Observation Assignment Site Location: Awkward

Whitney Helms

Observation One Monday, January 27, 2014 Time: 11:00pm-11:20pm Description of the Location: The location in this episode is at first in their high school. This high school is like any other normal school, the scenes take place in the health office, the guidance counselors office, an English classroom, and outside. Later on in the episode there is a party at Mattys house. Outside is where most of the drinking and partying went on, out by the pool and the patio. Inside in the dining room was where Jake and Tamara sat to have a talk with Jenna. When the night ended Jenna slept in a window seal, while Jake, Tamara, and Ming all slept on the sofa in the living room. Mattys bedroom was down the hall where Hunter and he slept. Across from the dining room was the kitchen where the gang met up as they awakened and smelled the muffins that Jenna made for all of them. Figured World: A figured world is a group of people in an environment that all behave, act, or have similar things in common. Summary: The figured world I am going to be observing is from the show on MTV, Awkward. Awkward is a television show based in a high school and showcases the lives of a group of friends. The main character is Jenna Hamilton. After being in an accident and having to walk around with a huge cast on her arm, Jennas popularity shot through the roof. Everyone began to notice her, even her secret crush Matty. Matty has always been the popular, athletic hunk of the school. They begin dating and go through many experiences high schoolers deal with in relationships today. Other main characters include Jake and Tamara, Jennas best friend. Jake is Mattys best friend, Jennas ex-boyfriend and Tamaras current boyfriend.awkward. High school is filled with all kinds of rules. In this show Jenna seems to break quite a few. For example she skips school to have sex with Matty. She smokes weed on school grounds which gets her suspended. However, she has a very close relationship with her guidance counselor who gives Jenna extra special attention and advice, she acts more like a big sister. When her and Jenna get into an argument, Jenna writes an essay in her English class that exposes how close of a relationship that she has with her counselor that gets her suspended from her job. In this show high school is a place where some scenes are in class, but mainly its during lunch and then what they do after the school day is over. This show is based in a modern high school where students use modern forms of communication. Many conversations and arguments occur via texting and social networking sites. A big part of Jenna expressing herself is through her blog. She enjoys writing and she uses her blog as a way of communicating, not only with those who read it, but with herself. There are only a few discourse communities in Awkward. There is this group of Asians that are always together, they have a leader and they know everything about everything. The teachers all hang out together, and then there is the group of friends that Jenna hangs out with who is always together; Jenna, Tamara, Ming, Jake, and Matty.

Observation Assignment Site Location: Awkward

Whitney Helms

Actors: -Jenna Hamilton: Jenna is a junior in high school who was nobody until she met the guy of her dreams, Matty. She and Matty were never official or seen in public together, but they had sex in different places. Jenna wanted to DTR (define the relationship), but he acted like he didnt want to be seen with her. Then Jenna starts dating Mattys best friend Jake. Jenna couldnt help but to still be crazy over Matty, so eventually her and Matty began dating. Before this episode Jenna met a guy named Collin, and she thought he was hot and she cheated on Matty with him, she felt bad and tried to break it off but couldnt help herself to keep going back. Jenna tried to be distant from Matty, and on her birthday Matty and her mom and friends wanted to throw a surprise birthday party for her. Jenna told Matty she wanted to do something another night so she could meet up with Collin, they stormed into her house making out when everyone yelled surprise and found out about their secret. This is when her life became ruined, just as her relationships with everyone went downhill, except with Collin. -Matty McKibbon: Matty is Jennas ex, but they are currently friends again, but he has a crush on Jennas new friend Bailey. Matty is also Jakes best friend. -Tamara: Tamara is Jennas best friend and Jakes girlfriend. -Jake Rosati:Jake is Jennas ex, Mattys best friend, and Tamaras current boyfriend. -Sadie Saxton: Sadie is a senior like Matty and Jake, she is a cheerleader and does not like Jenna or her two closest friends, Tamara or Ming. Jenna and her friends would classify Sadie as a total bitch. -Collin: Collin is who Jenna gets caught up with, he is bad for her and she doesnt realize it until it is almost too late. He ruins her relationship with her family, friends, and Matty. -Lacey Hamilton: This is Jennas mom, she is always there for Jenna. She also is the schools nurse for a little while. She is a bit ditzy, others look at her as a young, hot mom. She loves Jenna with Matty, and thinks they are the perfect couple. -Valerie Marks: Ms. Marks is the schools guidance counselor. Lacey and her become best friends during this season because Jenna comes to her about all of her problems. She doesnt necessarily give the best advice, but she is there for support and tries to stay in on all the latest gossip. -Ming: Ming is the other best friend of Jenna and Tamara. She is Asian and is at one point in time the leader of the Mafia.

