Hangs up phone on wife.
“I hate women.”
A woman’s lower half crosses the screen.
“Well, not all women.”
For this assignment I chose to contemplate my most recent television obsession. In the past day and a half I have watched 2 and a half seasons of Entourage. I am fanatic like that. This show is particularly interesting because it simultaneously exaggerates and mocks the utmost stereotypes of insensitive men while also celebrating the very same “disgusting” habits. The combination, among other things, makes the show positively hilarious and a relative comment on society. The show is based on the lives of one super star actor, his three best friends, his insane agent and their supporting cast of Hollywood crazies. The main character, Vince, is constantly praised for bedding a woman a day. Almost the entire storyline for two of his friends’ misadventures is based on their few successes and infinite failures in the quest to get lucky. Vince and these two constantly harass their other best friend Eric for developing feelings for women too quickly. Not one of the major movie players is a woman, only their vice presidents. As the men run about Hollywood like very handsome headless chickens, they check out every girl who walks by. It is an ongoing joke in the show, but it is also a prescribed part of their lives. Ari, the agent, continuously verbally abuses his very beautiful trust fund baby wife, though to be fair he abuses just about everyone.
However, all of these portrayals have their counterparts. Vince falls hard for Mandy Moore who breaks his heart not once but twice. Eric ends up with a consistent girlfriend who he not only shares his problems with but also listens to when she gives eloquent advice. Vince’s publicist is potty mouthed, fast walking power woman who always knows what to do and could put any man in a vice. All of the boys bring their mothers to Vince’s biggest premier. Ari becomes partners with a woman named Barbara who is even more ruthlessly business minded than he is and could con him under the table. My favorite is Ari’s wife who does not put up with the mistreatment. She knows how to get exactly what she wants from him, be it a cellphoneless Jewish holiday during the closing of a deal or exchanging the privilege to attend a Playboy Mansion party for a three week vacation in the south of France that, surprise, he has to be present for. He repeatedly admits to being frightened of her and remains alarmed that she and his charming and very gay assistant speak frequently.
Now that I have way too thoroughly outlined my examples (you can tell I have watched way too many episodes in a row), I will make my point. Entourage celebrates and depreciates almost every stereotype, especially those in Hollywood. In this way the show encourages society to look at its most ridiculous aspects, especially those surrounding the sexes and what they do together. It would be simple to call the show sexist, or derogatory, but that statement would simply be giving in to the pressure in this class, and in society to call foul play. Violating what is politically correct not only makes this show interesting and really, truly funny but it also draws attention to the things that are wrong and bizarre in the way our culture addresses the genders, the sexes, the act of sex and the power that goes along with all three.
No comments:
Post a Comment