Discourse & Identity III (Discussion)

Girlfriends

Beretta Smith-Shomade (pronounced "show-ma-day") examines "four intertwined elements in television comedy that define and give meaning to Black women's representation there: work roles, characterization, class, and identity" (48). Each group should discuss the key aspects of these elements and apply Smith-Shomade's analysis of 1990s sitcoms to Girlfriends (2000-2008):

• Group 3: work and class
• Group 4: identity: language
• Group 1: identity: skin shade
• Group 2: identity: hair
• All groups: characterization (i.e., conventional roles and stereotypes). Does Girlfriends rely on African-American stereotypes? E.g., "mammy," "sapphire," "tragic mulatto," etc.
• All groups: Place Smith-Shomade's analysis within the context of the study of race and ethnicity. How would you characterize her approach to the sitcom?

Cast

• William Dent (Reggie Hayes)
• Toni Childs (Jill Marie Jones)
• Maya Wilkes (Golden Brooks)
• Joan Clayton (Tracee Ellis Ross)
• Lynn Searcy (Persia White)

All groups

1. List two strength(s) of analyzing (gender, race, ethnic) identity in terms of discourse. List two weaknesses of this approach.

Bibliography

1. Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (NY: Routledge, 2012).
2. Beretta E. Smith-Shomade, “Laughing Out Loud: Negras Negotiating Situation Comedy,” Shaded Lives: African-American Women and Television (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002), 24-68.

External links

• Wikipedia book: Girlfriends allusions
• Girlfriends illustrations
• "Infanity: Girlfriends," tour of the Girlfriends set by Persia White, local copy