is young and with Earn's child and still hoping that the two lovebirds can make it in life by providing Earn a place to live when he is kicked out by his parents. Therefore, the characters in the show are mostly young who are determined to succeed in life.

Although the show targets the youth, its actual audiences are general. The reason for such an argument is based on the different scenarios presented. For instance, the creator includes the family to invoke the audience's thinking about relationships among relatives. Earn does not follow the wishes of his parents. The creator targets to speak to the family, which represents the smallest unit in society by pinpointing how relatives interact in supporting one another in life. The struggle for success is portrayed as a theme that affects everyone in life, including parents, children, relatives, lovers, and friends. The characterization in the show portrays people with different habits. Earn is seen as a person who takes advantage of the situation to solve his issues. For instance, he goes to live with Vanessa because he has been kicked out by his parents. When he becomes broke, he seeks help from parents, lenders, and his cousin Paper Boi. It is annoying that Paper Boi and Earn have not been close since the former mother's death. Earn is ignorant of his previous absence and now wants to be close with Paper Boi to manipulate him. In this regard, the show targets society as a whole and how people usually interact.

TV Structure and Formats

The storyline presented in the TV show "The Big Bang" follows a complex structure involving different settings. It has a hybrid form and allows cumulative scenes of narrations and dialogue (Schlutz, 2016). Flashback is presented to revisit the previously covered scenes for the audience to keep track of the storyline. The plot is also developed by promoting dialogue throughout the TV show. The use of flashbacks covers a recap of the aspects shown in the previous period. For instance, as the story progresses, audiences are taken back to the period that Earn was studying and how he dropped out of Princeton through flashback. As a result, they can understand why the events happening in the present are connected with the past. The inclusion of commercial breaks also prolongs the period taken during the TV show. Such breaks are most likely provided for commercial reasons and to allow the audience to imagines the upcoming episodes by introducing suspense. The use of climax mini-max stages during the show also reflects part of the TV show structure (Young et al., 2013). Although its content is balanced, in some instances, the show portrays advanced content that is only allowed to grownups. Besides, some instances of offensive language and behaviors such as violence are evident. The shootout part involves violence, and the language used is offensive.

Antisocial behaviors are presented by constant smoking and violence. For example, Earn's stubbornness portrays bad morals and how disrespect to parents can result in destruction. The arrest part at the end of the episode showcases how young people are detained for corrupt morals. The theft of a side mirror tends to show how society is corrupted and the possible consequences of not succeeding in life through legal means. Therefore, the construction of the TV show based on homesteads show the originality of humanity in social set up. The same case applies to the scenes where Earn is portrayed to be caring for his child as a means of what a good parent should do. Thus, these scenes, through their structure and format, show that the creator of the "The Big Bang" was original in creating the TV show because it does not copy scenes showed in other TV shows.

Self-Reflection

The Big Drama TV show is fully engaging. It is set up to reach out to any audience since it portrays real issues that happen in any family set up. The society issues in the US and across the globe are also represented by the TV show. For instance, the majority of people across the globe come from a family set up, which seeks to ensure they prosper in life. Earn is lucky to have parents who are willing to educate him, but he does not want. The majority of young people tend to differ with the elders by choosing their paths and disregarding pieces of advice. The TV show was highly engaging by including Earn as a confused character who is not settled on what to do in life. I can relate the TV show to my friend in high school whose parents were rich and could educate him to any level. Unfortunately, my friend was too arrogant to be helped and could not obey his elders. At one point, he impregnated a classmate, and because her parents had no much resources, she had to drop out and care for the child. After joining college, my friend indulged in drugs and, as a result, expelled. He became broke because his parents could not take any of it, and he had missed many classes making it impossible to consider him for graduation. Although he had neglected his girlfriend after delivery, he sought her help and used to live with her without any stable job.

The rap scene of TV portrays a common phenomenon among youths across the globe. The language used is too American and portrays antisocial communication among peers in some areas. Shootout part and arrests are also common aspects across the globe and portray conflicts and resolution, including arrests in society. According to my social knowledge, it is good to keep in touch with family members and friends when one does not have a need. Therefore, the aspect of seeking help from people you previously despised shows negligence, selfishness, and disrespect. For instance, the habit in Earn is highly wanting because he remembers his loved ones when he is in trouble and does not want to face challenges in life head-on despite failing to grab available opportunities to prosper.

The camerawork, editing, music, and design in the Bing Bang are classic. The camera shooting of the TV show is clear and present high-standard filming. The editing is also highly professional. Besides, the music used is unique and represents the originality of the TV show as compared to others. Thus, music relates to various scenes and actions happening at particular times.

References

Cowen. (2016, September 7). Watch the First Episode of Donald Glover's 'Atlanta' for Free. Complex. https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2016/09/watch-first-episode-donald-glover-fx-atlanta-free-stream

Ruiz, T. (2017, July 27). Emmy Episode Analysis: Donald Glover ('Atlanta') Wonders if He'll Ever Catch a Break in 'The Big Bang.' GoldDerby. https://www.goldderby.com/article/2017/emmy-episode-analysis-donald-glover-atlanta-the-big-bang-news-680241375/

Schlutz, D. M. (2016). Contemporary quality TV: The entertainment experience of complex serial narratives. Annals of the International Communication Association, 40(1), 95-124. DOI: 10.1080/23808985.2015.11735257

Young, R. M., Ware, S. G., Cassell, B. A., & Robertson, J. (2013). Plans and planning in a narrative generation: a review of plan-based approaches to the generation of story, discourse, and interactivity in narratives. Sprache und Datenverarbeitung, Special Issue on Formal and Computational Models of Narrative, 37(1-2), 41-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2015.11735257

Zhao, C., Dong, H., & Feng, R. (2019, April). Analysis of Three Order Topological: A New Approach to Analyze Audiences of Emotional TV Programs. In 3rd International Conference on Culture, Education, and Economic Development of Modern Society (ICCESE 2019). Atlantis Press.