Comparing Canadian And American Police Dramas

4. Sound - Identify when sound effects, music and silence were used in the episode and explain the effect of each occurence.


Flashpoint

In the episode we watched, there were quite a bit of tense and nail-biting moments. One example is when one of main characters shot the criminal. In that moment, before the shot was fired the music in the scene kept getting faster and faster the more we drew closer to the shot. Also, there were a lot of people yelling all at once to add to the tension. When the shot was fired you heard a loud bang and after that complete silence for about 5-10 seconds to let the moment sink in. At the beginning of the episode when everything was happy there was just some light, casual music playing. After the shot was fired, the episode took a depressing turn and that was felt through the sound because very slow and sad music started to play to set the mood for the rest of the episode.

The Chicago Code

This show has a more eventful and fast-paced feel than "Flashpoint" but I feel that that is the case with most American shows. Also, I found this show harder to follow because there were 3 or 4 storylines going on with different characters so I found it hard to focus on one thing. This show also used actual songs more than "Flashpoint". An example where this was displayed was in the scene where there was a reported liquor store robbery going on and the male and female officers were standing outside the door as a kind of country/rock song was playing setting the dramatic feel. Another example of dramatic use would be when the black male officer went silent over the radio and the white female officer started to panic when looking for him. In that scene there many sound effects of people moving used as well as creaks in floors and loud thumps to give the scene a sense of tension and panic. For more casual scenes where the the 2 officers spoke to the 2 young boys selling soda, there was a nicer, calmer tone of music played.

There are differences between the 2 shows. "The Chicago Code" is much more dramatic and faster-paced than "Fashpoint". I also feel that "Flashpoint" is more realistic than "The Chicago Code".  I don't think there is anything that makes these shows distinctly "Canadian" or "American" and because of that reason I feel that American audiences would enjoy watching "Flashpoint". Personally, I enjoyed "Flashpoint" a lot more because the storyline was simpler, the show made more sense, it was more realistic and I just like everything about it more overall.

Canadian Content Rules

The task I chose to do was to create one evening of television from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m..

This is the schedule that I have decided on:

6 - 6:30: News
6:30 - 7: Canada's Worst Driver
7 - 10: Hockey Night In Canada (Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens)
10 - 11: The Hour with George Strombolopolous
11 - 12: Dragon's Den


I wanted to start out my evening with some informative television, so I decided to air the daily news at 6 for the first half hour. After that, I wanted to give my audience a much lighter and funnier show to give them something fun to watch after a serious half hour of the news, so I chose to air "Canada's Worst Driver". After the half hour of "Canada's Worst Driver", I want to give my viewers some sports action, so I decided to air "Hockey Night In Canada", along with an all-Canadian hockey rival battle with the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens. After the intense 3 hours of hockey, I wanted to give my audience a little bit of relaxation and downtime, in order to do that, I will air "The Hour with George Strombolopolous", where he basically just talks to guests and about different topics. It is just a really enjoyable hour of television. To finish my audience off for the night, I wanted to air a show that would appeal to all aspects and senses of a person's mind. To do that, I chose the show "Dragon's Den" because it has calm moments to relax, intense moments to get excited and informative and creative moments to get the mind thinking, so it appeals to many audiences. Overall, I just wanted to appeal to many audiences at once and at the end of the night bring them all together for one show.

How difficult was it to complete this assignment?
I found this assignment to actually be not as hard as I first invisioned it to be. It was much easier coming up with the shows I wanted to air then I originally thought it would be. I think the hardest part overall, was choosing what to put in each time slot and explaining why I chose to put it there.


How did you ensure your playlist or schedule would be engaging for a Canadian audience?
I made sure to put all Canadian shows in my broadcast. Also, I made sure to appeal to all different kinds of people with my program scheduling, whether it be sports fanatics, people wanting the news, etc.. Also, I did my best at airing those specific shows in the proper time slots.


Do you think CanCon regulations are necessary? Why or why not?
In a sense, I feel that they are necessary to keep television networks from airing simply whatever they desire, but at the same time, I don't think that we need to have a certain amount of shows being specifically Canadian. If the show is good then the networks will air it, and if it is Canadian then that's just a win-win situation.

Teen Representation On T.V.

The T.V. teenager that I have chosen to compare myself with is Chris Griffin from the show "Family Guy".





