Historical Text

Hour Magazine - "Our Miss Brooks" Cast Reunion - 1985!

Our Miss Brooks : TV series 1952-1956
Director: William Asher
Writer: Bob Weiskopf (writer)
Genre:Comedy / Family

Plot summary: Miss Brooks teaches English at Madison High, rents a room from Mrs. Davis, gets rides to school with student Walter, fights with Principal Conklin, and tries to snag shy biology teacher Boynton. In the last year she switches to Mrs. Nestor's private school.

Awards:Won Primetime Emmy. Another 6 nominations :
1956
Nominated
Emmy
Best Actress - Continuing Performance Eve Arden

1955
Nominated
Emmy
Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series Eve Arden
Best Situation Comedy Series
Best Supporting Actor in a Regular Series Gale Gordon

1954
Won
Emmy
Best Female Star of Regular Series Eve Arden
Nominated
Emmy
Best Situation Comedy

1953
Nominated
Emmy
Best Situation Comedy

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044287/

OUR MISS BROOKS
U.S. Situation Comedy
The successful 1950s sitcom Our Miss Brooks was, heart and soul, actor Eve Arden. A Hollywood film and New York stage veteran, Arden specialized in playing the wisecracking friend to the heroine. She often did it better than anyone else, achieving her greatest success with an Oscar nomination for 1945's Mildred Pierce. But Arden's skill with the wicked one-liner and acid aside was beginning to lead to typecasting. To find a new image, Arden signed on for the radio comedy role of Connie Brooks, English teacher at fictional Madison High School, a smart and sharp-witted--but ever-likable--character. And unlike most of her film roles, radio offered her the lead.
Beginning on radio in 1948, Our Miss Brooks was successfully transferred to television beginning in 1952 (it ran on both media, with largely the same cast, for several months in 1952). Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks doted on nerdish student Walter Denton, and frequently locked horns with crusty, cranky principal Mr. Conklin. Many of the program's episodes, however, revolved around Miss Brook's unrequited desire for Philip Boynton, the school's biology teacher. In this way Miss Brooks was the beginning of a long list of TV spinsters, to be followed by Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp) on The Beverly Hillbillies.
The program had enjoyed good ratings on radio and only enlarged its audience when it moved to TV. And while some professional educators criticized the series, others celebrated Miss Brooks and Arden's work: she got teaching job offers, fan letters from educators, was made an honorary member of the National Education Association and, in 1952, was given an award from the Alumni Association of the Teachers College of Connecticut for "humanizing the American Teacher." Said Arden of her on-screen alter ego: "I tried to play Miss Brooks as a loving person who cared about the kids and kept trying to keep them out of trouble, but kept getting herself in trouble."
Obviously, Miss Brooks encountered enough trouble to sustain the series for over 150 episodes, but, unlike many other female comics on TV at that time, Miss Brooks' forte was not the wild antics that were the norm of Lucy or the lopsided logic that was the domain of Gracie Allen. Instead, Miss Brooks humor was achieved by her own sharp, observing wit and by her centered presence in the midst of a group of eccentric supporting players--dimwitted, squeaky-voiced student Walter, pompous Conklin, and the others. Miss Brooks was always the source of the jokes, not the butt of them.
In 1955, ratings were beginning to wane, and the series was overhauled. Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin were moved out of Madison High to Mrs. Nestor's Private Elementary School. For a time there was no Mr. Boynton for whom Miss Brooks would pine, but there was a muscle-bound PE teacher, Mr. Talbot, who longed for Miss Brooks. This was an important turnabout in the overall premise of the show: now Miss Brooks was the pursued rather than the pursuer. (Mr. Boynton did turn up again in early 1956 just in time for the series to be canceled; in a film version of the series released by Warner Brothers in 1956, Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton finally did tie the knot and presumably lived happily ever after.)

Connie Brooks was one of TV's noblest working women: the center of a highly successful show, toiling in a realistically portrayed, and unglamorized career (Miss Brooks often made mention of how low her wages were), and rewarded and honored by real workers whom she represented. While she was not quite as "no nonsense"--nor so tough--as film's prominent working women (Rosiland Russell, Joan Crawford), Connie Brooks, with her tart tongue, brisk manner, her sharply cut jackets and slim skirts, was just about as savvy as women were allowed to be on TV in the 1950s. And despite Miss Brooks desire to become "Mrs." Something--and despite the fact that she was never promoted to school principal--Our Miss Brooks legacy in TV history is that it dared to depict a woman, funny, attractive, wise, competent and working--outside the home, marriage, and children.

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/O/htmlO/ourmissbroo/ourmissbroo.htm

Radio Shows:

Project X (1955-03-06): Miss Brooks is saved from falling down an open esculator by Jason Brill (rival of principle). To get promoted the principle has started project X - where he has formed a device which allows him to lishen in on students and teachers in the school anywhere. Various characters also stage accidents in order to allow the principle to become a hero and get promted.

Writing Magazines Articles- With Aliases (1955-04-17) : Miss Brooks along with the principle pretend to be someone else and write articles in order to recieve money from a magazine. Both use Walton and pretend he is their son.

http://www.freeotrshows.com/otr/o/Our_Miss_Brooks.html (has all the radio shows)

There are major similarities and differences between Ugly Betty and Our Miss Brooks:

• Similar : Protagonist of both have low paid/low status jobs- miss brooks is a english teacher which is typcially a female subject and an assistant role is usually viewed as a female role.
• Similar: the principle is a male and so is the boss of Betty , so both reflect and reinforce patriarchy
• Differences: genre -ugly betty is a hybrid of comedy and drama etc, although it is a sitcom , it has elements of other genres whereas Our Miss Brooks is clearly a sitcom and nothing more. Ugly Betty is trying to be different due to all the competition, as Our Miss Brooks was the first office sitcoms so it did not have to compete for audiences.
• Differences: the narrative is more complex in Ugly Betty as well as dealing with day to day problems, some continue to the next episode whereas Our Miss Brooks just deals with the problems within each episode.
• The change in genre and narrative reflects the change in society and shows firstly how complex society has become. Society has modernized and we are in the post- modern period where there is choice and varied options. Moreover, the complex narratives etc reflect a more active audience whereas before the audience was more passive.
• Difference: Betty is shown to be Mexican whereas the characters in Our Miss Brooks are white, which reflects how society has changed, become more muticultural and diverse.
• Difference: Miss Brooks is shown to be pretty whereas Betty is not- again the idea of being different and reflecting issues concerning image etc.
• Similar: Although Miss Brooks was the first independent female, the fact that shes at teacher does not take her away from gender roles, as she teachs children and although she is single, she fulfuils her nurturing mother role, this is the same with Betty as she has a motherly role as she looks out for Daniel.

