Essay oppression in television

Submitted By ecurran95
Words: 1426
Pages: 6
Open Document
Oppression is present in almost every aspect of daily life. In television, this is a common occurrence, with many references towards racism, sexism, heterosexism, and many other forms of oppression in various TV shows. This happens in comedy shows most commonly, where the sometimes offensive references and stereotypes are intended to be funny. The television show 2 Broke Girls, is a good example of the oppression found in TV. The show, which airs on CBS, follows two women who are in their twenties. One comes from a working class background, the other from a wealthy family, who lost all her money when her father was caught operating a Ponzi scheme, making both of them ‘broke girls’. They both are working as waitresses in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with the hopes of owning a cupcake shop. The show’s raunchy comedy and sarcasm is geared towards an audience of women in their twenties, who are going through similar struggles and have seemed to be desensitized to the stereotypical comments and jokes made about the women in the show. The form of oppression that are most prevalent in the episode “And The Temporary Distraction” are heterosexism, racism and sexism. The show’s characters are mainly part of minority groups. The two protagonists are two white woman, with supporting characters being an Asian man, and a white man, and guest characters being a lesbian woman, African American woman and a white man, along with others. Of the characters who were introduced in the episode and had a role in the oppression, there were 2 white women, an African American woman, a lesbian woman, an Asian man, and 2 white men.
I find it interesting that all of the characters that are focused on are apart of minority groups. In just one short episode, a hefty handful of –isms were touched upon and this is not done accidentally. The show purposefully writes in offensive jokes for the shock value, to make it seem funny, and to make sure that no one feels singled out, they cover everything. The first stereotype observed was with the lesbian woman. Right off the bat the show opens with a comment about a lesbian woman who comes into the diner. Han, the diner’s owner, makes a comment on how pretty she is, but soon questions her gender, asking if she is a boy and saying that “she looks like a pretty boy.” This can be connected to the Cycle of Socialization (Harro, 2010) and how Han was socialized as a child. Like almost every person, Han was socialized with genders in mind. He had ideas of what a boy and a girl should look like, which is learned in the First Socialization part of the Cycle. This results in uncertainty when confronted with a situation were someone doesn’t dress in the clothing associated with their gender.
The stereotypes quickly shifts and is then focused on Han. Max comments on Han’s own appearance, referencing his small stature and effeminate manner, which also references his race, and the fact that Asian men are usually referred to as less masculine in their appearance. This refers to Levels and Types of Oppression (Hardiman, Jackson, Griffin, 2010). When Han’s appearance is referred to, it is always to point out how awkward he looks. The Levels and Types on a societal level takes into account society’s norms, patterns and values and in this case, societies value and idea of beauty. Han’s appearance is the running joke because he is not what society has deemed “attractive”. His race has given him the appearance of being less masculine, and therefore, appearing to be more gay. People are socialized to see this as normal, when it is actually a form of oppression and is focusing in on one’s race and appearance.
The oppression branches out to sexism as well. The way the main characters are depicted are very stereotypical, by itself. Caroline is more emotional. She cares about her appearance and she is always well put together, feeding the stereotype that women are high maintenance and emotionally driven. Max on the other hand is on the
Show More

Related Documents: Essay oppression in television

Essay Just Dark Enough 20

Ashanti Mason-Chambers Jane Shattuc VM_____ 15 December 1014 Just Dark Enough Living in a twenty first century world that is heavily influenced by media, one can rarely escape from the various messages being broadcast. Whether it is television and film or social media and the Internet, media platforms can be seen portraying images nearly everywhere. In the midst of the countless forms of media, society is constantly discussing the true impact media has on the general public verses the public’s…

Words 8983 - Pages 36

Cultural Appropriation Of Black Culture

in different ways, in particular black people. A colonial past, that continues to effect the future and unchanging of the present dynamics in society. Black people have experiences oppression; exploitation and marginalized for generations. Surely, dating further back before slavery in the 1600s to 1800s, the oppression of black people was…

Words 401 - Pages 2

Notes On The Media Is The Metaphor Essay example

of the Age of Typography and the ascendancy of the Age of Television. This change-over has dramatically and irreversibly shifted the content and meaning of public discourse, since two media so vastly different cannot accommodate the same ideas. As the influence of print wanes, the content of politics, religion, education, and anything else that comprises public business must change and be recast in terms that are most suitable to television. (p. 8) For the first time, he proposes the book's primary…

Words 710 - Pages 3

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Soldier Boy

Ms. Howlett Date: July 25, 2013 Symbolism of Oppression and Freedom U6A3-­‐ A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Soldier Boy Ishmael Beah Many people interpret oppression and freedom in different ways, but it can be expressed in everyday activities, such as television and books. Ishmael Beah demonstrates these two subjects…

Words 1141 - Pages 5

Dark Skin Tone In Film

closed Oedipal world” (psychoanalytic models), without placing the subject under a “strict gender divide under patriarchy” (Marx). According to Janet McCabe, “attempts to understand the theoretical difficulties revealed an unconscious institutional oppression within the feminist discourse: namely, a style of thought involving white feminism and the Black woman” (67). According to bell hooks, while considering feminism and the “inferior status accorded women under…

Words 405 - Pages 2

postman 11 summary Essay

In this concluding chapter, Postman seems well aware that he might seem a cantankerous Luddite for having spouted against television at such length and with such vitriol. That his career as a media theorist explicitly disproves such an interpretation is of little value – we know how well aware he is of the power of an image, and he perhaps fears he falls into the image of the lunatic warning of end-times. However, he achieves a balance here of high-stakes language and pragmatic discussion. As Andrew…

Words 608 - Pages 3

Essay on Stereotyping on Television

Stereotyping on Television The United States is now more diverse than it ever has been, but from watching Hollywood films and television programs it’s easy to overlook that development. That’s because characters of color remain underrepresented in mainstream movies and TV shows. In addition, many actors of color are asked to play stereotypical roles—from maids and immigrants to thugs and prostitutes in Hollywood. This overview breaks down how African American, Italian, Arab Americans and Asian…

Words 788 - Pages 4

Second Red Scare Betty Friedan Summary

of Betty Friedan’s shift from her time at UE News, to her less radical writings for mass circulation magazines in 1955. At UE News, Friedan discussed corporations’ systematic discrimination against women, cultural and economic sources of women’s oppression, the special difficulties of double discrimination faced by racialized people, and even discrimination of women in institutions such as the home. For instance, Friedan’s 1952 pamphlet UE Fights for Women Workers suggested that, “industry glorifies…

Words 577 - Pages 3

Conflict Criminological Analysis

Unequal treatment is one of the main reasons that people commit crime out of frustration. An extreme example of this is President Donald Trump and how due to his high position of power many of his crimes went unsanctioned despite admitting to them on television. A possible solution to this problem would be highly Marxist and involve breaking down establishments, allowing us to be free from unnecessary material needs and desires, thus demolishing the power that society and especially its political and economic…

Words 1251 - Pages 6

The Three Waves of Feminism Essay

The Three Big Waves of Feminism First-Wave Feminism: Women’s Right to Vote In 1776, the then First Lady of the United States was the first to raise her about women’s rights, telling her husband to “remember the ladies” in his drafting of new laws, yet it took more than 100 years for men like John Adams to actually do so. With the help of half a dozen determined, and in this case white upper-middle-class, women the first-wave feminism, which spans from the 19th century to the early 20th century…

Words 1219 - Pages 5