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  • Essay / A review of teamwork and an episode of Allegiance, an American drama series

    Consumers are spoiled by the media by watching television on themes that capture their attention. Recently I watched a Teamwork episode of the TV show Allegiance on NBC. Allegiance is about Alex O'Conner, a young man who doesn't know that his family is made up of Russian spies. He works for the CIA as an analyst, which leads to conflicts of interest. His parents work for a spy organization, which wants to obtain files that could destroy fundamental American values. Alex works with the CIA to foil Rezident's plans to obtain the files. In the episode Teamwork, Alex confronts his parents by accusing them of being Russian spies. Throughout this episode, stereotypical examples illustrate how the media perceives men, women, people of color, and American nationalism. This episode depicts Russian stereotypes about women, men, politics and economics. Allegiance highlights prejudices, through a representation based on the behavior of the characters in different scenarios. The music, shots and characters represent the theme of allegiance and nationalism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The scene opens with Alex demanding to know the truth from his parents about Mikeal, as his files are a threat. Alex asked accusatory questions about Mikeal and his files. As a result, Katya becomes hysterical and destabilizes Alex by confessing that she had an affair, which was just another lie. This scene depicts the stereotype that Russian women are gold diggers, because they only want to live comfortably and depend on a male figure. When Katya mentioned attending a border school in America, it also brought up a political notion that Russia would send its children to America for better opportunities. Throughout this scene, the music was fast, light and dramatic. This represented Alex's mood on how he felt when Katya constantly disappeared when he was a child. Alex represents the American ideals of justice and freedom, but Katya and Mark represent the Russian socialist mentality. It often happens that we watch a series without knowing the real reason why the director chose to shoot a scene in a certain way. In this main shot, Alex is shown angry. The plans further overlap when information comes to light about his mother's disappearances. The argument intensifies, there are close-ups of Alex, Katya and Mark. The camera remains focused on Katya's reaction following the confession of her affair. When Sarah, Alex's youngest sister, enters the kitchen, she is unaware of the situation. Sarah symbolizes the innocence of not knowing that her family is made up of spies. Natalie is Alex's older sister whose boyfriend is a Russian spy working for the enemy in New York. Natalie plays a vital role in tapping Alex's cell phone and computer in order to gather information from the CIA. The scene opens with Natalie and Viktor in bed, awakened by a phone call from Rezident. Viktor learns that Alex is threatening his parents if they don't tell him the truth. There is a parallel montage between scenes where Alex confronts his parents, Natalie and Viktor rushing into traffic, and there is a zoom of Roman (Rezident's main boss), giving the order to murder the family to emphasize that he is in charge. After Viktor and Natalie stop the assault, there is a POV shot of Alex..