In response to Cody’s post…..

I agree with his statement regarding Clark’s stage of recognition and how it borders around  ’respect’.  Today, more and more LGBT characters are given a chance to establish leading roles and even make reacuring appearances on prime time television. Their roles today reflect the everyday lives of people within the LGBT community which allows for them to become more recognized within American society.  And although there are times when ridicule and non-recognition still manifest within the characters, it is of a small percentage…as opposed to early TV.

Although there are no openly gay characters on the show Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Carlon’s character displays, according to Raymond’s tropes  the “Straight, mistaken for gay” character. That being said, it is important to keep in mind that this show was filmed in the early 90’s which was a time when homosexualiy was not yet openly recognized in prime time television, which would explain the ‘manipulating signs of gayness to create humor and playfullness’ within the characters.

Catherine Nahapetian

Question 10.

10. Please describe the field of queer studies. What does it critique? Give an example of a queer studies reading of a cultural text.

Queer Studies is the study of issues that deal with sexual orientation and gender identity. The various topics of scholarly study are scrutinized through the perspectives and perceptions of “queer” people in order to discover their connection within and between heterosexual society. In the simplest of terms, Queer studies is looking at the world both in the present and in the past, through the scope of the “queer” perspective. Similar to ethnic and cultural studies, queer studies deals with the societal implications and effects of being queer within a predominantly heterosexuality entails. Within queer studies, there is a harsh critique of the the heterosexual majority’s views of queer people, both as individuals and as a society. The ultimate aim of queer studies is to gain an analytical understanding of how gender identities and sexual orientation are defined within a largely heterosexual society. If the queer studies perspective were to be applied to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air it would seek to understand the series’ lack of queer representation. Within the show, there are allusions to queer behavior but they were never elaborated upon or validated beyond their shock value.

Question # 10

Queer studies analyzes sexual identities, performances, discourses and representations. It also considers connections between gay and lesbian studies and queer studies, feminist studies and queer studies and the implications of a queer studies critique for other disciplines. It seeks to destabilize notions of normative sexuality and gender.

Queer studies critiques identity politics, essentiialized ideas of sexuality, gender, and sexual identity as innate, biological, or fixed. It critiques hegemonic conceptions of sex and gender categories within stright and gay, bisexual, transgender and lesbian communities.

Queer studies does not fit within the context of the shows identity. The reason for that could be because the show is about race and class not so much about sexuality.

Vinh Nguyen

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question 9 cedricks stages of recognition

I know someone already wrote on this but really i wrote it earlier but i guess it never posted (i did it at 8 or so). I dont have time to think of a new answer to another question so im sorry im doing the same question.

Right now, according to Cedrick Clarks stages of recognition we are at the “respect” stage which is where characters are shown to have a diverse array of personalities that reflect that of the LGBT society of the real world. There are some examples in Will & Grace where Will is more of a manly gay man and Jack is more of the “sissy” type. We also have a whole some interracial gay couple in The Family Stone in which they decide to adopt a baby. In the Boondock Saints, there is a gay Sargent who is more on the macho side when he says “cuddling are for fags” to his boyfriend when he tried to cuddle with him. There are still some representations in the “Ridicule” stage where the gay characters are the center of comic relief. Some examples of this can be found in Wedding Crashers where a homosexual boy Todd is used as comic relief and are viewed as the “problem” in the family.

In the fresh prince of Bel-Air, there are no homosexual characters. However, all the family members are represented in the “respect” stage of recognition because all the family members who are all supposed to be of African American decent have different personalities, habits, and hobbies. The usual cast and the occasional characters they interact with are all diverse representations of the Black community.

Cody Nunn

question 9 cedrick clark’s stages of recognition

Question 8

The three comparison exercises which compared white women to women of color, man and woman, and a straight character and an LGBT character in a cultural text helped me to draw some very interesting conclusions based on the media that I consume. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was an interesting text to draw from because it isn’t the “typical” formula of family based shows. This show is based on an upper-middle class African American family, whereas most shows in this genre are based on white families.

My first conclusion came from the comparison of white women to women of color. This was difficult because the show does not have a primary character that is white. So I decided to draw from other female characters in shows of the same genre.  My conclusion was that Aunt Vivian acts the same as all other middle aged female characters in this type of situation drama. She was living her life like anyone else. This may however be due to the pluralist theory. This is where blacks are shown in a black world but live the same lifestyles as white characters. There are only minor differences of habit and perspective. The perspective of the plot still comes from a white, middle class which makes sense with the dominant ideology. It does not raise the issues of dealing with social struggles.

