Television and media in general exploit all kinds of stereotypes to help tell a story because stereotyping is a great tool for the audience to understand a character’s “type” without actually having to explain it. The problem with typecasting roles and stereotypical characters is it blinds audiences to the complexities of the regular human personality. This encourages the general public to apply misleading stereotypes in real life which can possibly lead to discrimination. Gender stereotyping, for example, is evident throughout television history because the roles we constantly see women portraying are one-dimensional; meaning, women are often seen as a family member, a victim, a love interest, desperate for love, or a force in the workplace, where those are their one and only characteristic.
In 2009, NBC launched a new comedy, Parks and Recreation, destroying any racist or sexist stereotypes there could possibly be all while bringing the audience knee slapping laughter. Shot in a single-camera mockumentary style, Parks and Recreation is set in Pawnee, Indiana, and focuses on the employees of a branch office of the city government.
Amy Poehler stars as Leslie Knope, a highly ambitious and hardworking woman whose ultimate goal in life is to be the first female president of the United States. Leslie is clearly a feminist with something to prove to “politics as usual.” She takes charge, she is highly organized, she is the go-to-girl to get things done. Poehler plays Leslie’s character as an overachiever however, the writers of the show have not succumbed to the feminist stereotype allowing Poehler to portray Leslie also as an endearing woman who cares about her friends and her town. Leslie is a woman, like any other, with insecurities and interests outside the workplace that Poehler exposes in a hilarious way.
In perfect contrast to Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman, is a mustache wearing, wilderness loving, manly man. Ron, the director of the Parks and Recreation department is a libertarian and believes in as little government as possible. The irony of this character is further portrayed by his relationships with women. Ron Swanson can eat all the bacon and eggs you have but when it comes to his ex-wife, Tammy number one or his other ex-wife, Tammy number two, he is whipped. Ron and Leslie’s friendship is an example of crushing gender stereotypes throughout the series. Ron has no problem with strong women, in fact, he is attracted to them while Leslie is not intimidated by Ron’s masculinity but she isn’t too proud to seek his advice either.
Parks and Recreation dedicated the majority of one recent episode solely to address the issues of gender equality by overdramatizing Leslie’s feminist ideals and Ron’s masculine standards. In this episode, the two characters are leaders for a boy/girl scouts-like group of children. Ron and the Rangers boys are focused on learning survival skills and how to live in the wilderness but much to the boys dismay, they are not having as much fun as their counterparts, the Pawnee Goddesses who work together to earn badges for best blog or for cooking a homemade meal, making s’mores and having pillowfights.
Leslie created the Pawnee Goddesses because girls were not allowed in the Rangers and when one of the boys opts to leave the Rangers to join the Goddesses, Leslie turns him away. The girls question their leader and request a public hearing discussing Brown vs. The Board of Education. The result is that the boys are allowed to join the Goddesses and in the end, a new group is formed: the “most hardcore wilderness group,” for boys and girls who “march to the beat of their own drum, and made the drum themselves.”
“This episode revealed some revolutionary concepts in the backwards world of girls on television: Girls can fish and play in the woods, and girls can throw a puppy party and a s’more competition. They can be smart and silly, tough and sensitive. They can be a Goddess and a Ranger. And boys can too—one of the best parts of this episode was that the boys weren’t afraid to join a group of Goddesses if it meant they could eat candy and hug puppies and hang out with their new friends. There was no flirting or rampant cooties, just kids having fun together” (Moshenberg).
The writers of Parks and Recreation shatter sexist stereotypes with clever irony and humor within just these two characters Ron and Leslie. What is so impressive about Parks and Recreation is that while it is a scripted, fictional sitcom, the characters showcase more easily identifiable traits than seen on most Reality Television, the mainstay of the mediums productions and the supposed mirror of ourselves. Not only does this show give you a belly full of laughs but it allows the audience to learn that people do not simply fall into a “type.” It is admirable and refreshing when someone can watch this show and be fully entertained while exposed to the complexities of individual personalities.
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