Discourse & Identity III (Discussion)
From Screenpedia
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
- Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (NY: Routledge, 2011).
- 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.