Observation Assignment Site Location: Awkward

Whitney Helms

Artifacts: -Book: Jennas English teacher Mr. Hart gave Jenna a book called Unraveled that helped her find her voice, and find herself again. -Jennas computer: Jennas computer is an important artifact because it is where she sits down to do her blogs which means a lot to her and to do her homework for English. Discourse Communities: -The Mafia: The mafia is a group of Asians at Jennas school who know everything about everything. -Cheerleaders: The cheerleaders are a popular group, which Tamara wanted to be. Literacy Practices: -Jennas Blog: Jenna has a blog that she writes in all of the time. She writes down everything that happens in this anonymous blog, it has everything in it, from good to bad. -Text Messaging/Phone calls- This is the most used form of communication on through all of Jennas friends and everyone at school. Jenna, Tamara, and Ming often three-way and talk on the phone, they also do group texting to where they call all three type each other at the same time.

The Observation: 11:00PM- After everything that could possibly go wrong in Jennas life she found herself again and was trying to get rid of all the negative and on the road to recovery of becoming herself again with this episode being called Old Jenna. In a previous episode Jenna wrote a paper about her guidance counselor that she was relatively close with and got her suspended from her job. In this episode Jenna was missing her and snuck into her office when a knock on the door came, a new girl named Bailey. Jenna listened to her problem and helped her as she knew Valerie would (the counselor), and in the process she made a new friend. 11:05PM- Jenna is making up with her friends, while sharing their stories Tamara tells Jenna that her and Jake broke up and it is going to be awkward seeing him tonight at Mattys party because he has been acting different towards her. Meanwhile, Jenna felt left out because she didnt even know about the St. Mattys Day Party. She also finds out that Devin and Matty broke up so maybe this will give her hope and the chance to have some alone time and rekindle their relationship at his party. Jennas mom becomes the schools new nurse and she has large breasts that are always out, so at school there is a long line of boys waiting at the Health office complaining of injuries that they dont even have to stare at her breasts. Valerie is caught driving on school property. During English class an old student named Hunter came back to visit her teacher, Mr. Hart, while she was home for spring break. He took off and gave her some money to stay there for the rest of the period with his class. Jenna talked to her and asked how she passed

Observation Assignment Site Location: Awkward

Whitney Helms

his class, she didnt, but in the process she found her voice after Mr. Hart gave her a book called Unraveled, the same book he gave Jenna. Then, Jenna talked to Matty and managed to make herself invited to his party. 11:10PM-Jenna drove Tamara and Ming to the party agreeing to be the designated driver and being on probation by her friends because how bad she treated them. Jenna invited her new friend Bailey. Jenna gets to talk to Matty and he tells her to come and find him later on to hang out. Sadie is frustrated with her new boy, because all he talks about is business with her and he doesnt know when to make the right move until she has to tell him at the party, and then they go at it. Jenna runs into the older girl that came back to school, Hunter, at Mattys party. After Bailey left Jenna went to go find Matty to hang out like he said, but when she found them she saw Matty and Hunter making out. 11:15-After seeing Matty with his ex that took his v-card, Jenna got overwhelmed and that resulted to her pouring herself a drink from the keg. Jenna gets drunk and starts to talk to Jake and she kissed him. Tamara walks in and sees them kissing, then the give Jenna a water and sit down and have a talk with her about how they are concerned about her, then Jake and Tamara start arguing and then they make up and get back together and Jenna leaves the table and starts drinking again. They had to end up staying at Mattys since they were all drinking. Jenna woke up early and felt bad about what she did to them, so she cleaned up the whole house, including the outside where all the solo cups and stuff was. Jenna also cooked breakfast for Tamara, Jake, Ming, Matty, and Hunter. She thought Hunter was still there and that her and Matty did something, but when Jake mentioned it Matty said she threw up last night and he took care of her and she must have took off this morning, plus he wanted to hang out with someone else. That comment meant Jenna which made her really excited. She apologized for being such a bad friend to all of them and they all became cool again.