Useful Books:

Hamamoto, Darrell Y. : Nervous Laughter: Television Situation Comedy and Liberal Demoncratic Ideology, 1980, Praeger publishers, New York

Moore,Barbara , Bensman, Marvin R. ,Dyker,Jim Van: Prime-Time Television: A Concise History, 2006, praeger publishers

http://www.themediamademecrazy.com/papers-projects/usc-critical-studies/single-city-girl

Summary of Mulvey

Mulvey uses ideas from Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and Lucan’s theory and applies them to Hollywood films via a feminist perspective.

Hollywood films are a narrative cinema and the narrative is usually told via a male perspective, hence the protagonist tends to be male. The audiences being male or female are positioned to identify and idealize the male hero, as they see a perfect version of themselves which generates narcissism, as the idealized version of us is reflected via the hero.

Freud refers to scopophilia as the pleasure involved in looking at other peoples bodies as (particularly erotic) objects. Mulvey argues that the viewing conditions of cinema facilitate for the viewer both the voyeuristic process of objectification of the female characters. The fact the females are objectified via the ‘Male Gaze’ and are passive characters reflects patriarchy and the media creates misogyny through objectification of women.

Freud argues the men unconsciously see women as castrated and this causes them to feel anxiety which is why fertishization objects are used in order to reduce anxiety.

Moreover, women have penis envy so they use phallic objects which act as a symbolism of power and dominance.


How this relates to my study:

The theory is challenged as Betty being the main protagonist is a female so in some ways it doesn’t reflect patriarchy. Therefore the audience identify with betty.

The voyeuristic idea can be linked as the characters do not know they are being watched and so can the idea of the objectification of women, as some of them are objectified yet this is also challenged as such are not.

The fact ugly betty is predominantly aimed at females means it will challenge this theory more than reinforce it.

Laura Mulvey: male gaze

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html

10 key words

1) alternative comedy- a form of comedy, often experimental, that challenges mainstream values and expectations, first developed in radio programmes and then on tv.
useful:ugly betty does challenge mainstream values by making betty 'ugly' and by having different people such as Marc (gay guy).

2)Amercian Dream-a cultural myth based on the belief that the USA is the land of opportunity and promise where anyone who works hard can achieve all the good things in life.
useful: this is shown as Wilhemina is shown to be a self-made women and the setting glamourises America. However, the fact that Daniel has not achieved his job and only got it because of his father demonstrates the reality and emphaizes that the american dream is in fact a myth.

3)anti-climax- a point in the narrative, following the climax or emotional high point, which lets down or deflates the experience, leaving the viewer with a sense of disappointment.
useful: Santos being shot is when the narrative reaches an anti-climax as all the issues he and Hilda had been resolved and they where to get married, bet he dies.

4)camp-a comic performance where characteristics are exaggerated to the point of absurdity for comic effect.
useful: camp representations of homosexuality via Marc's character as he's shown to be very feminine
also camp representations of females as Amanda is shown to be an extremely ditzy woman.

5)common sense- a term coined by Antonio Gramsci to decribe the consensus in public opinion that forms around topics of social ,political and economic concern in the line with the ideology of the dominant class, as represented by the media.
useful:socially-if a male is feminine it is assumed he is gay

6)lowbrow- decribing media texts of low intellectual content, designed primarily for light entertainment
useful: due to characters such as Marc and Amanda and the minor storylines, the audiences are not required to think that much

7)highbrow- term used to describe media texts with a demanding intellectual content and requiring specialist knowledge to be understood.
useful: although some elements of ugly betty seem to be lowbrow, it can be said that some of the light entertainment is underpinned by serious issues such as the fact that Marc is gay provides entertainment, yet theirs a serious side to the way it is viewed as he doesnt tell his family

8)Lippmann, Walter- US political philosopher who, in Public Opinion (1922) and The Phantom Public (1925), raised doubts about the possibility of developing a true democracy in a complex media-dominated society, where elite groups manipulate the masses . He sees stereotypes as simplistic and negative.
useful: within Mode, there is not a democratic enviroment and as Mode is a magazine, it does manipulate people within the show, and ugly betty manipulates its audiences.

9)long shot- a distance shot where the camera is a long way from the subject being filmed
useful: usually used to show the setting as New York -makes it seem busy, lively etc.

10)New Man- a term used to describe a new type of masculinity identified and developed by advertising media in the 1980s.
useful: Daniel can be viewed as a new man in ugly betty.

Blog Buddy meeting...

In our meeting, me and Tanya discussed the following things:

• how the roles of women have changed and adapted to reflect modern society
• theorist which will be useful for both of us
• some useful books
• social context- issues that can be linked to our studies

http://watchingamerica.com/eltiempo000030.shtml
useful website on ugly betty and it links it to the social context

Translating the Telenovela:Genre, and Scheduling

In terms of international television, American network programming has traditionally been viewed as an export, where programming flowed in a one-way direction from the United States to other countries. In recent seasons, however, American networks are seeing some interesting success in what’s being imported instead. Shows like The Office, from British version of the same name, and Ugly Betty, from the Colombian Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, have become distinct hits with American audiences. These shows aren’t reproduced exactly as they were in their countries of origin, though; they have been re-casted, rewritten, and reworked for American viewers. This process of “Americanization” provides an interesting site for analysis.
Ugly Betty is an especially interesting case, because ABC and executive producers Salma Hayek and Silvio Horta did not just have to “Americanize” the show, they had to do it without alienating the Hispanic viewers, a large contingent of whom were already familiar with the original Betty La Fea and the telenovela genre. Hayek and Horta’s team clearly utilized a multitude of both blatant and inconspicuous techniques to achieve this cross-over success, but the most basic change – the time and length of the program – is perhaps the largest contributing factor to the embrace it’s received from American viewers.
Like most telenovelas, the original Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, aired weekdays in 30-minute episodes in a finite strip. Early signs hinted towards ABC following this telenovela format with Ugly Betty and airing it as a daily strip during the summer. However, when ABC actually commissioned the show, it was slotted as an hour-long weekly to air in the fall, in primetime. [1] Making Ugly Betty an hour-long dramedy with a budget of $2 to $3 million per episode[2] was the first and perhaps largest step in translating Ugly Betty for American audiences. The dramedy format and the budget takes the show and puts it in a language viewers are used to seeing on television: cinematic production values, elaborate sets, multiple filming locations, and elevated or accelerated dramatic narrative, a style particularly evident in shows like Desperate Housewives and Boston Legal. In fact, shows like Desperate Housewives and Boston Legal, whose over-the-top mix of serial drama and comedy created an endearing quirkiness with viewers, are in part what helped Ugly Betty translate so easily – the hour-long dramedy formula is what allowed Ugly Betty to retain much of the exaggerated drama of the telenovela while adapting to American television.
In addition to adapting Ugly Betty as a dramedy, changing it to a weekly and placing it on Thursday nights near other hour-long dramedies (although Grey’s Anatomy is now much more of a true drama than the dramedy it was in its first two seasons) also helped translate Ugly Betty for American audiences. As a lead-in for Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty had the opportunity to garner the attention of the primarily female audience that already tunes in to watch Grey’s. The two shows back-to-back have helped make Thursday nights a “chick-flick” destination and served as the ratings powerhouse for ABC. If Ugly Betty had remained a daily strip, it would be airing every weekday, most likely next to and up against a different show every night. It would have had to stand on its own without the anchoring of an already immensely popular show and bring viewers back to the same show every day, which might have proved much more difficult. The hour-long, weekly dramedy format made Ugly Betty a much easier show for viewers to warm up to, as they didn’t have to tune in every day to see what was going on.
It’s difficult to postulate whether or not Ugly Betty would have had as much success as a half-hour sitcom or even half-hour American telenovela. News Corp. Ltd’s MyNetworkTV has aired English-language telenovelas Desire and Fashion House, which stay very much in line with the traditional telenovela genre, but has not seen much success with either show.[3],[4] The success of translating Betty into a dramedy certainly does not say that telenovelas will never be successful on American television. Instead, it may just be the beginning of bridging the divide between Hispanic-market television and mass-market American television. As Buena Vista International Television Senior Vice President Fernando Barbosa recently said ,
“One of the big stories this year, obviously, was finally getting a successful script from Latin America exported to the U.S. — which was ‘Betty la fea’ (ABC’s “Ugly Betty”). Even so, they took a telenovela script and adapted to a U.S. genre as opposed to keeping the telenovela format. Having said that, ‘Ugly Betty’ was a great triumph for Latin America. It will take a little time for U.S. producers to capture the essence of the genre, but it will happen, little by little.”[5]

