Essay Example on Live Plays: A Better Alternative Than Movies & TV

While watching a show on television may offer a somewhat realistic feel to the characters, I still believe that watching a live play provides a pleasant experience. Live play actors are often free to improvise on the stage, which creates a lasting impression on the audience. The ability to connect with the audience makes live play a better alternative to me compared to watching a story on television or at the movies.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

I consider movies, plays, and television very beneficial to an individual. The plays and enactments in theaters and television are a great source of entertainment for the viewers. They also provide some information on politics, economy, and societal issues that needs to be addressed, such as gender equality and racism. However, I believe that excessive consumption of television can result in people spending less time interacting with other people or even having a social life.

I selected the show Mixed-ish for several reasons. One of them is because the show addresses modern-day societal problems. The show also has an array of themes that give the show more character. The third reason is the play setting which utilizes different eras that had different societal constructs.

The opening scene begins by introducing Johnson's family (an upper-middle-class family living in the suburbs) sitting in their living room, preparing to watch a movie (Breakin'). The sitcom introduces us to Rainbow, who is the protagonist of the show. When she tells her husband, she hasn't seen the movie, he reacts and asks her how she ever survived her childhood. The question leads to a flashback of Rainbow's childhood back in the 80s.

Rainbow Jackson is the main protagonist of the show, where she offers an insight into her upbringing as a mixed-race child in a family where the father (Paul Jackson) was Caucasian, and her mother (Alicia Jackson) was a negro. Both Paul and Alicia facilitate the play as supporting characters reinforcing the theme of racism throughout the play. From the play, there is an internal consistency in which the characters play. Rainbow's role highlights the difficulties of a mixed-race individual in fitting in society. The same applies to Alicia, who also finds challenges in adapting to corporate America as a negro. However, the scriptwriters have developed Paul less as he seems to have less of a role in the sit-com coming from a wealthy family. It seems the show places more focus on Rainbow and her mother facing their daily challenges and the scriptwriters have relegated Rainbow's father as a secondary character to the show.

The plot makes sense as it tries to address the themes of racial discrimination in the 80s and also cultural identity. Rainbow faces conflicts I trying to fit into her school. Her conflict is whether to change herself to fit in or change society to accept her. Alicia also faces conflict at work on whether to confront the system that favors her less or wok hard to change people's perception towards her. In the end, Rainbow chooses to change society to accept her while Alicia opts to work hard and prove the system wrong.

The storyline has taught me to go against the saying "if you can't beat them join them" and instead focus on working to change people's views and making your opinions heard. The television shows that our culture has evolved to be more accepting of some issues such as mixed-race and gender equality. However, some of the issues still not addressed, such as racism which continues to plague the world to date.

The show employs good lighting and camera angles to provide more focus on the characters and their actions. There is less music in the show, which is less of a distraction and allows more focus on what the characters are saying. Also, the setting is reminiscent of the 80s which the directors have done an excellent job in highlighting.