Unit Two: Making Sense of Swink's Study in My Life

↱Just a side note for those who wish to comment on my blog post for the assignment, how in the world do you get gif's to attach to your post? I think giving me instructions on how to do so would qualify as a quality comment. It will help me make my posts more interesting. I am sitting here thinking of several gif's that would go perfectly with what I am trying to say; but I am also sitting here typing without a clue of how to do it. ↲

I will attach photos for now. Thank you in advance to whoever can lend a hand for Unit Three! I guess I could work on my tech skills a little bit.

Anyway.

I am not sure about everyone else, but I sometimes catch myself identifying with the attributes in characters on television or in books that are considered "flaws." This is mentioned in the study by Swink. Ruby, one of the students participating in the study identifies with Liz Lemon's awkwardness and inability to handle certain situations.  Of course I am guilty of being awkward at times and not always knowing how to handle things perfectly.

As an example, I identify with Pam on The Office in terms of her dry humor and seriousness. Even though those are technically flaws, I also do the opposite and say things like "Pam is hilarious and so smart. Her and Jim are so cute. Tyler! We are so Jim and Pam."

Tyler (my boyfriend) does not mind being compared to Jim because Jim is funny, cute in a quirky way, and excels in the office.

*Note, Tyler and I do not actually think we are Jim and Pam. For obvious reasons of us not being Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski.  We just say that because we think it is funny. There is an example of my dry humor.

** Note, I like my dry humor. I don't really consider it a flaw.

Well here I am, not making a straight point because I am venting about The Office. Okay back on track now. Before I move on, here are a few laughs from The Office:

Anyway (Part 2): In Swink's article, she is discovering findings related to who we identify with in terms of female characters and who we find most funny. I wanted to discuss this in the blog post for this unit because I personally found it particularly interesting.

While I think I have a balance between identifying with the "flaws" of characters and the positive attributes, I also tend to think the males in certain shows are funnier than some of the women characters. For example, I laugh at Michael Scott more than I find myself laughing at Holly or Jan -- Michael's girlfriends.

This does NOT mean I don't think women are funny. As stated in the article, some of the shows in which I find a male character to be the funniest, is created by a woman!

My conclusion through comparing this study to my view of women in humor has one similar to the findings of the study. It truly depends on the shows and the characters. Women are not always funnier than men, and men are not always funnier than women.

It is worth noting though, that characters such as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation appeal more to me than characters such as Kelly in The Office. As a feminist, I want women characters to embody the role of empowerment, courage, and determination such as Leslie Knope. Not that I don't enjoy Kelly or think she is funny, I just don't relate to the character that dotes over a boy like Ryan, or who is ditsy as she is as the character of Kelly.

That is my conclusion of the study in my own life and my own watchings of comedy shows.


Please comment on how you felt about the study while reading it and how you applied it to your own views as well!




Swink, Robyn Stacia. “Lemony Liz and Likable Leslie: Audience Understandings of Feminism, Comedy, and Gender in Women-Led Television Comedies.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 17, no. 1, 2017, pp. 15-25.