Two and a Half Men Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Two and a Half Men Analysis - Assignment Example It provides the perfect opportunity to study two opposite forms of modern masculinity. â€Å"Literature on gender and hegemonic masculinity frames this research project, offering both a historical perspective and a critical understanding of media representations. I argue that the performances of hegemonic and subordinated masculinity on Two and a Half Men reconstruct and reinforce the dominance of hegemonic masculinity within our society as the only acceptable performance of manhood. Effeminate masculinity, an alternative masculinity, fails to find legitimate cultural articulation within the show.† â€Å"In an important sense there is only one complete unblushing male in America: a young, married, white, urban, northern, heterosexual, Protestant, father, of college education, fully employed, of good complexion, weight, and height, and a recent record in sports†¦ Any male who fails to qualify in any one of these ways is likely to view himself–during moments at leas t– as unworthy, incomplete and inferior† (Sex and Gender, nd). If this then is what our society expects from the â€Å"perfect† man and the main character Charlie Harper has literally none of these other than white fully employed and good looking, could we assume that these then are the historical attributes alone that attract us and especially female viewers to him? Technical Perspective The technical aspect of media may be summed in Lasswell’s model. According to Lassswell, this aspect encompasses who says what, to whom it is being said and effect it that the â€Å"saying† has (Aect, 2011). Two and a Half Men as a comedy has been starred by John Cryer, Jones Angus and Charlie Sheen, individuals who have proven beyond doubt to the audience that they are capable of... Two and a Half Men has been a captivating hit since it started gracing the airwaves in 2003. The program basically compares the character of one individual in the show with the same character in his real life. The story portrays a family that is clearly dysfunctional from every point of standing and yet one that has remained a story of great interest to an audience consisting of people across different ages and gender. Two and a Half Men has interested various people, age and gender being no barrier, there are various elements that have led to this captivation as can be seen based on the various perspectives discussed above. This is an amazing thing with Kutcher replacing Charlie Sheen because now we will know so much about ourselves. Did we watch the show primarily because Charlie Sheen was the lead or did we watch the show because we deep down expect the male role to be that of a hard drinking women getting misogynist who contrasts the respectable but boring brother. We will find out if the show was drawing audiences with the clichà © of the dumb child and cold aloof mother or whether or not the world finds the dysfunctioning of someone else’s family is like that train wreck we don’t want to turn away from. Various spectators have aired their disrespect for Charlie Sheen’s actions in respect of boasting about his supernatural abilities. Whereas some feel that CBS took the right direction in stopping the production of the shows for his utterances, others feel that Sheen’s actions related to the abuse of several women is the greater sin. I personally thought Charlie Sheen was made for this role and vice versa considering the spring board from when he replaced Michael J Fox in Spin City. I was sad to see Michael Fox leave but became quickly sold on the very first episode with Charlie Sheen as was most of America. You saw it there in his Spin City Charlie Crawford role which developed into his Charlie Harper role which just maybe was the real life problem of Charlie Sheen trying to live up to his on screen persona. Wholesome and naà ¯ve TV sitcoms themselves from Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver have grown and matured and even festered over the many years since the 19 50s and we can see that same festering path in Charlie Sheen’s life.