Another conclusion I drew from the comparison of men and women is that men are typically treated with more respect and allowed to goof off. In the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Will gets respect from his peers and his family, but he is still used as a funny characters. Uncle Phil is the same way. He is a respected lawyer but still adds a comedic touch. The same goes for Carlton. Carlton is a very polished and well-respected student, but he does his “Carlton Dance” On the other hand, the women of the family are either used one way or the other. Hillary is a funny character who people laugh at and doesn’t really bring anything other and that to the table. And Vivian is always a serious character.

My final conclusion comes for the caparison of a straight character to an LGBT character. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air does not have an openly LGBT character but Carlton does exhibit some characteristics that could be thought of as gay.  Television has made it ok to give straight characters stereotypical gay characteristics in order to get the desired result from the audience.

Shelly Oberstein

# 9 Stages of Recognition

Using Clark’s model, I would place the current representations of LGBT characters on TV between the stages of ridicule and respect.  I feel that there is so much more of respect because there are many organizations that look out for the disrespect of LGBT’s and many people fear being politically incorrect. Although so comedians still feel that  they can always get a laugh out of an audience by telling a gay joke. Over all people are more conscious of it. LGBT  of  today  are now playing roles that  have  try to reach out to as many people as possible so that anyone that has an open mind can relate if they so choose.  I honestly believe that   representations have become much more respectful  and   that is  great because people that are LGBT  can  be more comfortable about  who they are  without the  feeling of a negative condemnation.

In the Fresh prince of Bel- Air none of the lead characters are LGBT however there are some side jokes made about Carlton’s sexual preference because he has never gotten the attention from girls as much as the lead character Will does. Also the way he dresses and the colors he wears may be implying a detail that is never stated.

 Jennifer Nash

Boom Bye Bye

Buju Banton’s song Boom Bye Bye was a hit to the gay community.  Although the song was not deemed fit for radio airplay in Jamaica (where it was created), it was played frequently in Dancehalls, where it rose to the top of the charts.  For there it was exported to the US and world-wide.  The song was seen as advocating violence against the gay community – with lyrics about hitting the ‘batty boy’ in the head.  There was an increase in the amount of violence toward gays – on an international scale.  Gay advocates in New York did not try to ban the song from the radio, but simply to generate awareness and force stations to take responsibility for playing it.  As for Buju Banton, he seemed to think his words did not affect people – and that he was not responsible/ did not help to generate these harsh feelings.  Also, it is interesting to note that in Jamaica, it is illegal to be gay.  A professor(?) told a story that showed if someone is found to be gay, they will usually be killed – her story mentioned being beat by a mob int he market place.  The film closed with a sad statement about how maybe oneday it will be okay for gays to live in Jamaica, freely.  But for now there are serious repercussions.

Laura Oxford

Question # 7

The puppy episode was significant becuase it was the first time a leading prime-time show character was  openly gay and chose to come out on American public prime-time television.  This episode also created a significant change in American culture. An episide like this was never before seen in television history. For most of televisions history, gay characters embodied Clarks’ “non-recognition” stage of representation. They were not seen as reccuring, regular to lead characters. With the release of  “The Puppy Episide”, gay men and women, in media, entered Clark’s “respect” stage of representation.

In Fresh Prince of Bel Air, gay characters may not be recognized but the representation of a homosexual  individual is. Carlton Banks plays a straight male character who dresses and acts like someone who might be gay. For example, he wears the color pink, idolizes Tom Jones and does the “Carlton dance”. Although all of these traits might fit the role of a gay character, I believe that the representation of his character is somewhat positive because it validates the idea that not all males (in this case African Americans)  are extremely masculine.

Catherine Nahapetian

question 5

5.Trace the genealogy of LGBT representation on television

Pre 1970’s (early TV) – non recognition, except when ridiculed

Gay men are seen as villains

1970’s – being gay was seen as a problem, gay characters were  not integral characters and were not multi dimensional, stories were centered around gay identity and how it effected heterosexuality

1980’s -  The increase of AIDS increased attention and visibility to gay men. Aids was heavily link to gay community. Gay men began to disappear from TV and if they made an appearance they were seen as dying men…

Early 1990’s -  Gay appearances increased but still limited visibility. Gays were reoccurring characters on prime time dramas but were not primary characters. Gays  were still very controversial

mid 1990’s  – Gay representation of film changed due to independent film makers -  Were seen partaking in an everyday life due to films like “four wedding and a funeral” and “the wedding banquet”

Because there is no sign of Gays in  The Fresh prince, it is not possible to link LGBT representation to it.  Even though during the early 90’s gay rep increased, gay characters never made way on the show. Gays in minority sitcoms were incredibly rare.

Eric Murillo