Sitcoms give us a chance to relax, let go of reality and experience some obliging belly laughs. Let's dig a bit deeper into the dynamics of the characters to decipher how these shows provide viewers with the benefits of stress relief.
Many sitcoms feature a control freak - often a man - who strives to be the center of his Universe. One or more victims revolve around this character and are the brunt of his jokes and putdowns. A counterbalancing force, a nemesis, is often show to preserve the control freak in check.
Two and a Half Men is a perfect example. Charlie is the self-centered, control freak who uses sex appeal, money and an sinister self confidence to control his brother and the plethora of women in his life. Alan doesn't have a chance against Charlie. He's divorced and broke, with no station to live and indecent self fancy. This up-down relationship provides lots of laughs, mainly at Alan's expense.
distinguished of the fun in sitcoms stems from the battle between the control freak and his nemeses. Jake, Charlie's nephew, ignores his Uncle and prefers to focus on food, games and bodily functions. Berta, the brute of a housekeeper, downsizes Charlie's vast ego every chance she gets. She doesn't give a flip about his sex appeal or money, and refuses to feed his inflated sense of self. By the ruin of each episode, nemesis Berta provokes change in the group dynamics. Charlie temporarily loses control of his finely tuned Universe, and Alan recovers a bit of respect at his brother's expense, only to commence again next week with the same old-fashioned scenario.
Is this an all-too-familiar psychodrama? Of course! In steady life, self-centered people are perennially manipulating us for their occupy honorable. This is what the creators of clear sitcoms have in mind: Each episode presents reality in an exaggerated, comical device, and then the control freak gets his comeuppance. We identify with the characters and their nutty habits, laugh at them and feel a sense of relief. If we can't stick it to the dreadful guy in reality, at least his nemesis does the job for us.
These forces unfold differently in each sitcom, depending on the fresh gifts of our antihero. Larry, The Larry David explain, is a misfit of a personality, socially awkward but immensely successful. This gives him confidence and chutzpah, which he uses to control his now ex-wife Cheryl and agent Jeff. Fortunately, he gets a regular tongue lashing from the expletive-proficient Susie.
The most accepted sitcoms in new history beget exhaust of this psychological triangle in some manner. inspect how this successful formula unfolds: Jerry Seinfeld is a compulsive control freak with a dysfunctional entourage - George and Elaine - who revolve around his fame. In an ironic twist of reality, Kramer - the weirdo - challenges, frustrates and takes advantage of Jerry, and he drives him a limited nuts as well.
In Frasier, the Psychiatrist-turned-radio-personality has a voracious appetite for fame that devours everyone in its path, particularly his brother Niles. Roz and Daphne periodically pick up a bit chewed up as well. But Martin, his blue collar dad, comes to the rescue and persistently punctures his bloated ego.
Everybody Loves Raymond has the same three forces at play: With the encourage of Marie, his doting, manipulative mother, Ray controls his wife Debra and his brother Robert. But he gets his self confidence shattered on a regular basis by Frank, his cranky Italian father.
Control freaks are emotional magnets for the rest of us who lack their grandiose sense of self importance. A helpful sitcom takes advantage of this attraction to connect us to the characters. We crave laughing at their antics because the humor offers a bit of silly relief. This can be a healthy antidote to reality where our struggles with self-centered people are perennially arresting, and not so terribly humorous.
John J. Parrino, Ph. D