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Relationship in Friends

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Relationship in Friends
This paper will focus on analysing relationships in Friends. Previously conducted research has looked into aspects that are related to this topic. Relationships are considered to be a representation of culture and society. This paper looks into how the series portrays relationships of love, friends, siblings and parents. The thesis statement for this research paper is: Analysing relationships in Friends. For the purpose of this qualitative study, reference will be made to all the episodes over the 10 seasons of Friends. Sources will also include research articles, interviews, news paper articles and online content.
The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationships in Friends. Through this show we learn a lot about how friends influence each other’s ways of life. It also teaches us how the next thing to family is friends. We do not just learn about friendship in this show but get a glimpse of other relationships as well. Sibling relationship is portrayed through Monica and Ross. Rachel and Ross show the ups and downs that one goes through when he/she is in love. Through this paper we also look into how a platonic relationship of Chandler and Monica turns into something as big as marriage. We learn about the parent-child relationships as they are represented in the show. It mirrors the western concept of parenting and parental relationships. This paper looks into relationships mainly portrayed from the western point of view. David Crane (creator of the series) created the story of Friends in such a way that all the six characters were equally prominent and the series came to be known as "the first true 'ensemble ' show". (Special Collector 's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time") Each one of these characters depicts a particular type and is different from each other. However, though they differ in characteristics, all of them blend in to form friends that are more like family. (Kolbert) Friends, designed as F.R.I.E.N.D.S is an all time



Bibliography: * Kolbert, Elizabeth. "Birth of a TV Show: A Drama All Its Own ." 08th March 1994. The New York Times. 2013 <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html? res=9C06EDF163DF93BA35750C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all>. * Sandell, J. "The personal is professional on TV: I 'll be there for you: 'Friends ' and the fantasy of alternative families." American Studies (1998): v39 n2 p141(15). * Showalter, Elaine. "I guess we are not going to see the (episode of the situation comedy "Friends" where one of the characters reveals he is gay) ." People Weekly (May 6th, 1996): v45 no18 p15 (1). * Zaslow, Jeffrey. "Balancing friends and family." 08th October 2000. USA Weekend. 2013 <http://www.usaweekend.com/00_issues/001008/001008kudrow.html>. * Dean, Peter, "Warner Home Vid finds friendly reception for 'Friends ' in UK," Billboard, Aug. 2, 1997, 77.

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