Stereotypes in The Big Bang Theory -- Playing for Laughs
Television criticism and comedy analysis are not my strong suit. Nonetheless, the stereotyping exhibited in the popular award winning TV sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” is hard to ignore. As someone that will watch an occasional sitcom I like to believe I can enjoy the comedy and at the same time recognize the stereotypes portrayed for what they are. The cast of characters in “TBBT” exhibits a collage of stereotypes that were created and scripted to evoke laughter through the interplay of the people and the stereotypes they embody. Key stereotypes depicted in the show include gender, social, psychological, ethnic, and occupational. TBBT promotes or reinforces a variety of these stereotypes
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Sheldon, for example, has difficulty sensing and interpreting social and language cues. He seems incapable of recognizing sarcasm or irony in the words of others. He will sometimes ask Leonard or others whether something that was just said was sarcasm. Leonard has even taken to holding up a sign with the word sarcasm on it to cue Sheldon. Amy, who eventually becomes Sheldon’s girlfriend, is a neurobiologist with a PhD, and fits the geek/nerd stereotype as well. Amy is a very much like Sheldon, though significantly less socially clueless. Amy’s many similarities to Sheldon make it difficult Penny to see her as the friend that she wants to be, and believes she is. Sheldon often annoys Penny, the non-academic “normal” person and Amy’s similarities to him are off-putting. In order to fit the unattractiveness aspect of the female geek-nerd stereotype, make-up personnel apply their craft to make Amy’s character look less physically attractive than the actor Mayim Bialik does herself. Ms. Bialik, a PhD. neuroscientist in real life, has her looks "smartened down" to look like a stereotype that she belies in real …show more content…
Their feelings concerning the differences in each other's education level (PhD. versus Masters) and the qualitative characteristics of their jobs (theoretical vs. applied science) are a regular source of friction. Sheldon with the PhD and the theoretical job track – not to mention his 187 IQ -- believes he is superior to the others. Deep down the others might agree, but will never acknowledge that their jobs are in some way less significant than Sheldon’s. The male leads may make more income and perceive themselves as higher status than some or all of the female leads, but they have their own occupational strivings and insecurities. In one scene, Penny recites a memorized, complicated, technically detailed, and very disparaging description of her boyfriend Leonard’s research. The source of Penny's memorized words of disparagement was, of course,
In chapter of the book Penny is at a family dinner in which the intention is to praise the approval of her ship design that is to be used by the British admiralty. However, during this dinner, that was supposed to be celebrating Penny success, a debate arose about Pennys ship design. In this debate her uncle Alfred argued that due to ship engineering being a job that is predominantly male orientated Pennys design could not possibly be of a good quality. Following these remarks Penny would then try to calm the situation by saying “If it makes anyone feel any better, I don't deserve any credit, the whole idea was Neils.” This shows Pennys reluctance to accept credit for her extraordinary work and rather give credit to a man in order to abide within the misogynistic societal expectations of the time. These expectations being that men were supposed to be the intellectuals while women could not possibly be successful in a white collared environment due to their lack of intellect. With this in mind, the prejudice that Penny faces in this scene is highlighted from comments made by the narrator in an earlier chapter of the book. These comments were “To be a woman at a predominantly masculine job she had to be more than good. she had to be better than her male colleagues; she had to work longer hours and be doubly careful as
One of the most successful and popular comedies on television in the 21st century is “Big Bang Theory “. From the beginning, this show “Big Bang Theory “, main characters of this show are four boys Leonard, Sheldon, Raj and Howard and one girl Penny. This show bases itself entirely on stereotypes which historically the boys are
The more television changes, the more it stays the same for the genre of African American sitcoms. Some critics believe that African Americans will never accept the images they see of themselves on network television. Like whites, African Americans on television sitcoms should be portrayed “in the full array of cultures that exist in our society.”
