Aspects of a Sitcom

The aspects I choose from the sitcom were character growth and cycles and repeated patterns because even though they are meant to be different they tend to intertwine on many occasions in sitcoms. Character growth is the overview from where the person in the sitcom starts to the person they become through their situations. Thus defining the word sitcom (situational comedy).  It's ups and downs, the optimal situations, the worst situations, the awkward situations, and everything in between that help show how the character grows through the story line. The reason I believe that cycle and repeated patterns play in with character growth are because people tend to repeat actions. For example if a character is always starting trouble he is repeating his actions and patterns. If a character gets in trouble and then realizes that what they did was wrong, they are showing growth by trying to change their normal tendencies. Many sitcoms use characters repeated actions to show how hard it is to drop bad habits, but when they show the character is working to make the situation better growth is easily visible in that same person.

The sitcom I choose to use was "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" because I can easily relate to it. As a child growing up in the 90's the fresh prince of Bel-Air was one of my favorite T.V. shows. The character who shows the most growth I think is Will. Will taken from his real life name Will Smith, is the protagonist. The story-line begins as Will is a troubled but street smart teen from Philadelphia who moves to Bel-Air because he got in a fight and his mother was scared for his future. When he gets to Bel-Air he moves in with his extremely affluent aunt and uncle who have hopes of making Will a model citizen. Through out the T.V. series Will goes through many situations where he tries to pull a fast one, or gets caught in the act of doing something wrong. Comedic relief surely helps the audience love Will. He repeats his actions and patterns over and over as a youth. His mentor and uncle is usually the one catching will in his shenanigans. His uncle is the character who helps Will grow the most, as he helps Will get the most out of the mistakes he has made and by teaching him life lessons. The Family gets as much out of Will and he gets out of them. Will becomes a beaming ray of sunlight as he keeps the mood around the house fun and festive. He has something that few people do and that is a positive outlook on the situations he is put in. Throughout the series you see little by little Will tries to do the right thing, as he has learned from his past. His growth is almost heroic, as he becomes a true gentlemen late in the series. It seems the people who used to say "you should be like this..." want to be more like him. Will's story-line is fun to follow, because it is like a plant. With the proper watering and sunlight it will grow into something prosperous.

This is video of Carlton another character from the T.V. show, and more reasons why people love this show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a02B204OrLU

Ryan Campbell Anderson