http://smutube.wordpress.com/2007/02/27/translating-the-telenovela-ugly-betty-genre-and-scheduling/

Bibliography: Books

Author Surname, Author First Name (year of publication): Title. Place of Publication: Publisher

1) Maltby,Richard (1994):Popular Culture In The Twentieth Century, Grange Books
This book is useful because it discusses how fashion has changed and in particular how magazines and media promote fashion, and in ugly betty, the workplace is shown to be Mode magazines -which represents the fashion world.
2) Hollows, Joanne (2000): Feminism, Femininity and Popluar Culture, Manchester university press
useful: shows the feminist perspective-again focussed on the fashion side which is most relevent, shows how some feminist think remaining natural and rejecting fashion makes a statement, as then you are considered less feminine- this is vital as betty is shown to be natural and does not embrace the fashion world, hence she is an outcast.
3)Bennett,Peter ,Slater,Jerry ,Wall, Peter (2006): A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, Routledge
useful: has some info on marxism and their perspective on capitalism and the expliotation of the working class, which links to my topic because betty does represent the working class and the programmes setting is New York which is a capitalist society. It also has lots on the male gaze (laura Mulvey)
4)Branston,Gill ,Stafford,Roy: the Media Student's Book second edtion
useful: marxism theory in detail and about ideological state apparatus.
5) O'Sullivan,Tim, Jewkes,Yvonne (1997-reprinted in 2004): The Media Studies Reader,Arnold, Edward
useful: about the female state mysterious and has some info on career women representations.
6)Moore,Stephen,Aiken,Dave,Chapman,Steve (2005): SociologyAS , collins
useful: talks about how there are a limited range of roles for women, as well as all the theorist.
7)Lawson,Tony, Jones,Marsha,Moores,Ruth (2000): Advanced Sociology through diagrams ,Great Clarendon street,Oxford, Oxford university press
useful: has info on feminism, marxism and case studies. It also features some info on the post-modern view as well as sterotypes.
8)Gauntlett,David (2002): Media,Gender and Identity An Introduction, New Fetter lane, london, Routledge
useful: has many theorist and has studies which can be linked to my study. The book explores how the representations have changed from the past.
9) Price,John,Nicholas,Joe (2003):AS Media Studies,Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes Ltd
useful: has info on gender representations and fashion. Also features things on the narrative thoerist.
10)Bryson, Valerie (1999): Feminist Debates. Hong Kong: Macmillan Press LTD.
useful: its about feminist debates and mentions the political representation of women as well as info on how society challenges gender inequalities.

Blog Buddies-task 9

A short summary of Tanya's study:
It's about how and why the representation of Women has changed in the British soap opera "Eastenders"?

Areas of overlap between each study (texts, topics, issues, debates)
Both of our studies are looking at the representation of women and we will both be looking at the same theorist (feminism etc). There are many different female characters in eastenders that are similar to the characters in ugly betty.

What you've each learned from looking at each other's study that might be useful
There's lots of useful information on Tanya's blog- most of the information on wider context is really useful especially the bit about fashion and how it came about and the idea of the 'new woman'. Also, Tanya's done lots of book research and these books will be useful to me. There's lots of theorist i can use as well.

A short summary of Karundeep's study:
To what extent have women’s roles changed in films, paying particular reference to Kill Bill Vol2 and catwoman

Areas of overlap between each study (texts, topics, issues, debates)
Both of our study's are of the representation of women so we will both be looking at feminism and the role of women and how they have changed.

What you've each learned from looking at each other's study that might be useful
There's some uiseful information on Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze and about gender roles.

10 key words

1) Alienation: marxist term for the emotional separation of workers from the product of their own labour as a result of complex mass production processes.
useful: many charcters are shown to be alienated

2)Angle: the point of view adopted by a journalist in relation to a story.
useful: low angled shots are used to many characters look powerful

3) channel 4: independet commercial channel
useful: ugly betty is shown on channel 4

4) connotation: a meaning attributable to an image beyond the obvious denotational level.
useful: there are many connotations in ugly betty

5)male gaze: term used by Laura Mulvey to describe what she saw as the male point of view adopted by camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience.
useful: females are seen as objects which links with the male gaze.

6) scheduling: the pratice of placing programmes on television in such a way to meet the expectation of particular audiences and to maxinise viewing and figures.
useful: ugly betty is scheduled to come on at 9pm which is after watershed hours.

7)series: a television narrative that presents self-contained weekly episodes using a recurring set of characters.
Useful: ugly betty comes on every fridays.

Self-Directed Research links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Horta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AmericaFerreraGoldenGlobe.jpg

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0002958.cfm

http://newsbusters.org/node/11039

http://audreybrashich.blogs.com/audrey_brashich/2006/10/is_ugly_betty_a.html

http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/2465

http://ramonthomas.com/ugly-betty-now-in-south-africa-is-an-ugly-role-model/

http://guanabee.com/2007/09/glamour-asks-what-its-like-to.php

http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/02/27/is-it-me-or-is-ugly-betty-de-uglifying-a-bit/

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/arts/television/28heff.html?_r=1&ex=1189396800&en=d7ad26ac27afb21f&ei=5070&oref=slogin

http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2567983.ece

http://www.keltawebconcepts.com.au/ewommed1.htmwebsite link for feminist and the media

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-09-25-devil-vs-betty_x.htm

1. SELF EVALUATION
Effort : 2 – this is because I have put a lot of effort into the work I have done.
Punctuality :2 – I am in most of the time with an exception of a couple of lessons.
Submission and quality of homework: 2- I have done all the h/w set so far and it is done to the best of my ability.
Ability to work independently: 2- I have done lots of work on my own and it is posted up on the blog.
Quality of writing :2- I think I express myself well and I also try to use all the media terminology.
Organisation of Media folder :1- I have all the handouts etc in a folder which is up to date.
Oral contributions in class :3- I haven’t contributed as much as I could.
Standard of Module 5 blog: 1- it is very colorful and has lots of detailed work which is the h/w as well as the independent work I have done. It also has images and clips form youtube which are relevant.
Standard of Module 6 blog: 2- I have done all the h/w and have also added extra stories.
b. Make a list of three achievements (www) and three targets/areas for improvement (ebi) over the next half-term.
www:
All the task set have been done in great detail which should help with my independent study
The things I have found on my own are all relevant and useful
I have put up images and clips from youtube which make the blog look interesting.

