The Wonder Years Satire
The Wonder Years:
Television’s Most Rebellious Comedy
Many shows struggle to capture the feeling of nostalgia and wonder that the The Wonder Years expertly tackled throughout nearly its entire run. The show follows it’s main character Kevin Arnold and to a lesser extent his friends Winnie and Paul as they go through Junior High and High School. The show starts in the year 1968 where the pilot introduces the audience to the Arnold family, a 1960s Nuclear family reminiscent of familiar sitcom families like the Cleavers (of Leave it to Beaver fame.) Like those shows, The Wonder Years focuses on its youngest cast members but unlike those shows, The Wonder Years …show more content…
The older Kevin’s narration both expands on the situation that we are watching and reflects on it through knowledge that he’s gained in the years since. It helps to offer a deeper level of depth than would be expected from a show with such a young cast. Kevin’s best friend Paul is the poster boy for the stereotypical nerd: a Jewish-American lanky young man with low self-confidence and what he claims to be an allergy to just about everything as revealed in the Pilot where he has to eat plain white bread at dinner with the Arnold’s due to being allergic to both meatloaf and salad. Winnie Cooper, Kevin’s constant love interest throughout the show, Winnie Cooper is depicted as being the epitome of innocence. In Kevin’s eyes, which are certainly biased, she is the perfect woman and no matter how many girls he dates throughout the series run, he constantly finds himself getting back with her. Kevin’s father Jack is a Korean War vet who now works as a management job for Norcom, a defense contracting company who Kevin’s sister Karen claims on a couple occasions that they manufacture micro weapons much to her disdain. Karen starts as a hippie in the beginning of the show and continues to mature eventually enrolling in College(“Growing Up” S4:E1). Kevin’s mom Norma starts out in a typical housewife role …show more content…
When he arrives, Winnie is sitting on a log huddling herself up for warmth, The Wonder Years excellent use of period music is then put on display as “Percy Sledge’s When a Man Love’s a Woman” is played as Winnie and Kevin share their first
Television’s Most Rebellious Comedy
Many shows struggle to capture the feeling of nostalgia and wonder that the The Wonder Years expertly tackled throughout nearly its entire run. The show follows it’s main character Kevin Arnold and to a lesser extent his friends Winnie and Paul as they go through Junior High and High School. The show starts in the year 1968 where the pilot introduces the audience to the Arnold family, a 1960s Nuclear family reminiscent of familiar sitcom families like the Cleavers (of Leave it to Beaver fame.) Like those shows, The Wonder Years focuses on its youngest cast members but unlike those shows, The Wonder Years …show more content…
The older Kevin’s narration both expands on the situation that we are watching and reflects on it through knowledge that he’s gained in the years since. It helps to offer a deeper level of depth than would be expected from a show with such a young cast. Kevin’s best friend Paul is the poster boy for the stereotypical nerd: a Jewish-American lanky young man with low self-confidence and what he claims to be an allergy to just about everything as revealed in the Pilot where he has to eat plain white bread at dinner with the Arnold’s due to being allergic to both meatloaf and salad. Winnie Cooper, Kevin’s constant love interest throughout the show, Winnie Cooper is depicted as being the epitome of innocence. In Kevin’s eyes, which are certainly biased, she is the perfect woman and no matter how many girls he dates throughout the series run, he constantly finds himself getting back with her. Kevin’s father Jack is a Korean War vet who now works as a management job for Norcom, a defense contracting company who Kevin’s sister Karen claims on a couple occasions that they manufacture micro weapons much to her disdain. Karen starts as a hippie in the beginning of the show and continues to mature eventually enrolling in College(“Growing Up” S4:E1). Kevin’s mom Norma starts out in a typical housewife role …show more content…
When he arrives, Winnie is sitting on a log huddling herself up for warmth, The Wonder Years excellent use of period music is then put on display as “Percy Sledge’s When a Man Love’s a Woman” is played as Winnie and Kevin share their first