My Favorite

When it comes to television, almost everyone has multiple shows that they follow. However, there is usually only one show that can be defined as their favorite. Each person's favorite show is liked for different reasons. Some may enjoy the intricate story the show tells, or perhaps the characters, or may just enjoy something more simple such as the action or the comedy. Through a great detail of thinking, I have come to the conclusion that my favorite show has to be The Big Bang Theory.

The Big Bang Theory stars two genius physicists, Leonard and Sheldon, that live together and struggle to deal with the various encounters of life. There are many more characters that make up the main cast, but the show mostly revolves around these two characters, their friends Howard and Raj, and their neighbor Penny, who aspires to be an actress and is Leonard's love interest. Being a sitcom, its main purpose is obviously to make people laugh, and it mostly follows the same sitcom mythology of character interactions and how those interactions turn out. Many sitcoms try to put their own spin on these interactions or events, and The Big Bang Theory is no different.

The show is very science-oriented, along with plenty of video game, comic book, and internet meme references. Like most sitcoms, the characters find themselves in situations that people might encounter in real life -- such as two friends who decide to go on a date, but are worried the friendship might be ruined if things go wrong -- but due to the social awkwardness of the characters, they have to resort to scientific principles and video game references in order to deal with the situations. This leads to the show being able to be enjoyed in two ways. If the person understands the science behind the character dialog, or the video game references, then they are able to laugh because they not only understand what the characters are saying, but they probably also used the same methodology the characters used to navigate the situation. Alternatively, if someone does not understand the references, they are still able to laugh due to the sometimes absurd, awkward, and over-the-top thought processes the characters have. Due to this, virtually every joke has appeal to the entire audience, for one reason or another. That is why this show is my favorite.

Unfortunately, as much as I love this show, there is one main thing that I do not like about this show: the stereotyping. The vast majority of the humor is nerd or geek humor, and while the show does not always try to hammer home the stereotypes, all of the stereotyping is generally explicitly negative. The guy characters are all stereotyped as being social pariahs, who have zero understanding of social relationships -- specifically when it comes to women -- or general societal expectations. Penny is usually the one to voice these stereotypes when she sees the guys interact. Penny is also the victim of her owns explicitly negative stereotypes, as she perfectly fits the "dumb blonde" stereotype.

Elsewhere, Howard is the victim of most of the show's religious stereotypes due to being Jewish. The most common stereotype portrayed here is that of Jewish males living with their mother until well into adulthood. He is also the character that portrays some of the more offensive geek stereotypes, such as being misogynistic, resentful, and even downright creepy when it comes to women. Even though this largely goes away in the later seasons, it is still present. Finally, the Raj character is involved in multiple Indian stereotypes, such as a thick Indian accent, having controlling parents that are constantly trying to arrange marriages for him, and taking interest in a hard science. He also prominently displays the geek stereotype of being afraid -- in his case, being completely unable to -- to talk to women.

In all honesty, the geek and nerd stereotypes make up the majority of the stereotypes in the show. These stereotypes find their roots in the media, specifically magazines and television shows (Evans, 2012). Even though being nerdy and geeky has become a badge of honor in recent years, the explicit, negative stereotyping is still alive and well thanks in part to popular shows like The Big Bang Theory. It is believed that women and minorities are discouraged from showing interest in science and other things stereotyped as being geeky or nerdy, lest they be labeled as one (2012).

Despite this huge flaw, I still thoroughly enjoy The Big Bang Theory. The characters -- sans stereotypes -- are simply too relatable for me not to enjoy this show. Unlike other sitcoms, I have not grown bored with this show as the seasons have gone on. I very much anticipate this being a show that I thoroughly enjoy until it has finished airing new episodes. At the same time, I am also hopeful that the negative stereotyping of geeks and nerds will die off. Although I was not fazed by the mockery that I received in high school for being interested in the same things that the Big Bang Theory characters are interested in, many kids are. Perhaps one day society will learn to embrace intelligence, rather than mocking it.

References

Evans, R. J. (2012, March 9). A short illustrated history of the nerd. Retrieved June 8, 2013 from http://www.kuriositas.com/2011/06/short-illustrated-history-of-nerd.html