Ebi:
I could add more wider context- as in more text which relate to my study
I could do more wider context stuff
Contribute more in class

detailed analysis

As this is the last episode of season 2, there is lots of tension, cliff-hangers and all the major storylines are interweaved together.
Firstly, the audience are shown Amanda and Christina and the mise-en-scene is Fay’s chamber. Low key lighting is used as it’s very dim and dark, which reinforces the connotations of the chamber being full of secrets and very mysterious. The secret chamber is unknown to everyone, yet the fact that Amanda and Christina have found it hints that some of the secrets will be unravelled. Amanda and Christina are shown to be drunk which relates to wider context because nowadays, females are seen to be binge drinking more.
A long shot is used to show Queens and then a cut is used to show Santos in a local corner shop which is important as it sets the scene. Santos is represented as a good supportive father at this point because he is looking for something for his son. The fact that the shopkeeper is Asian (Indian?) is quite stereotypical as Asian people are usually seen to have small businesses. This stereotype creates familiarity for the audience and to an extent makes the show more realistic.
When the gun is pointed at Santos, the audience are sutured into the narrative via a reverse shot-showing a close up of the shooter and the gun (the image is blurred of the shooter whereas the gun is shown clearly with a sharp focus) and then a cut is used to show Santos facial expression of panic. The camera slowly zooms in showing a close up of his face allowing the audience to capture his emotions. At this point, the music is parallel and is dramatic creating a tense and panicky atmosphere as the music helps to build the tension, as the binary opposition is created (between Santos and the shooter). Moreover, this scene does link to social context as gun crime is a social issue and it is also a economical issue, because Queens is shown to be a deprived area so the people commit crimes which shows their desperation for money. Therefore, this shop robbery relates to the wider context.
While the last scene is left with a cliff-hanger, the next shows Christina and Amanda trying to break into a safe.
The most dramatic storyline is Santos death as the shots are mainly interweaved with his son Justin. Justin is shown to be in a school play ‘West Side Story’ and while Justin is singing, a sound bridge is used to show the other storylines. Daniel’s mother is shown to be escaping from a prison van.
Moreover, a long shot is used to show a long, isolated road which is dark, and the car is out of Alexis’s control (due to the fault in the brakes). The car goes out of sight showing only the road and Alexis says ‘Oh my God’ and the audience hear a crash. The use of this diegetic sound helps to anchor the meaning as we don’t see the crash, we hear it. Daniel is shown to be drugged and this links to wider context as there is a misuse of drugs.

ugly betty- end of season 1 finale episode

Ugly Betty - [Season 2 Preview] Las Pasiones de Betty

10 useful words

Antagonist: the principal opposing figure or villain in the narrative.
Useful: Wilhelmina is the antagonist.

Capitalism: an economic system in which the production and distribution of the goods and services in society is organized via a free market for the purpose of maximizing profit.
Useful: ugly Betty’s setting is New York and in mode building, the structure is a capitalist one (dog eat dog world)

Dominant Ideology: the belief system that serves the interest of the dominant ruling elite within society generally accepted as common sense by the majority and reproduced in mainstream media texts.
Useful: the dominant ideology is shown in ugly Betty as she does not ‘fit in’- her way of speaking, her appearance, her culture etc is all different and her class is shown to be lower than the people at mode.

Enigma Code: a narrative structure that involves the creation of riddles or problems solved by the resolution.
Useful: many enigmas created in ‘Ugly Betty’ which are either resolved in the end or in the next episode.

Hybrid: a cross between one film genre and another.
Useful: ‘Ugly Betty’ is a hybrid of romance and comedy.

Mulvey Laura: feminist academic and media and film critic, responsible for developing theories of the male gaze.
Useful: some female characters are sex objects and this relates to this theorist who talks about the ‘male gaze’.

Parody: the imitation of one media text by another for comic effect.
Useful: News is shown to be over-dramatic and this creates a comic effect.

Protagonist: the leading character or hero in a film with whom the audience can identify with and from whose point of view the action is positioned.
Useful: Betty is the protagonist.

Stereotype: the social classification of a group of people by identifying common characteristics and universally applying them in an often oversimplified and generalized way.
Useful: most of the characters are stereotypes of a particular group of people- for instance Marc is shown to be a ‘typical gay’. Stereotypes are used to create humor.

Celebrity: an individual who has become the focus of the media attention and is therefore widely known and recognized by the public.
Useful: America (who plays Betty) has become well known for her role as Ugly Betty and the show does tend to use celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Lucy Lu.

10 del.ici.ous Links

1) Worrying about fat is a feminine issue http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml;jsessionid=54EHAN1CKF2OVQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/portal/2007/10/08/ftdiet108.xml This links to my study because it deals with weight issues and 'Ugly Betty' is about image and reflects society.

2) Gender
http://mediaknowall.com/gender.html

This links to my study because it has Representations of Femininity which is important as it is questionable if betty (the protagonist) is feminine or not.

3) From sex object to sexual subject
http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=163

This relates to my study as it talks about females representations in the media and as talks about feminist groups- which is relate as my study is on the representations of females.

