Week 3 Part 1

First, I wanna start by saying that I am biased in my comparisons as I enjoyed Community much more than 30 Rock. Not saying its not well made, the brand of humor is just not my taste. Community got me giggling.

Ok, first with Production value. From what I can tell, 30 Rock is very straight forward with camera angles and shots are set up so there’s something to look at in every corner of the screen. Most of the time anyway. I thought it was kinda nice that something could happen in the background of a shot while the foreground is still…happening. Not a great description but it made me smile a couple of times. The lighting felt more like a brightly lit talk show more than a television show...and I think that probably came from it behind about the behind the scenes, trying to feel more real.

Now, with Community, shots were a tad more creative. There was some movement with the camera during action. It also seemed a little unsteady during conversations, making me feel like I was a part of the scene. Kept me a little more entertained and the comedy seemed to flow better because of it. I don’t know if that’s just my sense of humor kicking in here or what, but I definitely felt a difference in the way things were presented.

Second, Intertexualization…if that’s a word. For 30 Rock, I noticed that a lot of the jokes used society’s current events or current trends for jokes. And it also used a bit of movie references. One that I can recall specifically was Tina Fey dressed as Princess Leia in a juror box, trying to get out of jury duty. This felt more true to television because, as you know, the show centers on the production of a show. It is supposed to be about the people involved in the industry and, to me, it would make sense to have a ton of references to the current entertainment industry around them.

For Community, I feel like the references were more general, using themes instead of direct content. Two of the episodes I watched used a paintball/spagetti western theme during the entire thing, drawing from what you would see in a typical western. Then they would play up the settings and styles of the production of said…motif I guess. It was really clever and had me laughing plenty of times.

For the third difference, I feel like it was good to talk about the humor. 30 Rock felt very slap stick and absurd(in a good way, like absurdism…I think that’s a genre) and a little crass. (Not that I’m bashing it, its just not my thing sometimes) It often just had me shaking my head with a smile. Probably funnier to someone who appreciates the craft.

Community was more up my alley. The jokes felt like something I could hear around campus. Not literally, but the attitude was the same. For some reason, the only example I can think of without going back and searching is a joke Ken Jeong made about the math team being Asian. Then them yelling back that he was being racist, but he was indeed correct, they were all Asian. I’m having a hard time explaining this, but in summary, Community felt more naturally funny vs. 30 Rocks more acquired taste of comedy.

AGAIN, totally not bashing 30 Rock lovers. Love Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, and all them, I’ve just never been a huge fan of the show.

Have a good one guys. =)