The Big Bang Theory is a popular TV sitcom that has aired on CBS for the past 10 years. Throughout the show, we see four brilliant scientist, who are portrayed by men, along with an attractive female character named Penny who fits the stereotype of being "a dumb blonde" who is always needing help from the male characters. Penny, a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory, lives next door to Sheldon and Leonard, both of whom are astro physicists at a university. The two men have two close friends, Howard and Rajesh, who also work at the university as scientist. Despite the distinctive social differences between Penny and the male characters, they become close friends. The show portrays Penny as being an attractive character who often receives attention or regular advances from men, whereas the male characters aren't considered attractive and often get rejected by women. Penny is also portrayed as being dumber than all the male characters which fits the real world sexist stereotype that suggest men are smarter than women, when in reality women can be just as smart or even smarter than most men. She gets looked at as the outsider in the group of friends because of her knowledge in the show. Society gets these messages that the show puts out there and believes them, thinking that all women are helpless, not as intelligent and need a man's assistance to make it through life. The show also plays on the stereotype that women can often receive favors from men by flirting and using their good looks. There are multiple episodes where Penny asks the men for help with her bills, internet, and other important needs and Leonard usually helps and gets pleasure in return.
Another example of stereotype is with the four male characters. In the show, these characters are nerds who struggle with talking to women. These men struggle with social protocol and are often unable to strike up conversations about topics that do not involve science. They give off the message that men who are incredibly smart, or work in the field of science, are anti-social nerds who cannot relate with females. The best example is Sheldon. He often tries to start off conversations with Penny that often involve scientific terms, which she has difficulty understanding. The message the show gives is that these types of male characters are nerds who cannot get together with attractive women. Even though some may believe that Leonard and Penny's eventual relationship falsifies this stereotype, it actually reinforces it as multiple characters make comments about the abnormal nature of their relationship. There is even an episode where Penny tells Leonard that she's fearful of their marriage due to their strong social differences.
The show also displays sexism when it comes to alcohol related activities. The behavior of the male characters vs the female characters when they consume alcohol is a sharp contrast. For this example, let's first consider Rajesh. In the first few seasons, the only way he could speak to women (including Penny) was by consuming alcohol. When he would consume alcohol, he would become obnoxious, often making rude comments and displaying other forms of erratic behavior. The show portrays men as being obnoxious when they drink as Rajesh becomes this romantic guy who can talk to any girl in the world and tries to get with them. When Sheldon drinks, he gets wild and goes crazy like he just had a bunch of candy. The portrayal of the female characters when they consume alcohol is far different. When Penny drinks, she goes after Leonard or any attractive guy she comes in contact with. Another female character is Sheldon's girlfriend Amy. When Amy drinks, she also makes sexual advances to Sheldon, which is something her character would never do sober. The show is basically sending the messages that when girl's drink, they become a lot more sexual.
Big Bang Theory is well known to provide their audience with ideal relations towards gender bias. Sexism is defined as prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, based on sex. Which you seemed to prove in the long run of The Big Bang Theory. Some other subjects that you might want to add in the long run is the Bechtel Test. The Bechtel Test is asking whether a work of fiction features at least two women or girls who talk to each other about something other than a man or boy. The requirement that the two women or girls must be named is sometimes added. About half of all films meet these requirements, per user-edited databases and the media industry press. The test is used as an indicator for the active presence of women in films and other fiction, and to call attention to gender inequality in fiction. A known movie that has failed The Bechtel Test is Finding Nemo While Dory is a lovable female character in this animated film, this story is primarily based on male underwater creatures. What people don't realize is that Dory is look upon being "Stupid" and Marlin the adult fish is " smart" and knows his directions. What people don't look upon is this in fact is a serious problem that should be analyze more carefully in movies.
ReplyDeleteI just want to add on to the "blonde" girl roles of another female actress. When looking at the actress Anna Faris, most roles that she plays are the type of blondie girl. In the Scary Movie series she's often made fun of and she often makes fun of herself through irony when she tries to seem smart or witty. In a clip from the movie Waiting, she's insulted by a man with the remark "haven't I been inside you" furthering the notion that her character is sexualized and as if that is an appropriate insult to hurt a woman's feeling. In a clip from Better With Time she makes up a story to make herself seem like she's also in a happy relationship when she sees her ex boyfriend. In these examples, the characters that Anna playes portray her role as a very dull character who can be patronized by men and others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post in so many ways. When watching the Big Bang Theory, the scenes where the men are at work in the cafeteria having lunch, if you pay attention to the cafeteria there aren't nearly as many women in the room as there are men. There is only one woman who really stands out while the boys of the show are at work and that is Leslie Winkle. As the seasons continue there have been more females added to the University.
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