4) Size zero cast aside as dance shapes up
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/dance/story/0,,2057286,00.html
Although this article is more about dancers, it also features some relevant information about fashion models and their body image. This relates to my study because the narrative is set in the fashion world hence it will help me when talking about social context.
5) Sex and the City
http://sexinthecity06.blogspot.com/
This is relevant to my study as there is analysis on the representation of women and is similar to my text. It also has information on the male gaze which can also be linked to my study.
6) The Male Gaze
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html
This links to my study because the male gaze is vital when looking at the representations of females.
7) Charlies Angels
http://c-angels.blogspot.com/
This blog looks at weather females are sex objects or not.
8)http://www.pretty-persuasion.blogspot.com/
This blog looks at women and stereotypes

Ugly Betty & The Devil Wears Prada

'Devil' and 'Betty': Fashionably familiar

The Devil Wears Prada
Ugly Betty
Twentieth Century Fox
ABC

New York City girl Andy Sachs interviews at top fashion magazine Runway. Despite her frumpish look, her spunky attitude impresses editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), who gives her a shot.
New York City girl Betty Suarez interviews at top fashion magazine Mode. Despite her frumpish look, her spunky attitude impresses publisher Bradford Meade (Alan Dale), who gives her a shot.
Andy arrives to her first day of work as assistant to the editor in chief wearing a ridiculously lumpy "cerulean" blue sweater, thought by Miranda to have been picked up in a clearance bin. Andy is later fitted with a bright orange poncho.
Betty arrives to her first day of work as assistant to the editor in chief wearing a ridiculously lumpy, red and yellow "Guadalajara" poncho.
Snooty co-worker Nigel's (Stanley Tucci) rude assessment of Andy's appearance: "Are we doing a before-and-after piece I don't know about?"
Snooty receptionist Amanda's (Becki Newton) rude assessment of Betty's appearance: "You the 'before'? ... Before and after (for) the photo shoot?"
Andy is befriended by Nigel, the wardrobe master, who rates her size 6 dress size as "the new 14."
Betty is befriended by Christina (Ashley Jensen), the wardrobe mistress, who works with "size 0" clothes.
Abusive boss Miranda orders Andy to pick up her lunch from a steakhouse that is not yet open, then doesn't eat it.
Abusive boss Daniel (Eric Mabius) orders Betty to pick up his lunch, then asks her to remove all the cabbage from his coleslaw.
.Miranda tries to get Andy to quit by asking her to obtain an advance copy of the unreleased Harry Potter book
Photographer suggests trying to get Betty to quit by asking her to pose in a skimpy vinyl outfit.
Andy is ordered to perform a series of demeaning tasks, including walking her boss's dog, schlepping lattes and getting the brakes checked on the boss's car.
Betty is ordered to perform a series of demeaning tasks, including walking her boss's dog, schlepping lattes and pulling gum off the boss's shoes.
When a work assignment runs late, Andy misses boyfriend Nate's (Adrian Grenier) birthday celebration.
When a work assignment runs late, Betty misses father Ignacio's (Tony Plana) birthday celebration.
"Salma" is mentioned in a meeting as a possible Runway cover girl.
Salma Hayek is credited as executive producer of the series. She also makes a cameo on screen as a telenovela actress.
The song Suddenly I See by K.T. Tunstall opens the film.
The song Suddenly I See by K.T. Tunstall closes the pilot episode.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-09-25-devil-vs-betty_x.htm

Behind the Scenes of Ugly Betty

This is about the show and characters: it goes on to tell us about Amercia and her previous roles and how popular the show is.

Ugly Betty Party with America Ferrera and Eric Mabius

This is a brief interview with the stars of 'Ugly Betty' , they give their views on what they think the show is about and what is to come.

The clip shows Betty has a make-over and is whistled at - yet in the eyes of the audience, she looks even worse than before, which gives the impression that she is ugly and will always remain ugly and she seems more bold and colourful (and not in a good way)

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Wider Context: skinny model debate

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
Size-zero debate: fashion industry is told to 'grow up'
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Published: 22 May 2007

The chairwoman of an independent inquiry into the fashion industry's relationship with size-zero models warned yesterday that it was time for the industry to grow up.
Baroness Kingsmill, a former deputy chairman of the Competition Commission, said stronger measures may have to be taken to protect young women aspiring to be top models.
She was speaking at the launch of the inquiry by a panel including a psychiatrist, an academic and leaders of the fashion world into the casting and selection process for models and the impact on their health of the demand for the super-skinny look.
But critics said it was hard to see how a minimum size could be imposed without incurring charges of discrimination.
The three-month inquiry, backed by the British Fashion Council, comes in response to growing disquiet about the risks of modelling to young women desperate to meet the industry's waif-like norm. The deaths of a Uruguayan model, Luisel Ramos, 22, and her sister, Eliana, 18, within months of each other last year fuelled the debate. Luisel died of heart failure after starving herself for days before a fashion show and Eliana died of a heart attack. In November, the death of Ana Carolina Reston, a Brazilian model aged 21 who lived on a diet of apples and tomatoes, sparked worldwide concern.
Leading actresses have condemned the pressures on young women. Kate Winslet said: "I feel very strongly that curves are natural, womanly and real." The demands on women to pursue size-zero figures was "unbelievably disturbing, " she said. Billie Piper, the former Doctor Who star, described the trend as disgusting.
Their views have been echoed by ministers. Rosie Winterton, the Health minister, said the impact on girls aspiring to be super-skinny was "deeply worrying," and the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, called for extremely thin women to be kept off the catwalk.
Last September, Madrid Fashion Week announced that it was banning models with a body mass index of less than 18, the lowest weight considered healthy, equivalent to 8 stone 4 lbs for a woman of 5ft 6ins.

London also refused to follow suit, with the British Fashion Council, which runs London Fashion Week, instead urging designers to use only healthy-looking models aged over 16.
Lady Kingsmill said the issue could no longer be ignored.
"It is time, in a way, for the fashion industry to grow up," she said. "It is a real and a very important industry and the people working within it have to be taken seriously and have to be treated well."
She added: "We are going to explore what the legal obligations are both domestically and internationally. There are lawyers who have said they could put up quite an interesting personal injury case on behalf of a model whose health has been damaged by her working environment or on behalf of a model who has been denied work because of her model size."

http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2567983.ece

TV Review (new york times)

TV Review 'Ugly Betty'
A Plucky Guppy Among the Barracudas

By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Published: September 28, 2006
“Ugly Betty” is indeed cute. But she’s the new girl. Let’s not all pounce on her at once. It’s too much to ask of this mostly guileless, slightly ungainly series that it be another “Lost” or “Desperate Housewives” for ABC this year, so maybe we should watch aloofly, starting tonight. Let’s let Betty find her locker and her lunch table, and observe her without asking that she be more than she is.


