Typecasting in content analysis

In class on Monday, we talked about quantitative data in content analysis.  This, again, was including but not limited to trends that were measurable by numbers.  Most particular in "King of Queens" was the frequency of mentioning food, as well as the number of times the wife became annoyed at her husbands antics.  However, there can be a danger in this sort of measuring, in that we may only start to look for the recurring ideas in shows, and therefore leave no room to grow.  This can lead to a serious problem of type-casting.  Think of how often the wife on King of Queens gets annoyed throughout the show, it seems commonplace that she would have at least two irked remarks per episode, (as someone who doesn't watch the show, I can't know for sure).  Think also about Saturday Night Live, and how they will repeat some of their funnier characters, whether Chris Farley's "Matt Foley" or Kristin Wiig's "Gilly" or Bill Hader's "Stefon."  Each of those three characters is known for only one or two qualities that are repeated time and again for our amusement.  Take a particular Saturday Night Live sketch, "The Californians."  The initial run was hilarious to the studio audience, but not because of it's silly characters.  People were laughing at the way the actors broke character and laughed on air.  Yet, the studio continues to repeat the same archetype of skit to the point where it all becomes the same old song and dance.  The point is, if we keep repeating the same jokes, the same material, then ultimately the material becomes so inane that we simply become bored by it.