Do you find the show Will and Grace offensive?

Question

I know it may be funny and of course it is great to have openly gay characters on T.V., but do you think it is a hardcore stereo type? Will this show be frowned upon and an embarrassment in the future? I don't understand why there are not any guy characters on TV who are guy but do not make a stereo type mockery of being guy. Who on TV is a good guy role model?

Answer 1

It's absolutely ridiculous that almost all of television and other media with queer characters in the United States do not have queer people of color represented. It's hard enough to find African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and Native American straight TV shows and movies; it's even less likely to find characters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, and when you do they are the "token" character just like straight TV tends to do.

Answer 2

I try really hard to look at things in the media in the context of their place on the timeline. That is, when it came out, Will & Grace was kind of a big deal (especially given that in the earlier seasons, Will was NOT an effeminate stereotype...he picked up more and more of those habits as the show progressed though :-/). The guy on Spin City was actually a MUCH better gay character. For one thing, "holy crap! There's gay people that aren't white!". For another, it wasn't necessarily for a gay audience, yet he was a fully developed character and not a stock character.

Answer 3

To some Will and Grace can be seen as offensive because it was a show on Prime Time TV dealing with gay issues in which the entire “family” so to speak was stereotypical.
Will: seen as the gay guy who is macho so to speak, and has excelled in life even though.
Grace: seen by most as the "Hag" who so happens to be a designer
Jack: the stereotypical guy who is Broadway bound
Karen: Everyone’s friend who just tells it like it is
Now I have friends who fit into each of these categories and we are all in the same circle of friendship. Some homosexuals see it as slander because of its portrayal while others see it as good humor telling everyday stories about homosexual life.
“Noah’s Arc” is an example of another ethnic group representing homosexual society, and of course the current/formerly popular “Six Feet Under” series.

Answer 4

Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

But stereotypes can be problematic. They can:
• reduce a wide range of differences in people to simplistic categorizations

• transform assumptions about particular groups of people into "realities"

• be used to justify the position of those in power

• perpetuate social prejudice and inequality

More often than not, the groups being stereotyped have little to say about how they are represented.

Any discussion of the portrayal of gays and lesbians on television must consider the commercial demands of the medium. In her article "Gay Activists and the Networks", Kathleen Montgomery discusses the process involved in creating a made-for-television movie that featured a gay character in a prominent role. Since the main objective of the movie was to reach as wide an audience as possible, various compromises were necessary:

• the story had to be told within the constraints of a popular television genre: the crime-drama

• the narrative had to focus on the heterosexual lead character and his interactions with gay characters

• the movie could not depict any scenes of affection between characters of the same sex

Montgomery concludes that "these requirements served as a filter through which the issue of homosexuality was processed, resulting in a televised picture of gay life designed to be acceptable to the gay community and still palatable to a mass audience."

If you actually presented it, as it really is it would cause way to many people to question there own relationships and this would be bad for revenue
So is far easier to jump to what is palatable by the wider audience.

If they really showed the diversity of gay people it would shock many that he could be the tow truck driver that took your car away the woman who granted you a loan at the bank ...its easier to see the stereotype but it will change in time as people get better educated.

Answer 5

This is a very good question!! I thought Jack was so funny, I have a few friends like Jack and they are hysterical. As far as our future, I am not sure if this show will be frowned upon, or not. I am lesbian and I loved Ellen, too. She was funny. As for sitcoms, they are supposed to be funny, Jack has gotten some good ratings, so to me he is a good role model. I know what you mean about stereotyping, but it is only just a show. Maybe someday there will be other role models, but I love to laugh myself and Jack is all that. Peace.

Answer 6

I understand what you are saying and yes, it would have been nice if the character had evolved during the shows run. I never could understand why he never actually had a partner myself. It would be nice to see a gay character that had some depth on TV for a change but I'm not going to hold my breath for that to happen anytime soon.

Answer 7

The character of Jack in Will & Grace was a narcissistic, superficial, effeminate caricature of a gay man. But Will and Grace was a comedy, not a serious documentary on gay diversity in multicultural America.

Lighten up. Laugh. That's what situation comedys are for.

Answer 8

I just find it problematic because people in mainstream society enjoyed the show because none were "overtely" gay. What I mean is that you rarely saw any of the gay characters with partners, and when you did there was nothing sexual involved, you could pull off the "friends" card.

Answer 9

I never found it offensive. I did watch it and I enjoyed it...I thought it was very funny. yes, there was stereotyping in the show. but it was a show where the main characters were gay, and it was a hit for several years.

Answer 10

TV it's just TV. It sucks. Internet is, in a lots of ways better, cause it is a mirror odf society way more accurate than TV. Or should I say individuality. the fact is that in internet everyone involved in the process, developer or viewer, have a voice. While in TV this doesn't happen. Polls to find out how channels can make more money it's not participating in the making process.

So, TV it's just TV, if you want to watch, turn it on.