Prompt 2: How Does Contemporary Representation Compare to Previous Time Periods

In the opening sequence of Episode 1 of MisFits the comedy side of the show is focused around swearing. The Characters are stereotypically represented as negative teenage characters. This plays to the passive audience as they would take this as being the view of all teenagers. This comes into the Theory of Marcuse where he states that audiences are turned into a mindless mass. Also we see a mixed ethnic / social group of characters where as compared to coronation street that contains mainly white middle class characters.

The comedy side of the programme although mainly focused around swearing does also converge on one character who states all of the jokes through the programme. In both coronation street and MisFits it features an Irish character that is the main comedy focus. But this is also seen in Are You Being Served as this contains a gay character who is always the one to deliver comedy to the audience.

The stereotypical representations of the characters are initially shown by the camera angles and shots of the characters through the first minute of the shot. We see close-up of the Chav character, and the gangster character which shows that these are more aggressive characters through their facial expressions. We also see a mid-shot of the Weird Kid, which shows that he is not to be trusted as he stares directly at the camera giving the audience the creeps.