The cast is an eclectic mix of friends from various backgrounds and places. Jess (center female), the main character, could be said to embody the stereotypical "girly girl"; she loves dresses, bows, crafting, but is also a self proclaimed feminist and dork. These qualities take her from a one dimensional stereotype to a fully developed character with easily identifiable qualities.
Her best friend, Cece (right hand female), falls more into racial stereotyping. She is a model but is also characterized as having no skills but being pretty. As an Indian woman, there are a few episodes throughout the show that touch on her cultural heritage. In one season, she agrees to go through with an arranged marriage; they give little explanation to the cultural practice and work under the assumption that all Indian people agree to arranged marriages. The character, Schmidt, also makes many clever but racist nicknames for Cece and often mixes us her Indian heritage with many other cultures, such as Native America and Middle Eastern.
Schmidt (upper right hand male) himself is the most stereotyped character and it is part of his appeal as a cast member. He considers himself a proud Jewish man and makes many comments and remarks about it. While funny, they often push the line of appropriateness but are made "okay" since he's Jewish. He also is stereotyped as a complete womanizer; he is the embodiment of the male "machismo" idea and often shares his views on men being superior to women. While he provides the most comic relief on the show, his character is made entirely up of stereotypes about men and Jewish people, making him almost cartoonish and difficult to relate to.
While the characters themselves are very diverse, the show works off of a lot of stereotypes as a ways to add humor, only reinforcing the ideas that are behind them.
No comments:
Post a Comment