Axial Characters

For many TV sitcoms, the name of the TV show is based on the axial character (e.g. I Love LUCY, GREY'S Anatomy, ROSEANNE, REBA). Television shows usually revolve around one central character. This type of sitcom is known as axial, meaning the show revolves around that one specific character. In order to be axial, the television show must shoot around that certain character in angles that revolve around him/her. Also, the rest of the supporting characters on that television show are known in terms of the axial character. For example, they may be referred to as the axial character's wife, the axial character's neighbor, the axial character's brother, and so on.

One good example of a comedy-based sitcom that contains an axial character is the television show Reba. The show is about Reba Hart (played by country singer Reba McEntire) and her struggles as a divorced woman struggling to live in the crazy and chaotic life she has suddenly been put in while maintaining a family. Most shots have Reba right in the center as she interacts with her family. The characters that are her family are known in terms of how they are related to Reba. Brock is known as Reba's ex-husband, Barbara Jean is known as the reason why Reba's marriage ended, Cheyenne and Kyra are known as Reba's daughter, Jake is known as Reba's son, and Van is known as Reba's son-in-law and later in the series, her realtor partner. The the plot of the show focuses on Reba and how she tries to maintain a balanced family that has suddenly been flipped upside down by a sudden divorce and unsuspected two pregnancies.

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The clip below is the first clip of the first episode. Here, Reba is shot in the middle as the rest her family sits around her. She is the matriarch of the show and tries to settle her family dispute. The characters are also revealed in terms of their relationship to Reba.

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The Deterioration and Vindictiveness of Regina George

Camera shot and the angle from which a director chooses to shoot from are very important techniques a director uses in order to convey a certain message about a specific character during a scene.

In the hit teen-comedy Mean Girls, director Mark Waters tells the story of a high school girl trying to survive in ''girl world." Waters uses denotative and connotative film shots to show the deterioration and vindictiveness of Regina George.

Mean Girls
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Portrayed as the Queen Bee of the school's most popular (and feared) clique "The Plastics", Regina George's character experiences a rebellion within her clique and suddenly finds herself outside the clique. Mark Waters decides to show the impeachment of Regina in the cafeteria scene when Gretchen and Karen both decide it's time to kick Regina out. Waters shoots Regina sitting down at the table from a high angle shot showing Regina's loss of power. He also shoots Gretchen and Karen standing up from a low angle shot showing the new authority of Gretchen and Karen as they famously say to Regina "You can't sit with us!"

Soon after Regina finds out she has been tricked by to eat fat bars, Mark Waters begins the scene of Regina running and screaming into her room and grabbing the infamous burn book via a long shot in order to establish the location of the scene. He then does a close-up on Regina to show her vindictive face as she says what she is writing in the burn book. The audience gets the idea Regina's writing is referring to Cady, but Waters then does the genius extreme close-up shot to reveal that the person Regina is actually writing about is herself.

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The Star System

In the classic Hollywood era, a star was born through the star system. Film studios used the star system in order to turn an ordinary actor or actress into a powerful star they could use as subliminal advertisement.

Through the star system, a Hollywood star became his or her own genre. By signing a classic Hollywood contract, the studios chose which movie the star would be in. Usually, the studio would determine a film genre, e.g. musical, for a specific star. Audiences would soon associate a specific star with a specific genre and see the film as that peculiar star's genre. Classic Hollywood capitalized on the star system because it knew that audiences would know what kind of film they are watching by solely knowing who starred in the film.

Famously known as Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland's films span mostly in the musical film genre. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film company used the star system to cast Judy Garland in film musicals. MGM used Garland's voice to target audiences by associating it with the musical genre. Audiences knew that a film with Judy Garland meant that there was going to be some singing involved, therefore attracting them go go watch the film for her singing.

Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz

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Will and Archie

The Will and Grace Family
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Just as television has changed from black and white to high definition viewing, so has the idea of family changed from the typical idea of a family to a more modern century viewpoint. Television shows from the past such as All in the Family, consist of a typical family unit: mother, father, daughter, son. Now, shows such as Will and Grace have a more contemporary definition of family. Both shows deal with the concept of family but in different ways.

The All in the Family Family
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In All in the Family, the Bunkers consisted of a typical family with the dingbat mother Edith, the young and hip couple of Gloria (daughter of Edith and Archie) and her husband Michael. Unlike the typical family, Will and Grace consisted of the gay lawyer Will, his straight interior designer best-friend Grace, and their two goofball friends Jack and Karen.

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Both shows contained the same characteristics of what we define family: a group of  people that always bicker and fight with each other but still love and care for each other no matter what. However, All in the Family's idea of family was more of "blood related" and Will and Grace's idea of family was more of the "people we hang out with and build strong relationships with are your family".


Homosexuality is an issue brought up by both of these television shows. In the All in the Family episode "Judging Books by Covers", the Bunkers squabble over the issue of homosexuality because of the characters Roger, a highly flamboyant gentleman and Steve, a sports-loving man, who force Archie to re-evaluate his conception of being gay. Unlike All in the Family where they devote only one episode to the topic of homosexuality in a self-questioning way, Will and Grace dealt with it throughout its entire run in a more modern and normal way. Both Will and Jack are gay men living in New York City trying to live, work, and find love like anyone else. The gay lifestyle is more accepting in Will and Grace than in All in the Family. Nobody needed to question Will's and Jack's sexuality because it was of non-importance. However, both shows still contained the stereotypical gay characters of Roger and Jack and not-so-stereotypical gay characters of Steve and Will.