Television and Stereotypes

With our discussion in class today about stereotypes and television shows, I was thinking about The Nanny, and The Big Bang Theory. I have seen many episodes of both of these shows, and I feel that The Nanny reinforces these thoughts, while the Big Bang Theory makes fun of them and shows how ridiculous they are. The Nanny is pretty much entirely based around Jewish stereotypes, and doesn’t always seem like a joke. I feel the show makes you believe that that’s how all Jewish women act and reinforces these Jewish stereotypes. However on the Big Bang Theory, I feel they make fun of everyone in such a big way that I get the feeling they’re making fun of these stereotypes. I also feel that they make fun of all kinds of people (they show nerd, and dumb blond etc. stereotypes as well) which makes me believe they’re making fun of them. I think these types of shows need to be careful of how they portray characters, because it can either reinforce these, or poke fun at these kinds of stereotypes, and people may not recognize the difference if it's not obvious to the viewers.

Laura Kalinowski Post #14