Media Criticism- Cougar Town

A cougar is a large tan-colored cat weighing between 100-145 pounds. In a single pounce a cougar attacks its prey, dominating them instantly. However, this is not the type of cougar I’d like to focus on today. The new term for women aged 40 and up who are on the prowl for young and attractive males, that’s the sort of cougar I’m focused on.

In fall of 2009 ABC premiered Cougar Town a comedy focused on one woman’s struggles with dating after undergoing a divorce. Former Friends star Courteney Cox stars as Jules who with the help of the “Cul-de-sac Crew” deals with the humorous issues that arise throughout the season.

The "Cul-de-sac Crew" from Cougar Town / Image from Google Images

The episode “Cry to Me” covers the group as they discuss and celebrate Valentine’s Day. Jules who is in a relationship with Grayson decides that for Valentine’s Day she really wants to see Grayson open up and cry in front of her. Meanwhile Grayson has his mind-set on ignoring the fact that two years ago his father died on Valentine’s Day and is hoping to make it a perfect day for Jules.

This opening is what French/Bulgarian philosopher Tzvetan Todorov would refer to as the equilibrium. Todorov’s theory for Narrative Criticism in Media Criticism is applicable to most television texts, specifically to sitcoms like Cougar Town. This is because it is a simple and easy structure for viewers to understand. Basically it’s the idea of hooking us into an episode and not spitting us back out til’ the credits roll at the end.

Todorov believes plot can be closely examined through its internal equilibrium using a five-part syntagmatic (sequential) model. The stages a narrative goes through are; first having a state of equilibrium; or having things existing as they should. From there a disruption of sorts occurs that changes the original equilibrium, which of course brings about the third stage of having the character recognize that something isn’t right. After that the character or characters attempt to resolve the issue finally ending with the issue being solved and a new state of equilibrium exists.

(If you’re still a bit confused about Todorov’s theory or would just enjoy a good visual aid, one from the AS and A2 Media Studies Blog makes it even simpler to understand.)

Using Cougar Town as the text for Todorov’s theory we know, as previously mentioned, that the original equilibrium is that the “Cul-de-sac Crew” has once again joined for large glasses of wine and are discussing their plans for Valentine’s Day.

After Laurie discusses the worst Valentine’s Day she had we learn that Grayson’s father died two years ago on Valentine’s Day and from there we see the disruption of the Jules/Grayson equilibrium. Jules tries to pull emotions out of Grayson despite his unwillingness to discuss it with the group.

The equilibrium issue also exists with married couple Ellie and Andy who are struggling to find the right balance between Andy’s need to show off for the occasion and Ellie’s desire to avoid cliché Valentines’ behavior. The conversation the two of them have ends up serving as the disruption in their balance.

As this all is going on there is a third plot-line covering Jules’ son Travis who found out his girlfriend wants to get a “sexy” picture of him as her gift. He struggles with the idea of appearing sexy in a photograph to give her what she wants.

This is when the guys of the group join together for a little song called “Always give the women what they want”. This serves as step four, the attempt at resolution. However the men realize that just giving in might actually be harder than they expected.

So Grayson attempts to sit and answer ever painstaking question Jules has about his father’s death, Andy takes his best friend Bobby out for the holiday and Travis attempts to take a sexy picture of himself to give to Kirsten. In the end, they realize just giving them what they wanted wasn’t the best choice because as the song says, “women don’t know what they want, it’s always reliable, they’re unsatisfiable.”

In the end a new equilibrium, as Todorov suggests, is established by each man figuring out a way to give each woman exactly what they wanted while still being true to who they are. For Grayson he admits to Jules he is different when he is with her and suggests the two of them go watch Field of Dreams because it always makes him cry. Travis takes a picture of himself without a shirt on to give to Kirsten only to discover that she was hoping for a regular picture where he was well-dressed. And in the end, Andy got to be a show off for Ellie by, well just watch the clip.

Because this is one of the basic formulas for sitcoms on television it’s crucial to understand how Todorov’s theory of equilibrium works. When we examine texts we get a deeper understanding of how we as viewers follow plot lines and how a story is told. As media consumers we are often unaware of the influence television narrative has on us. However by closely examining each text we can better relate to the relationships depicted in the shows we love to watch. With an analysis we better understand why we loved that Andy knew Ellie wanted something for Valentine’s Day yet he knew exactly how to play it off so it appeared she wasn’t getting any special treatment.

And if you still feel like reading about the narrative approach and Todorov’s theory of equilibrium or feel like watching the full episode of “Cry to Me” on Cougar Town, then why stop here?

 

References used:
In-class lecture notes