Of course we can still gossip. This ABC melodramedy, which has attracted big attention both for being an American telenovela and for being funny and good, has a slight premise: an ungorgeous Latina goes to work at a fashion magazine. She’s hired by the father of the party-boy editor in chief because she’s too homely to tempt him into dissipation. Can this sitcom setup work in an hourlong format?
Seems dubious, but “Ugly Betty” is onto the doubts about it and stands ready to turn them into plot. As Betty Suarez, the sexy actress America Ferrera, here defaced by braces and bangs, sets her mouth, squares her shoulders and takes on the part like a linebacker. She’s bravely playing a character who’s coded as ugly, which means she’s still eating food, which is apparently about the bravest thing a television actress can do.
Nourished, braced, standing firm, Betty asks that the world come at her, and come it does: fink boyfriend, vain sister, ineffectual father, trampy neighbor. And that’s just in Queens, where she lives. In Manhattan, at the Vogue-like Mode magazine, Betty finds conniving executives, ruthless monomaniacs, strivers without principles, chubby clock watchers, Uriah Heeps and Iagos and the usual New York office crowd.
So who is Betty in the midst of these grotesques? She’s meant to be nothing but smart and good, though in life the two traits rarely fit perfectly together. And because she’s also “ugly” she’s assumed to have made the ultimate personal sacrifice in our vain world, and her intelligence and wholesomeness are meant to be not only absolute but perfectly compatible. This improbability causes some problems in characterization. The big joke of tonight’s episode is that Betty interprets the comeback of the poncho as permission for her to turn up at work in a red eyesore emblazoned with the word “Guadalajara.”
Naïve and touching, yes, but just to play devil’s advocate what kind of college graduate, as Betty is supposed to be, wears a gift shop poncho on her first day at work, thinking it’s what she’s seeing in magazines? This error is less evidence of a mind on higher things than it is a cognitive disability.
For a serious-minded girl not to understand couture or street-trash ensembles like the designs of Jeffrey Sebelia on “Project Runway” might be admirable. But for a literate, sentient, self-aware young woman to prefer bulky belted layers in clashing patterns and cacophonous shades of red and orange to (at least) the affordable A-line skirts and cotton button-downs at Old Navy or Target, that makes no sense. Commedia characterization on pseudorealist television can be exhausting: just as not every rich person has to wear an ascot, not every provincial girl has to dress like a mental patient.
Betty’s clothes, in other words, the most flamboyant side of her, have not been integrated into her character. They’re a free-standing gag, and that gag cannot last long. Whether there’s a show without that gag, though: that is the question.
Salma Hayek, an executive producer who will also appear sporadically on the show, adapted “Ugly Betty” from a Colombian telenovela called “Yo Soy Betty La Fea.” Ms. Hayek has an uncanny aptitude for blending comedy and melodrama, and she’s managed to infuse the show upstairs and downstairs with soapy fun. There’s a dark corporate plot at Mode, and outrageous catfights in Queens. The ambience of telenovela is everywhere, and conspicuously on the television set in the Queens house, where everyone is addicted to the makeuppy theatrics.
Betty also likes the show — she’s smart but not skeptical — and that’s a nice touch. That wonderful moony side of her comes through even more in her scenes with Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), her boss; Mr. Mabius, who is handsome, and Ms. Ferrera have a sparkling rapport that is the making of this show. He can hold his own with her, and Betty’s crush on him is so hopeless as to seem genuinely and tragically muted.
Daniel, for his part, is sexually drawn to Betty too, but out of perversity — She’s his servant? She’s ugly and thus would be grateful even for abuse? — that this show should probably never make explicit. In any case the two have a valet-hero back-and-forth that, if the writers really explore it, might make them a prime-time Wooster and Jeeves.
But I’m getting ahead of things. Way ahead. “Ugly Betty” is a sweet, funny show. It’s worth watching. And we’ll see.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/arts/television/28heff.html?_r=1&ex=1189396800&en=d7ad26ac27afb21f&ei=5070&oref=slogin

My View:

I do agree with this review as it summons up what the show is about. However I do disagree to a certain extent as the review states that Betty’s clothes are the most colorful and loud side of her, which, has ‘not been included into her character’. This can be seen as untrue as Betty’s character in Mode building is not seen as bold and loud due to her clothing only- it is also due to her perspective being different, and her view and background are symbolized via her appearance, as this way she stands out from the rest overtly and covertly.
Moreover, the review talks about Daniel being sexually drawn to Betty, and that Betty has a crush on Daniel. Although this is an interesting viewpoint, and could be true because and audiences expectations are mainly that Betty becomes pretty gradually in time, and then gets together with Daniel- at the moment it seems unlikely that they are drawn to each other or that Betty even has a crush on him- as she is shown to take on the mother role and look after Daniel, and Daniel is shown to be the lost little boy who needs guidance (which is provided by Betty) so he is very child-like in a sense. However, as the show progresses, the characters will change and grow so there is a possibility that Daniel and Betty will get together.

Is Ugly Betty de-uglifying ?

it seems as if Betty Suarez has been slowly de-uglifying ever since. Many of our readers have noticed that America is noticeably slimmer than she was when the show started. But I've also noticed that her hair (is it a wig?) isn't as much of a shaggy mop as it has been, her clothes aren't as loud (still frumpy, but not as silly), and her brace-face isn't quite as prominent.

All this may be in an effort to shape the character -- in other countries' versions of the show, Betty eventually goes through a transformation into a gorgeous woman. At the very least, it may be showing that Betty's time at Mode might be rubbing off on her in small ways. But, according to TV Guide's Mike Ausiello, some of the changes might be coming from Ferrera's reps, as he reported in a blind item today. In other words, he doesn't mention the name of the show, but most of the commenters seem to think he's talking about Betty

Some of Ausiello's readers cited other sources that said that Ferrera requested that Betty lose her braces because they're painful to wear during what I'm sure is a pretty grueling shooting schedule. I can understand that; people don't wear braces forever, and it's perfectly realistic to see Betty lose the metal and either go with a retainer or nothing at all..

And America might be feeling the usual Hollywood pressure to lose weight. But I can tell you from personal experience, she still looks more natural and normal than 90 percent of the actresses I encountered when I was out in L.A. Most of them were so skinny, their dresses just hung off their shoulders, not showing any evidence of a figure.So is Betty Suarez getting a little less ugly? Sure. But she's not becoming a beauty queen, at least not yet. And the character is still kind at heart. That's why we started liking her in the first place, anyway...

http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/02/27/is-it-me-or-is-ugly-betty-de-uglifying-a-bit/

Glamour interviews America Ferrera

Glamour Asks America Ferrera What It's Like To Be Fat

How in the world is America Ferrera making it in Hollywood despite not being white or thin? That is the question Glamour seeks to answer in their latest issue. Sure they call her a bombshell and praise her for being the actress women love, but they also photoshopped the fat out from under her arms, gave her a hip and breast reduction and tanned that hide. As witnessed by the comparison at right to a recent file photo snapped in August.So we decided to translate some of the more interesting parts of the interview to reveal what’s really being said. Join us while we read between Glamour’s lines:

