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.
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