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and when it comes to the television series, Family Guy, everyone does. A person either loves the series or absolutely hates it. Antonia Peacocke voiced her opinion on the hit series in her article, Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. At first she was just another addition to the other Family Guy haters, but she eventually came around and saw the humor after the hard to swallow punch lines. “Family Guy does not aim to hurt… creators take certain measures to keep it from hitting too hard.” Peacock says (307). What the creators are reenacting in the shows are not exactly, socially
It is explained that “almost any stereotype is true in some way” (73). They can be another form of a mindbug, which can lead one to judge or treat others in a way that they might not have if there was no stereotype associated with them in the first place. When people assume that all stereotypes are true, they begin to judge others based off of those stereotypes. For example, the stereotypes “Old people are forgetful” or “Women are nurturing” or “Asians are good at math” lead people to associate those thoughts with all elderly, all Asians, and all women which can drive our judgement of one another. The human mind tends to group traits together into categories which then affects our behavior. For example, when an individual is sick they go to a clinic, and they can place the doctors and nurses into a category as someone to trust and someone who is going to help them based on their clothing and behavior. This behavior then affects how the patient acts in that
As Charlotte A. Jirousek said in Superstars, Superheroes and the Male Body Image: The Visual Implications of Football Uniforms “Television created many individual stars, whose image and lifestyle had substantial influence” (Jirousek, 235). It is unquestionable that what is viewed on television influences daily life and one’s view of their personality and appearance. The American television network CBS broadcasts an abundance of shows and the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory is just one of them. The Big Bang Theory has aired since 2007 and is a popular program for the average American family to watch. While it is good that The Big Bang Theory is able to provide entertainment
There are numerous assumptions and stereotypes people fabricate about WIC participants. Some of these assumptions and stereotypes are that people on the WIC program abuse the system by being dependent on the system and not using government assistance programs as they were originally intended when it was created in 1972. Additionally, other assumptions are that the majority of minorities or people of color are using these government agencies. I believe the writer of this case study used this assumption when writing it because she made a point to give the readers the illusion that Mrs. Ortiz is of Hispanic origin. Another assumption that I perceived from this case study is the use of the name Rebecca obviously the author is trying to refer
Chimamanda Ngozi once said, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” (Stereotypes). Many stereotypes effect us. They can also have a negative effect and those affected by it can feel insecure because they may be judged or treated because of that certain stereotype. Stereotypes are labels that are unfairly placed on people, and they affect all of us.
Based upon the lecture it is now my opinion that race is an ideology and should not be considered a physical fact. As presented in the lecture, just because someone appears to be black, does not mean they should be classified as solely “black.” The example given about Barack Obama having a white birth mother and black birth father, and yet he is classified as black. I am curious to know if Obama himself classifies himself as black, or if this is something the public classifies him as. I think most people consider race as a physical fact but should not. An example being when someone appears to be Asian, but in reality they could be a mixture of different ethnicities. Many stereotypes are based upon physical facts, rather than the actual knowledge
To define a race, the social Darwinists affixed stereotypes, both positive and negative, of ethnic group appearance, behavior, and culture as allegedly unchangeable and rooted in biological inheritance, immutable throughout time and immune to changes in environment, intellectual development, or socialization. For the Nazis, assimilation of a member of one race into another culture or ethnic group was impossible because the original inherited traits could not change: they could only degenerate through so-called race-mixing.
The Big Bang Theory is no exception to this issue. The men in the show are not the typical masculine, aggressive type. Furthermore, they do not place value on partying and casual sex. The men are opposite of expectations. The women in the show are successful and education. Amy and Bernadette both hold doctorate degrees. Women are not often viewed in today’s society as achieving higher levels of education; when in fact in the 25-34 age group, 37.5% of women have a bachelor’s degree or higher, while only 29.5% of men do (Feeney 2015). The Big Bang Theory is breaking down gender stereotypes, one laugh at a time.
◦ Bean, M.G., Stone, J., Moskowitz, G.B., Badger, T. A., & Focella, E.S. (2013). Evidence of nonconscious stereotyping of
Have you ever been in a debate between something? Well in the article “ Is this generation really more informed?” We read about how people think that this generation is more informed than the generations in the past because everyone has technology and phones. But not all people are correct. Everyone is not always informed about the right things. Some people are more worried about the things that interest them than about things that are important to the world.
After conducting an hour-long observation and data collection of The Big Bang Theory, I found three specific patterns. These were patterns of traditional gender roles, heterosexual privilege, and gender performance. The first pattern is the traditional breadwinner and housewife roles that are portrayed throughout the episodes. In the show women are seen occupying the household while the men occupy the workplace. These traditional roles reinforce gendered behaviors and interactions amongst the male and female character that reflect modern day society.
With the balance between the reinforcement and diminishing of gender stereotypes, the show has maintained the position of middle ground. First of all, Family Guy may have a balance between the reinforcement and diminishment of gender stereotypes, but the title of the show clearly shows the stereotype of