I Love You, Leslie Knope

Parks and Rec returns tonight and I could not be more elated. I am absolutely thrilled that Parks and Rec returns from a relatively long winter hiatus because I absolutely and completely love Leslie Knope. I know am not the first person to say this and I certainly won’t be the last. That’s because Leslie Knope is awesome.

Leslie is exactly the kind of heroine we need more of on our screens. She is determined, she is funny, she is fearless, and she is flawed. Leslie represents a female protagonist who is neither broken beyond repair nor too perfect to be attainable. She is strong in her convictions and still a little silly. Her unbelievable dedication is matched by a propensity to overreact. It is exactly this balance that makes her real and believable. Even in her eccentricities there is something intrinsically relatable about her. Between that and the general hilarity of the show it is nearly impossible not to tune in each week to see what our favorite Pawneean is up to.

Leslie is one of the best examples of a feminist TV has to offer right now. She is proud of her feminist roots and unafraid to call people out on their sexist behavior. She talks the talk and walks the walk. From starting the Pawnee Goddesses, a scout like organization, when girls were shut out from the Pawnee Rangers to becoming a trash collector for a day to prove that women are just as capable as men, Leslie is a warrior for equality (which she has stated would be her stripper name if she were a stripper). Furthermore, Leslie’s belief in equality does not just crop up once a season like it might in other shows; rather, it represents a major theme of the show. Parks and Rec has not just blessed us with a female protagonist but has gifted us with one who proudly proclaims and lives her feminist beliefs and is not demonized for it.

Leslie is without a doubt my favorite TV character, but she is not the only strong point Parks and Rec has to offer. In addition to Leslie, the show offers us one of the most diverse casts on television in race, ethnicity, and body type and, for the most part, does not make cheap jokes about these aspects of identity. Instead it often uses comedy as a vehicle to call people out on everyday mishandlings of identity. A great example is when Leslie repeatedly asks Tom, her Indian-American coworker, when his answer of South Carolina doesn’t satisfy her curiosity. Tom’s eventual answer of “my mother’s uterus” serves to highlight the absurd behavior of bombarding non-white people with the question “Where are you really from?” The show also demonstrates a strength in its portrayal of female friendships. Instead of focusing mostly on relationships between men and women the emphasis on Parks is usually given to the relationships among the women, particularly the relationships between Ann and Leslie and Ann and April which makes it even more of shame that Rashida Jones, the actress who plays Leslie’s best friend Ann, is leaving this season. Needless to say, a great majority of the episodes of this show pass the Bechdel test.

Overall, Parks and Rec is the best that comedy has to offer. While it tends to be rather ridiculous, it still manages to be meaningful. For as many moments as I have laughed over the course of the show, I have also been pleased to see various societal flaws, particularly regarding women in power, called out. I’m excited to visit Pawnee again starting tonight and if you’re looking for a hilarious half hour with a killer female protagonist, then I hope you’ll join me.

Dear Show, Good Job: Week 1

Dear "Parks and Rec,"

I already expect you'll be a perennial winner in this series. Let's be honest, you're the standard for feminist television right now. This week was no exception. It was great to see you pay attention to women in government. I'll admit, I squealed of excitement when Leslie said "I look forward to a day when women in government are just people in government." Right on, Leslie! You go girl! But I was also excited to see Leslie struggle with how thankless her job is. It's great to see that women can be awesome and amazing and still struggle like the rest of us. We don't need super women on TV. We need real women and I'm glad to say Leslie Knope is one of them.

Sincerely,
Leslie Knope Is My Girl

Women Won the Emmys (At Least in Comedy)

The nominations have been announced. The gracious thank yous have been issued. The snubs and surprises articles have been written. It’s Emmy season, everyone, and this time around women took the awards by storm in the comedy category.

In a world where some people continue to debate about whether women are funny, the list of nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series seems to set out to silence the disbelievers. Three of the six nominees have female protagonists and of the remaining three two are arguably ensemble comedies with relatively balanced comedies. Seems to me, women are funny or at least the Academy thinks so.

Furthermore, several of the nominated shows feature strong female characters and explore many of the problems modern women face at home and work. 

Girls of course is renowned for it’s focus on a group of young women who are struggling to find themselves in New York City. The show is, of course, representative of the struggles of a generation of women and with the success of Girls that generation of women finally gets a chance to hear their own voices on television. In addition, the creative genius behind Girls is a woman, the multi-talented Lena Dunham.

Like Lena Dunham, another woman continually proving that women are funny is the extraordinary Tina Fey, the woman behind NBC’s 30 Rock. The show, following the trials and tribulations of TV writer and producer Liz Lemon, has been an Emmy darling for several years, including this one, the show’s last. Though there’s only one other female character, the show does accomplish something in making the focus of the story a woman who openly identifies as a feminist. Liz Lemon feminism has been the focus of many conversations by feminist media critics and portraying a feminist lead was a huge leap in television.

Another stand out is Veep. While it’s satirical nature often makes Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s VP Selina Meyer seem ineffective, it does explore some of the ramifications of Selina’s gender on her job and public perception. Simply the fact that a woman is being portrayed as the vice president should also be appreciated in a world where television still often represents political power as solely a man’s game and where, too often, it’s right.

Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory  struggle most in their portrayal of women. Modern Family is by no means bad at portraying women, thought, it is somewhat lacking in the variety of roles women are portrayed in. The female characters tend to be housewifes but that may be changing and has provided an interesting story line for Claire, a woman exploring how to find fulfillment and fill her time after raising three children. In this way it’s reflective of the lives of many women and takes a stab at exploring the effects of the traditional home on women. Unlike Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory struggles much more to represent women well. Creator Chuck Lorre is infamous for shows with sexist portrayals of women. Women are treated as extensions of the male characters and they are too often the butt of sexist jokes. Their stories aren’t told as their own but are instead used to provide character arcs for the male characters. It’s worth noting, though, that as the show has progressed more women have joined the cast and it’s critical reception and ratings have gone up. Hollywood executives take note, women make good television.

The last show, Louie, of course is the brainchild of feminist darling Louie CK. The show centers on a male protagonist but it’s written and starred in by one of the most feminist members of the media out there. Feminists love Louie.

All in all, it’s a good year to be a woman in comedy television. The only thing missing from this year’s nominees is Parks and Rec.  The show is currently one of the highest rated on television an continues to excel in the world of comedy. Starring the beloved Amy Poehler as the competent and wildly-driven, if eccentric, city councilwoman Leslie Knope, Parks and Rec is both hilariously funny and beloved for it’s rich portrayal of female characters. Most won’t argue that it didn’t deserve more Emmy love than it got. Well, there’s always next year.

tl;dr Women are funny. Girls is good. 30 Rock and Tina Fey are awesome. Feminists love Louie. Yay for Veep and Modern Family. The Big Bang Theory is kind of sexist. Women make television better. Parks and Recshould have been nominated.