Discourse & Identity III (Discussion)

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). Does Girlfriends rely on African-American stereotypes? E.g., "mammy," "sapphire," "tragic mulatto," etc.
• 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)

All groups

1. List two strength(s) of analyzing identity in terms of discourse. List two weaknesses of this approach.

Bibliography

1. Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (NY: Routledge, 2012).
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
• "Infanity: Girlfriends," tour of the Girlfriends set by Persia White, local copy