Close Reading #1

In New Sitcoms, Parents Need the Growing Up by Heather Havrilesky


     In this article, Harilesky discusses the differences in the roles of adults and children in several of today's hit TV shows. She discusses the different ways  adults and children interact on these shows and how the standards of parenting have changed. Harilesky makes her view apparent to her readers with the use of diction, imagery, details.


Diction:
     The word choice Havrilesky uses heavily reflects her opinion. Words like hopeless, misguided, and imperfect all have a negative connotation giving the readers a negative view of these parents. Phrases like "overachiever and underachiever", "idealist and pragmatist", "valiant hero and lazy jerk", "jittery angst", and "aggressively unpleasant" are used to describe both parents and the TV shows of today. This allows readers to think about parenting while being shown the negative side of it causing disdain towards these topics.
  
Imagery:
     At the beginning of the article, Havrilesky mentions being an adult and living next to a house that held several children's parties involving a bounce house. She then goes on to describe the bounce house as a place where "little kids and big kids shrieked and giggled and barely missed injuring one another" and then compares it to the actions of adults on current TV shows. Because the image of children in a bounce house and the chaos that goes with it is both a strong image and familiar sight to most, Havrilesky's readers are able to easily compare the two actions together. Another example of how imagery explains Havrilesky's opinion is the comparison of the two styles of TV, the then and the now. She describes the shows of the past as "sassy kids. . . engaging in mildly naughty activities. . . necessitating awkward family discussions that end when the perp apologizes. . ." allowing her readers to remember the TV shows they grew up on and recall clips of such shows. Havrilesky then switches gears and discusses the shows of today. Her example involves daughters who disrespect their parents, parents who fret over what to do, and finally parents doing a foolish act as a sign of retaliation. Havrilesky uses the imagery of these TV show descriptions to sway her readers to question the TV shows of today.


Details:
     The details that Havrilesky uses show her opinions of these shows and parents. Havrilesky includes specific examples from shows such as "Modern Family", "Up All Night", and "Suburgatory" to expand the readers view on how TV shows are portraying the role of parents of today by explaining scenarios in episodes that represent these roles. Her knowledge of these shows and the specific details give the article a sense of reliability and truth even though the article is based purely on opinion.