GLAMOUR: So 11 Emmy nominations for Ugly Betty, two new films in the works. You’re huge!
[Translation: How can you be successful? You’re huge!]
AMERICA FERRERA: What’s crazy is that when opportunities to work come along, they are countered by just as many opportunities to piss it all away. Thank God I’m too busy to say yes.
[Translation: Thank God I’m too Latin to pull a Lindsay Lohan.]
AF: If this is my chance, I’d hate to look back and say I sacrificed it for partying.
[Translation: Unlike Dina Lohan, my mamá would kick my ass.]
GLAMOUR: Have you ever felt limited by your status as a Latina?
[Translation: Have you ever felt you should be cleaning someone’s house?]
AF: …[W]hen I came around with Real Women Have Curves…[w]e screened the film all over the world—in Jewish communities, black communities, Greek communities, German communities— and people across the board said, “That’s my family.”
[Translation: Fat people rule the world.]
GLAMOUR: So do you think Hollywood is moving away from the tall, skinny blond as the actress ideal?
[Translation: Should we be frightened?]
AF: At the end of the day, studios are learning there is a market out there that doesn’t necessarily want to go with predictable choices.
[Translation: No.]
GLAMOUR: Do you still pinch pennies out of habit?
[Translation: Are you the first in your family not to live on welfare?]
AF: My first big, extravagant purchase was a convertible BMW […] but a month after I bought it I was biting my nails, waiting for my tax refund to arrive. Eventually I thought, What’s the point? I just need something to get me from A to B. So I traded in my BMW for a Toyota. But I’ll spend any amount of money on tickets to a show I want to see. This weekend I’m going to New York City with my boyfriend to see Patti LuPone in Gypsy, my favorite musical ever!
[Translation: Like many Latina women, I’m uncomfortable with treating myself. On a side note, my boyfriend could be gay.]
GLAMOUR: How do you feel about being the newest spokeswoman for curvy figures in Hollywood?
[Translation: How do you feel about being fat?]
AF: I’m a size 6 or 8, which is totally normal.
[Translation: Bitch, get some perspective.]
GLAMOUR: Did you ever go through a Betty-like awkward stage?
[Translation: You grew up wearing a serape, right?]
AF: I never wore braces, but I did wear retainers.
[Translation: No more than any other White girl.]
AF: But the most awkward stage I went through has to be my freshman year of college: I had really frizzy hair [and] that extra freshman 15
[Translation: And I went to college, Esa.]
GLAMOUR:Do you have any leftover body insecurities?
[Translation: You’re not thinking of STAYING this size, are you?]
AF: Totally. I never liked my legs and I can’t remember the last time I wore a bathing suit in public.
[Translation: Another year of this success and I’ll make Nicole Richie look like Carnie Wilson.]

http://guanabee.com/2007/09/glamour-asks-what-its-like-to.php

Betty: a negative role model?

Ugly Betty now in South Africa is an Ugly Role Model
Ugly Betty is meant to make women feel like there is more to life than being a physically attractive woman. And most men would likely agree, to avoid being labelled a sexist, or a misogynist, that this is true. Now let’s look the reality of the situation.
There have been many studies to show that more attractive people get more opportunities in the workplace, in social circles, etc. So this negative role model does not in my opinion help any woman understand what the reality is in the world. In America where obesity is now almost at epidemic proportions there is anecdotal evidence that this show is giving fat women an excuse not to try and loose weight. Most people are plain lazy when it comes to working on their physical appearance yet these same people are likely to judge others on their first impressions and therefore on the their physical appearance. So what I am saying here is that we should rather point women to role models like Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie. These women work exceptionally hard in their careers and still manage to look stunning whenever they make a public appearance or film.

http://ramonthomas.com/ugly-betty-now-in-south-africa-is-an-ugly-role-model/

America the Beautiful

America Ferrera is the “fresh face” that television has been missing for many (very many) seasons. I’ve known a lot of people like “Ugly Betty”. Not just women either, men often feel this way about themselves. However, this girl (excuse me, woman) shows a side of society that is so obsessed with looks that the everyday person feels inferior and not meeting the standard the world (not the real world, but the business and fashion world) has set on them. In the interview with America, she said this series was not about an “ugly girl”, “It’s a look past what you see”. I have to agree with her. I find it amazing that Hollywood and television, is actually looking at the image (of women especially) it has produced for the past four or five decades. As Betty, it’s not about what you look like (well, not 100%) but how you feel you look like that matters and Betty feels she look great. It doesn’t take long to fall for America’s character. Ugly, Betty isn’t!

http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/2465

Is Ugly Betty a good role model for young women?

On the one hand, I think it's GREAT that there's a show that has a strong, young female lead as a character. Not enough of those since things like My So Called Life disappeared...and junk like that Pepper Dennis show is really just an excuse to have people ogle supermodels like Rebecca Romijn.

But from what it sounds like, Ugly Betty could be a venue for some interesting portrayals/representations of femininity etc.

But what I'm a little uneasy about is the whole "ugly" thing. Because first of all it plays into the idea that what this character looks doesn't match up with the accepted, common definition of "pretty"...and that there are two kinds of women in the world: pretty ones and ugly ones.
I also feel a leeetle queasy about what's going to be in store for Betty. LIke, are they going to let her stay "ugly" yet somehow validate her for that? Or will she have to follow the Devil-Wears-Prada-Mean-Girls-She's-All-That evolution set out in so many movies etc, where she morphs into the epitome of pretty..but still keeps enough of herself to still be HER.

http://audreybrashich.blogs.com/audrey_brashich/2006/10/is_ugly_betty_a.html

America Ferrera's political viewpoint

At 'Spirit Awards,' Star of ABC's 'Ugly Betty' Quips U.S. Won't Be 'Free' Until Bush Gone

A preview of the political commentary we can expect at Sunday night's Academy Awards? As a presenter at Saturday's “Film Independent's Spirit Awards” carried live at 2pm PST/5pm EST on the Independent Film Channel (IFC), actress America Ferrera (IMDb page), the title role star of ABC's Ugly Betty, interjected a bit of political commentary suggesting the U.S. will not be “the land of the free” again until President Bush leaves office. Taking the stage inside a tent on the Santa Monica beach, Ferrera was joined by actor Zach Braff, a star on NBC's Scrubs, to present the award for the “Best First Feature.” In the scripted exchange, Braff asked: “So do you think that you have any traits in common with the country that is your namesake?” Ferrera replied: “I guess I'm a free-spirited person and America's supposedly the 'land of the free,' right?” She then added, to loud applause from the left coast film industry audience: “Or at least we will be in 2008.”

http://newsbusters.org/node/11039

Ugly Betty: Skin Deep or Down to the Bone?

After a rough start, The Devil Wears Prada-style plot twists force Daniel and Betty to realize they need to look out for each other, if not at each other. After all, how else are they going to prevent fashionista Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) from taking over the company? Bradford's certainly no help. He's too busy covering up what appears to be murder.
If all this sounds to you like a soap opera plot gone prime time, consider yourself fashionably astute. Ugly Betty is actually an Americanized adaptation of a wildly popular Colombian telenovela—a type of Spanish-language soap that takes viewers on a 13-week roller coaster and then lets them disembark for the next series/ride. In many Spanish-speaking homes in the U.S. and in South America, telenovelas have been as much a part of the nightly routine as David Letterman and Jay Leno have in English-speaking ones. So for co-executive producer Salma Hayek, it was only natural to bring Ugly Betty to ABC and a wider American audience that's becoming increasingly Latino.
So far, Hayek's instincts are right on target. Her show's ratings have been solid. But what of its morals? On the comely side of things, Ugly Betty regularly bashes the impossible standards and negative influence of a fashion industry that "seems intent on making any normal human being feel like an outcast," as one character moans. "It's all fake and unattainable, but nobody seems to get it," adds another. Great messages, especially for young, self-conscious girls taking mental notes on what's hot and what's not. To top it off, in this intentionally broad-stroked world of over-the-top caricatures, the good guys win on a weekly basis, while the villains' evil plans are repeatedly foiled.

