Assessment 1- Online Biography on Marta Kauffman
Amelie Batty
Introduction
In this article, I will dive into the impact that Marta Kauffman has had on both the TV industry and the personal impact her work and accomplishments have had on me. I have chosen her over many because of how influential her work has been to my generation. Without knowing it, I have been a massive fan of her work from a young age. Even now, I continue to be inspired by her work on “Friends” As I watch and rewatch this classic and timeless series, I aspire to be a part of something so influential as I move forward into TV production and my future career. I am so intrigued and pulled into the sitcom “Friends” as it was known to be co-created and produced by two lifelong friends, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. They created a show based on their own experiences growing up with their friends, and the beauty of it is the audience gets to experience the story, too, relating to the cast along the way. This is the reason I was pulled into choosing Marta Kauffman as my key figure.
Biographical background
Marta Fran Kauffman is an American Television Producer, creator and writer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom “Friends”, where she worked with her long-time best friend to create the show. Kauffman was born on September 21st, 1956, in Broomall, Pennsylvania. She was raised in a Jewish household. Kauffman attended Marple Newton High School and earned her bachelor’s degree in drama in 1978. Furthermore, her career as a writer began when doing an episode of the American sitcom Everything’s Relative in 1987. From then on, she was known to do multiple successful shows, moving further into her TV career. (Dayton 2023)
Following her achievements, Kauffman has made an estimated net worth of around $400 million from all the popular series and movies she created or produced. Kauffman is a very inspiring role model for women as she has won many awards in her career path. She is an Emmy- Golden Globe-winning television writer, producer and showrunner. She received 63 Emmy nominations, winning Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002 for her big hit show “Friends. The Writers Guild of America, West awarded Kauffman and her partner in TV, David Crane, the 2016 Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for lifetime achievement in television writing. She also earned the 2016 Outstanding Television Award at the 23rd annual Austin Film Festival and Screenwriters Conference and the Kieser Humanitas Award (Ikar 2024).
Kauffman is now seen to be enjoying her single life as a mother of three children, Hannah, Sam and Rose, as she filed for a divorce from her ex-husband, Michael Skloff, after 31 years (Dayton 2023). She is a strong part of the Jewish community and takes pride in helping others. Kauffman is also currently serving on the board of Jewish Story Partners and the Lung Cancer Foundation of America. (Ikar 2024).
Looking further into my chosen key figure, I found more and more positive reasons why I chose her, not just as a figure but also as a woman to look into and learn from. For example, a community Kauffman is involved in quotes, “Marta brings energy and is an avid protector of an organisation’s mission. She is a tireless ambassador and a moral compass for the institutions she has served.”(Ikar 2024).
Lasting impact
Throughout Marta Kauffman’s career, she has had a significant impact on the TV industry in many ways, and hopefully, there will be more to come. However, in this article, I will be focusing on one of her most recognisable shows, in which she took place co-producing alongside David Crane, “Friends”.
Firstly, she had a lasting impact on the TV industry by revolutionising sitcoms, as “Friends” changed the sitcom genre; its relatable characters and humour format helped influence countless sitcoms that followed (Wesleyan 2011).
The show is known to be a cultural phenomenon as even though the last episode was filmed in 2004, still to this day, the show continues to have a significant impact on audiences worldwide through streaming platforms, merchandise, fans and, rewatches on Netflix, etc. Kauffman made sure to represent diversity through the show by talking about social issues and diverse relationships as the show is aimed more towards a younger audience, giving positive feedback to younger generations who are more clueless about this topic.
When researching more into Kauffman’s Background in the industry, it made me realise how she has had a significant impact on women’s-hood and how she has positively displayed herself as a role model to other women like myself wanting to go into this particular industry. For example, she has advanced the representation of women in television. Through all her successful shows Kauffman has demonstrated that women can be successful creators, helping more female voices to be heard in the industry.
Overall, Marta Kauffman’s contributions to the TV industry have had a lasting impact, influencing storytelling techniques, cultural trends and the representation of women in the industry (Wesleyan 2011).
In an interview with Marta Kauffman and Larry King, they talk about how Kauffman’s writing partnership came about and the whole process from when she first started writing with barely any experience. It shows that you must always try to pursue something you are passionate about, even if you have no experience or think it will fail, as you can’t succeed without trying. Kauffman’s quote in the interview was,
“When you do a show, your intention is not to affect American culture or to have people start wanting to wear their hair like this or dress like that… Dream On was fantastic; it was a great experience, and we learned so much from it. But Friends was a perfect experience. It was creatively satisfying, and we worked with extraordinary people across the board.” (King. L 2016).
After they realised all ten seasons of Friends, Kauffman quoted.
“It was surprising to us how invested the audience was in these characters, how desperately they wanted them to be happy, how putting them together made some kind of weird sense” (The Television Academy Foundation 2010).
Reading this quote allows me to realise that if, at some point in the future, I were to create, produce and release a piece of my work, society will always be a friend, as with even hateful feedback, you should look at in the way of constructive criticism as there’s always room for improvement to carry on and not to give up on yourself as I have learnt that from Kauffman herself.
Professional reflections
My professional reflections on my research on Marta Kauffman’s person and career have given me a better understanding of what life will be like starting in an industry that revolves around television as an inexperienced creator, which has been eye-opening.
Although finding out about Kauffman’s life achievements and her, digging into her career was enjoyable, on the other hand, I found the research process extremely difficult as I assumed there would have been a larger array of information and reliable sources to be able to work with and display In this essay. Therefore, I had to make the decision and choose to focus on portraying her achievements through her work. Most noticeably through “Friends”, this was because there is a much broader amount of information than in her other shows and films. On top of this, In my opinion, this would be a more enjoyable read for the viewers if they are fans and can feel more familiar with my essay.
Moving forward, when writing my biographical background research on Marta Kauffman, I found it hard to make it intriguing from the reader’s perspective. Personally, I thought that it was too factual and, therefore, could have been less enjoyable for the reader, and it made me realise that this is definitely something I would like to work on and overcome.
Overall, my professional reflections on Marta Kauffman often celebrate her talent, creativity, and impact on the television industry, recognizing her as a pioneering figure whose work resonates with audiences worldwide.
Conclusion
Overall, in conclusion, I feel that Marta Kauffman’s dedication to using her platform for a positive change and informing her audience about the importance of social issues, including women’s rights, diversity and mental health awareness, shows inclusivity in her work and makes her someone that more people should look up to. I have learnt a lot from this assessment, which I hope will be beneficial in the future when I’m faced with another similar task and as I edge closer to a career in and around television.
References
· Television Academy. (2010) David Crane and Marta Kauffman Interview. Los Angeles, CA: FoundationINTERVIEWS.
· Bombeck. E. (2023) Marta Kauffman. Dayton, Ohio: University Of Dayton.
· Roth. S.M. (2011) Writing the Great American Sitcom. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University.
· Ikar. (2024) Marta Kauffman. https://ikar.org/team/marta-kauffman/: Ikar.
· King. L. (2016) King’s Things: Marta Kauffman. Ora.TV: Larry King Now
