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.