私立华联学院：《英文报刊阅读》课程教学资源（电子教案）Passage 14 Sitcoms mine the hardships of young adults worldwide（美剧《老友记》经典二十年）

Passage 14 Passage 14 Sitcoms mine the hardships of young adults worldwide Shows like Friends explore the timeless struggles young adults face once they take their first steps into adult life. Friends,aired in 1994-2004,10 seasons total Fun facts: In the US.the final episode drew one of the biggest TV audiences of all time with 52.5 million tuning in.By the end of the show the cast members 115

Passage 14 1 / 5 Passage 14 Sitcoms mine the hardships of young adults worldwide Shows like Friends explore the timeless struggles young adults face once they take their first steps into adult life. Friends, aired in 1994-2004, 10 seasons total Fun facts: In the US, the final episode drew one of the biggest TV audiences of all time with 52.5 million tuning in. By the end of the show the cast members

Passage 14 were commanding fees ofsI million per episode How to describe them? Rachel:spoilt daddy'sgirl Monica:obsessive fusspot Phoebe:hippy-dippy Ross:dinosaur nerd Joey:hunky dimwit Chandler:sarcastic screw-up If a sitcom that lasts for 10 years is considered popular,then surely one that still stirs up emotions after 20 must be considered a classic. Friends first aired in the US in 1994,featuring a cast of six young men and women in New York.In the time since,it's become one of the most famous titles in the sitcom genre,aired in over 100 countries and regions in the world. The show is *iconic among those who grew up in the 1990s because it explores core themes like friendship,struggling to survive in a big city, and finding independence and identity,all of which are still relevant to youngaudiences today Against the backdrop of the Internet age,*techies who were once 2/5

Passage 14 2 / 5 were commanding fees of $1 million per episode. How to describe them? Rachel: spoilt daddy’s girl Monica: obsessive fusspot Phoebe: hippy-dippy Ross: dinosaur nerd Joey: hunky dimwit Chandler: sarcastic screw-up If a sitcom that lasts for 10 years is considered popular, then surely one that still stirs up emotions after 20 must be considered a classic. Friends first aired in the US in 1994, featuring a cast of six young men and women in New York. In the time since, it’s become one of the most famous titles in the sitcom genre, aired in over 100 countries and regions in the world. The show is *iconic among those who grew up in the 1990s because it explores core themes like friendship, struggling to survive in a big city, and finding independence and identity, all of which are still relevant to young audiences today. Against the backdrop of the Internet age, *techies who were once

Passage 14 *marginalized and *mocked have experienced a *revival due to the popularity of hit show The Big Bang Theory,in which four nerds make an attempt at livingon a college campus. At the same time,Gossip Girl,sporting a young cast of New Yorkers born with silver spoons in their mouths,demonstrates the difficulties *upper-crust*adolescents experience. Although these iconic TV shows span a wide timeline and feature a variety ofthemes,they all have a universal core.Love,money,friendship, career aspirations and identity are things all young people struggle to understand.In this package,we analyze three TV shows featuring groups of young people in order to tease out the social and cultural reasons for their continued appeal. FRIENDS This is a story about six friends with *precarious love lives who spend their days sitting in a cafe sipping coffee from oversized mugs Who'd have thought this premise would go on to become one of the most influential sitcoms ofall time? 315

Passage 14 3 / 5 *marginalized and *mocked have experienced a *revival due to the popularity of hit show The Big Bang Theory, in which four nerds make an attempt at living on a college campus. At the same time, Gossip Girl, sporting a young cast of New Yorkers born with silver spoons in their mouths, demonstrates the difficulties *upper-crust *adolescents experience. Although these iconic TV shows span a wide timeline and feature a variety of themes, they all have a universal core. Love, money, friendship, career aspirations and identity are things all young people struggle to understand. In this package, we analyze three TV shows featuring groups of young people in order to tease out the social and cultural reasons for their continued appeal. FRIENDS This is a story about six friends with *precarious love lives who spend their days sitting in a cafe sipping coffee from oversized mugs. Who’d have thought this premise would go on to become one of the most influential sitcoms of all time?

Passage 14 Twenty-something show According to Brett Mills,senior lecturer in film and television studies at the University of East Anglia in the UK,Friends was the first sitcom that directly addressed the problems faced by twenty-somethings Watching the show feels like reading the story ofa young person's life. "The key thing about Friends is that it's about people working out how they are going to live their lives-what kind of relationships are they going to have,what kind of job,and the difficulties of settling down,"says Mills to the Daily Mail."You're engaged in all those questions about escaping from your family,becoming an adult and workingout what you want to be." And that's one ofthe key issues in the youth culture ofthe 1990s. Friends count too It is also argued that Friends came about as the family unity of small-town America was being replicated in major urban centers as young people migrated without the maturity or streetsmarts to live alone.Before Friends,sitcoms tended to focus on family dynamics,with parents being the central characters.But when young people strike out on their own in the big city,who do they have for support?They must rely on each other 415

Passage 14 4 / 5 Twenty-something show According to Brett Mills, senior lecturer in film and television studies at the University of East Anglia in the UK, Friends was the first sitcom that directly addressed the problems faced by twenty-somethings. Watching the show feels like reading the story of a young person’s life. “The key thing about Friends is that it’s about people working out how they are going to live their lives — what kind of relationships are they going to have, what kind of job, and the difficulties of settling down,” says Mills to the Daily Mail. “You’re engaged in all those questions about escaping from your family, becoming an adult and working out what you want to be.” And that’s one of the key issues in the youth culture of the 1990s. Friends count too It is also argued that Friends came about as the family unity of small-town America was being replicated in major urban centers as young people migrated without the maturity or streetsmarts to live alone. Before Friends, sitcoms tended to focus on family dynamics, with parents being the central characters. But when young people strike out on their own in the big city, who do they have for support? They must rely on each other

Passage 14 to endure through the overwhelming confusionofyouth Still relevant Most of Friends was shot before cellular phones and Google were ubiquitous.The clothes and gadgets seem a bit outdated these days. Despite this,the show's key elements still hold up remarkably well in the eyes ofyoung viewers. The issues addressed in friends-relationships,careers,and friendship-continue to be relevant to today's youth. In 2011,some seven years after the last season of Friends,over 36 million tuned into Comedy Central,a UK satellite TV channel,to watch the show.The main demographic for this channel is 16 to 34 year olds, and viewing figures spiked during holidays,when extra episodes are also shown. The show's sense of humor remains keen without relying on nudity, swearing and sexting.This gives the show a refreshing aura in an age where shows are constantly trying to push the envelope in terms of racy content. 515

Passage 14 5 / 5 to endure through the overwhelming confusion of youth. Still relevant Most of Friends was shot before cellular phones and Google were ubiquitous. The clothes and gadgets seem a bit outdated these days. Despite this, the show’s key elements still hold up remarkably well in the eyes of young viewers. The issues addressed in friends — relationships, careers, and friendship —continue to be relevant to today’s youth. In 2011, some seven years after the last season of Friends, over 36 million tuned into Comedy Central, a UK satellite TV channel, to watch the show. The main demographic for this channel is 16 to 34 year olds, and viewing figures spiked during holidays, when extra episodes are also shown. The show’s sense of humor remains keen without relying on nudity, swearing and sexting. This gives the show a refreshing aura in an age where shows are constantly trying to push the envelope in terms of racy content