Politics of the Sitcom Formula: Friends, Mad About You and the Sapphic Second Banana - Kelly Kessler

"Politics of the Sitcom Formula: Friends, Mad About You and the Sapphic Second Banana"

Kelly Kessler

https://books.google.co.uk/books? hl=en&lr=&id=1fu2BQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA130&dq=sitcom+genre&ots=fikfdbbxJ-&sig=Lf4-GrW_h797RHWNc1xSDArvMB8#v=onepage&q=sitcom%20genre&f=false

• I chose this section from the book 'The New Queer Aesthetic on Television: Essays on Recent Programming' as it is partially related to the evolution of the sitcom genre which I am carrying out my research essay on. I also chose this as I think it is an interesting topic.
• This essay is about the representation of lesbians in two different sitcoms. Friends (1994-2004) and Mad About You (1992-1999.)

'Programs such as Friends, Mad About You, Roseanne, Spin City and Will & Grace showcased this new type of stock character and set the bar for gay and lesbian prime-time comic representation,'

• I agree with this statement as shows like Friends have characters like Carol and Susan who are reoccurring characters and it is one of the first shows to show a lesbian couple that are not just a one time occurrence and we can see their history and story play out throughout the shows run.

'Despite this influx of lesbian representation, surprisingly little has been published regarding the phenomenon.'

• I agree with this as there is very little on the internet about the change in the representation of lesbians on tv, especially on sitcoms.

'Recognising the trend of "one time only" situation comedy lesbian appearances.'

• I partially agree with the idea of "one time only" lesbian appearances as there are not many, if any at all, main characters in sitcoms who are lesbian however in sitcoms such as Friends, there are lesbian characters who make more than one appearance and who are shown quite often, such as Carol and Susan.

Quotes:

• 'The gay kiss forces hetero audiences to confront homosexuality head-on, consequently compelling them to deal with uncomfortable social realities.'
• Though these critics pinpoint problems with various types of representations, they may be skirting what may be the cause: the inherent limitations of the genre that produce many of these images - the situation comedy.'

Overall...

I think that this section of the book shows how lesbians are represented in the sitcom genre and how little coverage the change in their representation has received however I do think some of the points made are partially inaccurate such as the idea of "one time only" lesbian appearances which are not true in all cases.