Discourse & Identity III (Discussion)

To study race and ethnicity, certain key terms/concepts must be understood. Be prepared to define the following:

• Group 2: essentialism, racial formation
• Group 3: assimilationist discourse
• Group 4: pluralist discourse
• Group 1: multiculturalist discourse

Girlfriends

Beretta Smith-Shomade (pronounced "show-ma-day") examines "four intertwined elements in television comedy that define and give meaning to Black women's representation there: work roles, characterization, class, and identity" (48). Each group should discuss the key aspects of these elements and apply Smith-Shomade's analysis of 1990s sitcoms to Girlfriends (2000-2008):

• Group 3: work and class
• Group 4: identity: language
• Group 1: identity: skin shade
• Group 2: identity: hair
• All groups: characterization (i.e., conventional roles and stereotypes)
• All groups: Place Smith-Shomade's analysis within the context of the study of race and ethnicity. How would you characterize her approach to the sitcom?

Cast

• William Dent (Reggie Hayes)
• Toni Childs (Jill Marie Jones)
• Maya Wilkes (Golden Brooks)
• Joan Clayton (Tracee Ellis Ross)
• Lynn Searcy (Persia White)

Bibliography

1. Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (NY: Routledge, 2011).
2. Beretta E. Smith-Shomade, “Laughing Out Loud: Negras Negotiating Situation Comedy,” Shaded Lives: African-American Women and Television (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002), 24-68.

External links

• Wikipedia book: Girlfriends allusions
• Girlfriends illustrations