Portrayal of Class in "2 Broke Girls"
Analysis of the portrayal of class in an American TV series
Contemporary class differences should not longer cause problems in social life. As differences between high class and low class members are growing, difficulties in communication expand at the same measure. The US sitcom “2 Broke Girls”, produced by Michael Patrick King in 2011, tackles these issues and creates a TV series, which is not as funny as it is expected from a comic sitcom, and therefore criticizes not only sitcoms of that genre in general, but also the American class system. As the sitcom is playing today, in an America of the economical crisis, it also tries to deal with the question how to create a stable market. Therefore “2 Broke Girls” (2011) shows a utopia of overcoming class differences, and economical adjustment. It is not only about the stereotypes of others, which are typical for comic series, but also about creating something new all together – also if it is only a cupcake factory. In the sitcom, the main protagonists do not only have to deal with prejudices against each other, but also present stereotyped characters of different classes in America. Obviously there are many characters in the series that are stereotyped and show prejudices, but as the two “broke girls” are presented the most detailed, their behavior is mainly effected by stereotypes. The TV series “2 Broke Girls” portraits current stereotypes in the class system and shows how easily members of different classes can overcome their prejudices.
One way, the series shows stereotypes and the negotiation of prejudices in America’s class system is already shown in the pilot episode at the very beginning, when the two protagonists get to know each other. The main protagonist Max, acted by Kat Dennings, is a waitress in a diner in Brooklyn, and has a second job as a babysitter in a high society household in Manhattan. Max presents a young woman, trying to climb the social ladder by producing cupcakes, but partly due to her
Contemporary class differences should not longer cause problems in social life. As differences between high class and low class members are growing, difficulties in communication expand at the same measure. The US sitcom “2 Broke Girls”, produced by Michael Patrick King in 2011, tackles these issues and creates a TV series, which is not as funny as it is expected from a comic sitcom, and therefore criticizes not only sitcoms of that genre in general, but also the American class system. As the sitcom is playing today, in an America of the economical crisis, it also tries to deal with the question how to create a stable market. Therefore “2 Broke Girls” (2011) shows a utopia of overcoming class differences, and economical adjustment. It is not only about the stereotypes of others, which are typical for comic series, but also about creating something new all together – also if it is only a cupcake factory. In the sitcom, the main protagonists do not only have to deal with prejudices against each other, but also present stereotyped characters of different classes in America. Obviously there are many characters in the series that are stereotyped and show prejudices, but as the two “broke girls” are presented the most detailed, their behavior is mainly effected by stereotypes. The TV series “2 Broke Girls” portraits current stereotypes in the class system and shows how easily members of different classes can overcome their prejudices.
One way, the series shows stereotypes and the negotiation of prejudices in America’s class system is already shown in the pilot episode at the very beginning, when the two protagonists get to know each other. The main protagonist Max, acted by Kat Dennings, is a waitress in a diner in Brooklyn, and has a second job as a babysitter in a high society household in Manhattan. Max presents a young woman, trying to climb the social ladder by producing cupcakes, but partly due to her
Bibliography: “Pilot.” 2 Broke Girls. Dir. Michael Patrick King, Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, Jonathan Kite. CBS. 19 September 2011. “And the Rich People Problems.” 2 Broke Girls. Dir. Michael Patrick King, Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, Jonathan Kite. CBS. 10 October 2011. Landrine, Hope. “Race x class stereotypes of women”. Sex Roles. Volume 13, Issue 1-2, pp 65-75. 1985. Kluwer Academic Publisher-Plenum. Devine, Fiona. Social Class in America and Britain. 1997. Edinburgh University Press. Perucci, Robert and Earl Wysong. The New Class Society: Goodbye American Dream?. 2008. Rowman & Littlefield.