1. What are the personality traits of TV teen and how do they compare to your own personality traits?
Chris Griffin is an overweight, self-conscious, awkward and possibly autistic teenager in the popular T.V. series "Family Guy". He is one of the funniest characters on the show due to his very clueless personality and sometimes random glimpses of intellectuality when he gives articulate lectures to his parents. Chris's personality is quite different to mine but in some ways is very much alike. Personally, I don't feel like I'm self-conscious, or too awkward but the one thing Chris and I have in common is our sense of humour and our random exemplars of intelligence. Because of my hyper and wild attitude, people tend to always think that I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but in reality I'm not what people make me out to be. Sure I act like an idiot sometimes, but it doesn't mean I am one. Truly, I'm an intellectual and intelligent person who has many theories and opinions like everyone else and I feel that Chris is the same way.


2. What are TV teen’s parents/siblings like and how do they compare to your own parents/siblings?
Chris's dad Peter is a very idiotic, impulsive, blue-collar working man, while his mother Lois is caring, supportive and always tries to get Peter out of ridiculous situations. She is also known for having a promiscuous side, which led her to having an affair with former president Bill Clinton. Chris's sister Meg is the biggest outcast in the family and everyone always picks on her and makes fun of her about everything. His little brother Stewie, is a sophisticated evil genius, with a sadistic attitude but at times shows his softer side. Unfortunately, I do not have any siblings but in comparison to my parents, they are once again very different but somewhat similar. My mother is a lot like Lois because she is very caring and supportive but can also be strict and disciplinary. However, she isn't as nagging or as crazy as Lois is. My father definitely isn't an overweight idiot, but he is a very funny man. He's a hard worker but also knows how to keep things light.


3. What is TV teen’s school like and how does it compare to YM?
In the show, the school that Chris goes to is James Woods Regional High School. It is a very superficial school and is heavily powered and driven by stereotypes. You have your popular jock guy with his popular cheerleader girlfriend, you have your brace-face nerds, etc.. I would that Chris's school is very much different from York Mills. The kids are much friendlier, much less superficial and definitely much less stereotyped. Of course you still have the bunch that really follow those stereotypes but for the most part everyone is their own person and talks and hangs out with whoever they want to.


4. Who are TV teen’s friends and how do they compare to your own friends?
Chris is a very socially awkward person so he really doesn't have any friends. The closest thing he has to friends are his family and the evil monkey who lives in his closet. When it comes to his family I'd say their relationship is quite odd because he can't understand Stewie, him and Meg don't have the greatest relationship and his parents are both insane in their own way. My friends and family are very supportive, funny, fun to be with and nice, genuine people overall.


5. What issues does TV teen face and how do they compare with the issues you usually face? How are his/her issues usually resolved? How are your issues usually resolved?
Chris deals with issues that most teen guys have to deal with. Acne, girls and his school work. He also has problems with his confidence, specifically pertaining to his weight. The usual way Chris deals with his problems is by running away from them or just being sad and forgetting about it later. The issues I usually face are kind of similar. I do have to deal with acne and of course my school work but I feel that I am fairly confident with myself. The one problem that I face that I'd say Chris doesn't as much is pressure and expectations from his parents to succeed and to succeed greatly. The way I usually deal with my problems is either talking about them with someone close to me and/or doing something to fix it, improve on it or get my mind off of it if nothing can be done at the moment, for example, playing video games or working out.


6. What are the major differences between your life and the life of TV teen?
I would say that major differences have to be with family, school life. There are many ways that Chris and I have similar personality traits but our families and our schools are very different. My family isn't nearly as crazy or split up as his is. I don't have any siblings and my parents aren't insane. When it comes to school life, York Mills is definitely much different from Chris's school. It isn't based as much on stereotypes and social rankings. Most people will talk to each other or at least know each other from someone else. The school environment itself is very different as well. I feel like Chris dreads coming to school everyday because he worries something bad is going to happen to him, whereas the only reason I would ever dread coming to school is if I were very tired or had a test or something like that.


7. What stereotypes does TV teen portray? What stereotypes does TV teen break?
Chris portrays the stereotype of the not-so-smart, awkward kid that no one really wants to talk to or hang out with because they think he's weird. He never really fights back against his enemies and most of the time takes bullying and doesn't retaliate or do anything about it. At the same time, he shows many signs of intelligence and talent through his artistic talents in one episode and his random articulate lectures to his parents on certain theories pertaining to things such as life. So in that sense, he shows that he isn't your normal teen stereotype.


8. If you could live the life of TV teen, would you? Why or why not?
I don't think I would want to live Chris's life. The reasons being because I really enjoy my life, I love the people I associate myself with, I love my family and I wouldn't have my life any other way at the moment. When it comes to Chris's life, there really isn't anything I envy about him or wish I had. I am completely satisfied with my life and wouldn't want to change it or live Chris's life to get away from it.