Tune in to this prime-time lead-in and you'll find that, as the 22-year-old Ferrera states, "[It's] not about being ugly at all. More than anything it's just about looking past what you see. Achieving that image is not all that we're on this planet to do." That's a beautiful and true idea. But it's woven into fabric that is both snagged and torn.

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0002958.cfm

America Ferrera

America Georgine Ferrera (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Emmy-winning role as Betty Suarez on the ABC television comedy-drama series Ugly Betty and also for her roles in the films Real Women Have Curves and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants .

In 2006, she landed the lead role in Ugly Betty, an adaptation of the Colombian hit telenovela Betty La Fea, in which she portrays a girl whom her peers find extremely unattractive, thus the series title. As Betty Suarez, Ferrera wears fake braces on her teeth, bushy eyebrows and a disheveled wig, and make-up and clothing intended to downplay her own looks. Ferrera’s famous smile is reportedly insured by Lloyd's of London for $10 million.[2]
According to Ugly Betty hair department head Roddy Stayton, “She’s a gorgeous girl with an incredible style sensibility in her personal life. What we do is Bettify her in the morning. It’s in contrast to the rest of the show, where everybody else is glammed up”, adding that it was Ferrera herself who coined the term “Bettification” to describe the process.[3]
For her role in Ugly Betty, Ferrera won the 2007 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical, beating out fellow nominees Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mary-Louise Parker. As a result of the award, she was congratulated by the US House of Representatives as being a role model for young Latinas.[4] On 28 January 2007 Ferrera won the prestigious Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Female Actor in a Comedy Series. She also starred in and executive produced the poignant short film Muertas. In 2007, Time Magazine chose Ferrera as one of the top artists and entertainers in their “Time 100: The Most Influential People In The World” issue.[5] In July 2007, America Ferrera also won Imagen Foundation’s Creative Achievement Award.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AmericaFerreraGoldenGlobe.jpg

Silvio Horta

1) Silvio Horta (born 1974 in Miami, Florida) is a Cuban-American writer and producer most notably for adapting the South American telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea into the current ABC series, Ugly Betty. Horta serves as head writer and executive producer on the series.

2) In 2007, he accepted the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series "Ugly Betty", stating "Like most of us up here, Betty is an immigrant and The American Dream is alive and well and in reach of anybody who wants it".

3) Silvio Horta is gay; he came out to his family at nineteen

The fact that he is gay is important because the show also deals with serious issues and Marc has difficulty with saying he is gay to his family. So in this case, characters could reflect personal experiences. 'Ugly Betty' is a programme about being an outcast to an extent and being gay may make people feel like an outcast, so the show is about acceptence of different things such as sexuality and image etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Horta

Institution

The institution for ‘Ugly Betty’ is ABC (American Broadcasting Company) which owned by the Walt Disney Company and is part of the Disney-ABC Television group. ABC is a major U.S. Television network and has sold ‘Ugly Betty’ to different networks such as Channel 4.
‘Ugly Betty’ adverts were shown on Channel 4 saying ‘coming soon’ so the text was distributed via television. Also, TV magazines such as TV Quick etc had Ugly Betty in them.

Ideology

The major ideologies being promoted are:

Patriarchy: As Daniel Meade is the boss of Betty so he has all the power and control over her. It can be argued that the females are shown to be inferior as they seem to hit the ‘glass ceiling’. For instance, Wilhelmina is shown to be a very successful business woman yet she is struggling to obtain Daniel’s position. In order to obtain it, she manipulates his father and decides to marry him, which goes to shows that the structure is not fair and that sacrifices need to be made in order to get anywhere-especially for women.

Heterosexual relationships: Although there is sexual diversity in the program (as Marc is homosexual), the majority of the characters (including the main protagonist) are shown to be in heterosexual relationships.

Consumerism: this is much promoted as in Mode building, the materials a person owns determines them and brings them status. For instance, the designer labels such as Gucci etc bring the characters more status.

Capitalist society: The whole ‘dog eat dog’ world is promoted as the characters try and succeed however they can and meritocracy is not prompted as the characters such as Wilhelmina manipulate etc to get what they want.

Image/appearance: this is the most vital ideology being prompted as the whole fashion industry is based upon image and ‘Ugly Betty’ shows that we should all be concerned to an extent, as all the characters are shown to be pretty, however it also promotes the idea of inner beauty being more important-as the protagonist Betty is shown to be ugly.

Audiences

‘Ugly Betty’s target audience is mainly young females, as Betty is the main character so all the females can identify with her. It is also aimed to attract ethnic minorities because Betty herself is Latino and there is an increase in Latino’s in America. As the text deals with issues such as sexuality, image etc Ugly Betty is also shown to attract teenagers but its primary target audience is young women because females are considered to be more engaged with fashion and are more image obsessed, which is what the show is about.

‘Ugly Betty’ is scheduled to be shown on channel 4 at 9pm on Friday nights, the assumption is made that the audience will be back from school or work and will be relaxing at this time- so will tune in to watch this show. The show appears at after water-shed hour which goes to show that it is not suitable for younger audiences. ‘Ugly Betty’ is also shown on the weekends (on T4) around 1ish- which is a catch up for people who missed it on Friday. This shows that the fact that the audience has a social life is taken into consideration- as the audience that goes out on Friday night get to see the program on the weekend when they have a lie-in.

It can be assumed that the show is very popular as it must have been very successful in America for it to be aired in the UK. As there are a variety of characters and issues, this program probably attracts as many people as ‘Desperate Housewives’ (which has been a great success) if not more. Furthermore, it can be predicted that series 3 will attract even more viewers than series 2 due to the star appearance of Victoria Beckham (playing the role of a bridesmaid).

The audiences are likely to view the text as fun and light-hearted with serious issues. They are likely to perceive Betty as a warm and caring character compared to the rest. They will also view the business world as harsh and brutal where survival of the fittest is defiantly the case. The female audiences are also likely to see Betty as a role model as most females can identify with her at one point or another.


I think that ‘Ugly Betty’ is a really good text and think it deals with much serious issues as well as keeping us entertained. The fact that there is much diversity in ‘Ugly Betty’ of different types of people – (e.g. Marc is gay, Betty is Latino), is important as it reflects the zeitgeist- as we live in a modern society where there is less social stigma attached to being gay etc. Despite this, even though Betty is supposedly ugly (which is the view of a passive audience), it can be argued that in fact she looks just like an average person, and that she is not that ugly. Moreover, America Ferrera is not ugly yet she is not the conventional beauty either. It can be argued that Betty represents an average woman and is more real than all the other characters- but she is not as ugly as she’s made out to be.