My Big, Gigantic Drum Kit

rachael-maddux:

And it ain’t Girls.

As it’s now obligatory that everyone on Tumblr present something resembling a position on Girls*, I’ll echo Rachael’s comments above and add, with a few exceptions, every single, non-workplace sitcom listed here. Which is not to say Girls deserves a pass on under-representation, but sitcoms like Louie, Friends, Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother, etc. have always gotten away with gentle ribbing about their whiteness. It’s impossible to overlook the sexism that’s probably at play here**, but Sex and the City, the template for/thing being critiqued on Girls, ran for six fairly racially homogeneous seasons and didn’t raise this sort of ire. 

So I guess this isn’t so much a position as puzzlement: why did anyone expect that this would be the show to break from the tradition of non-diversity in urban, non-workplace sitcoms?  That is, there do need to be more shows that reflect diversity***, but is it fair to pin the systemic problem on any single series****?  

* Yes, even those of us who haven’t watched it due to lack of HBO or disinterest in illegal downloading (seriously—I’m probably one of the few idiots who’s had Game of Thrones at the top of his Netflix queue for over a month and hasn’t just gone elsewhere.)

** Since B. Michael’s post linked here has apparently inspired some misunderstandings, let’s be clear that it’s faux-sexist satire. And nicely done, although I must admit the lion’s share of complaints I’ve seen about Girls have come from women, not Wire-praising men who don’t think Dunham’s “fuckable” enough.

*** Maybe try setting some shows elsewhere in the country. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from TV sitcoms, it’s that New York’s pretty segregated.

**** Unless it’s Two and a Half Men. Can we please pin everything on Two and a Half Men?  Thanks.

(via sprezzatur-ish)