How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civilization - David Hopkins
We live in a problematic society that is highly accompanied by technology. The digital world of social media, television and internet has resulted in a decreased capability and inclination to individualized thinking and reflection. According to David Hopkin’s article, “How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civilization”, written on 22th March 2015, the world is profoundly marked by stupidity, and the root cause of it is due to the well-known TV-show called Friends. In the article, Hopkin depicts the downfall of western civilization as well as how Friends come into play in this collapse.
The language of the article is primarily informal, however, some …show more content…
32, p. 2). Moreover, Hopkin utilizes conversational phrases like: “oh yeah” (l. 13, p. 2) and abbreviations such as “D.O.A” (l. 13, p. 2), means “dead on arrival”. Additionally, the language is marked by short sentences that exclusively consist of main clauses, for instance: “Joey is the goofball. Chandler is the sarcastic one. Monica is obsessive-compulsive. Phoebe is the hippy.” (ll. 20-21, p. 2). Though the informal language makes Hopkin appear relatively frivolous and unprofessional, it is also instrumental in forming a close relationship with the reader, as it creates a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere where identification with the author is possible. Furthermore, Hopkin utilizes slang in the form of offensive words such as “fucking” (l. 4, p. 4) and “hell” (l. …show more content…
The main objective of the text is to illuminate and announce that the western civilization is marked by stupidity. However, the purpose is, to a great extent, also to convince people that the TV-show Friends bears the blame for this stupidity and thus, the purpose is to put Friends in a bad light. This is done by emphasizing and accentuating its undesirable and negative sides and by connecting them to the dumbness that exists in today’s society. Nevertheless, the author also strives to prevent and call a halt to this stupidity as well as to promote and advance rationality and intelligence in the world. This is done by giving the reader advice on how to keep his or her sanity in a world that is accompanied by unintelligence. Therefore, the purpose of the text is partly to inform of the foolishness that is dominating in the western world, to convince people that this downfall is attributable to the TV-show Friends, and to avert unintelligence as well as further sanity in the
We live in a problematic society that is highly accompanied by technology. The digital world of social media, television and internet has resulted in a decreased capability and inclination to individualized thinking and reflection. According to David Hopkin’s article, “How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civilization”, written on 22th March 2015, the world is profoundly marked by stupidity, and the root cause of it is due to the well-known TV-show called Friends. In the article, Hopkin depicts the downfall of western civilization as well as how Friends come into play in this collapse.
The language of the article is primarily informal, however, some …show more content…
32, p. 2). Moreover, Hopkin utilizes conversational phrases like: “oh yeah” (l. 13, p. 2) and abbreviations such as “D.O.A” (l. 13, p. 2), means “dead on arrival”. Additionally, the language is marked by short sentences that exclusively consist of main clauses, for instance: “Joey is the goofball. Chandler is the sarcastic one. Monica is obsessive-compulsive. Phoebe is the hippy.” (ll. 20-21, p. 2). Though the informal language makes Hopkin appear relatively frivolous and unprofessional, it is also instrumental in forming a close relationship with the reader, as it creates a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere where identification with the author is possible. Furthermore, Hopkin utilizes slang in the form of offensive words such as “fucking” (l. 4, p. 4) and “hell” (l. …show more content…
The main objective of the text is to illuminate and announce that the western civilization is marked by stupidity. However, the purpose is, to a great extent, also to convince people that the TV-show Friends bears the blame for this stupidity and thus, the purpose is to put Friends in a bad light. This is done by emphasizing and accentuating its undesirable and negative sides and by connecting them to the dumbness that exists in today’s society. Nevertheless, the author also strives to prevent and call a halt to this stupidity as well as to promote and advance rationality and intelligence in the world. This is done by giving the reader advice on how to keep his or her sanity in a world that is accompanied by unintelligence. Therefore, the purpose of the text is partly to inform of the foolishness that is dominating in the western world, to convince people that this downfall is attributable to the TV-show Friends, and to avert unintelligence as well as further sanity in the