Parks & Rec: Constructions of Femininity

In our book, Media, Culture, and Society: An Introduction written by Paul Hodkinson, he writes “Although women figure prominently within media content as a whole, their role often is secondary to that of men. The number of blockbuster films with a female in the lead role—as opposed to one in which she functions as a 'companion' and/or 'love interests' for a male star—remains low despite gradual improvements, a situation replicated across a range of other dramatic genres.” 

Parks and Recreation goes against this norm. The show displays Leslie Knope as the main character, who is a strong leader and a hard worker. At times she is a companion and or a love interest however at most points throughout the show she is the lead role. She is even shown having her own love interests (Mark, Officer Sanderson, Ben) and having her own companions (Ann, Tom, Ron etc). 

It is obvious that the show goes against this construction of femininity but I was curious to see if Parks and Recreation passed the Bechdel Test as well. 

The Bechdel Test:

1. It has to have at least two women in it (who have names)

2. Who talk to each other

3. About something besides a man

It passes part one, Leslie Knope, Ann Perkins, April Ludgate and Donna Meagle.

It passes part two as well, these female characters all talk to each other.

It passes part three also. All of these characters talk to each other about many different things, mostly regarding work. Occasionally they may talk about men, however the majority of their conversations are about something else. (Example: Leslie and Ann)

I think that the fact that Parks and Rec passes the Bechdel Test also really proves that they are going against our societies norms of constructions of femininity. Unlike many of the movies and shows that we are familiar with, the show is encouraging a positive change on how people think about women. 

I find this interesting because it is not something that you notice right away when you watch the show. It is not obvious that they are trying to change the way people think about women or femininity. However, it is still going against our social constructs and redefining them. 

Lil Sebastian: Not Just a Miniature Horse, But Also A Source Of Unity

Although you may not notice it at first, through it’s narrative and characters Parks and Recreation portrays many different cultural views and larger meanings. 

For example, in the seventh episode of season 3, the town of Pawnee has their annual “Harvest Festival”. At this festival, they introduce a character to the show named Lil Sebastian. Lil Sebastian is a town mascot of sorts, he is a mini horse that is beloved by the whole town. At the Harvest Festival, all of the people are trying to see the mini horse. They even have shirts saying “I met Lil Sebastian at the Harvest Festival”. 

Ben Wyatt, a man new to Pawnee working with the city manager is confused what the big deal is with the mini horse. But Leslie Knope explains to him how much everyone loves him. This narrative shows how something can bring a community together. In this case, Lil Sebastian fosters a sense of community and unity for the town of Pawnee. This narrative also comes back into play in the finale episode of season 3. In this episode, Lil Sebastian passes away and the town is devastated. But the parks department comes together in order to plan a memorial service for him. Andy Dwyer, who just works as a shoe shiner in the City Hall Building, even writes a song to perform at the memorial service. This episode emphasizes the impact that this mini horse had on the town and how much the people of Pawnee came together around him. The show definitely nurtures a sense of belonging and community identity. This is just one of the instances where the town unites through different situations. 

This narrative revolving around Lil Sebastian also encourages some characters to be a part of the public sphere. For example, in the beginning, Ben Wyatt was confused why everyone loved the mini horse so much, but he began to understand and take part in this community of people uniting around Lil Sebastian. He starts to understand why it is such a big deal to everyone and he wants to become a part of it. In this episode, they also frame other cultural values. For example, Joan Callamezzo from the Pawnee media shows up to the festival and searches for negative stories that she can report. She ends up trying to report that the festival was cursed. This is just a representation of our cultural view that there is much spin and negativity in the media, whether there are negative things going on in the world or not. This is not the only example, but it shows how characters in shows can represent larger views from society rather than the storyline of the show alone. 

(Andy's Memorial Song - 5000 Candles in the Wind)

Ideological Critique: Parks And Recreation

NBC’s Parks and Recreation displays many different dominantideologies however in my opinion, one of the most obvious in the show would be the dominant ideology of masculine hegemony. The show portrays this through RonSwanson’s masculinity and attitude and through the erratic and emotional quirks of Leslie Knope. Ron Swanson is a manly man who has very strong beliefs about how things should be done. He feels that men are better than women and that’s that. And Leslie Knope is a very cheerful, fun character, who gets very attached and emersed in different things ( for example, she loves the town horse Little Sebastian and has made up holidays on almost every day). This dominant ideology basically says that women should not be in a position of power because they can get too emotionally involved, etc. This ideology is also shown through the privileging of men, along with the hierarchy of social positioning of men and women in different scenarios.

However, Leslie Knope’s character challenges this dominant ideology by being a strong woman and going above and beyond her call of duty in the office. For example, although she is a woman, she is always willing to do what needs done, even if it involves going on the trash route with the boys, or cleaning out the river with her own hands. Despite dominant ideologies, she is not afraid to get her hands dirty or to work hard physically. In the government building she is the only woman who is honored on the wall, which makes her feel very empowered. However they do include a realization of what the dominant ideology is because she states how people look up to her because she is up on the wall however, “except this one guy, he’s always looking at my boobs.” This episode shows her challenging the dominant ideology, but they still remind the audience of how some people still haven’t changed.

Overall I think that the show does a good job of establishing and challenging the ideology of masculine hegemony. It is very easy to notice both parts of it when watching the show. Leslie Knope’s character does a great job of exemplifying the ideology and then proving that wrong when the time comes.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb8ztr_parks-and-recreation-i-m-just-a-gir_fun

Here is a good video of Leslie Knope displaying this dominant ideology in order to get out of trouble for shooting someone. She starts off trying to prove that the accident did not happen because she was a woman, however once she realizes that the cop is not buying her story, she tries a different approach to the situation. 

Parks & Rec: A Semiotic Analysis

In this post, I have chosen one advertisement for NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and I am going to offer my own semiological analysis.

( http://parksandrecreation.wikia.com/wiki/Season_3 )

First of all, semiotics is the study of signs. Signs are made up of signifiers and signifieds. A signifier is the different pieces of the images and the words that describe them. Then a signified is the meaning of these signifiers put together.

There are many different signifiers in this photo, and these can all give us an insight on who each of the characters are.

Leslie Knope, who is the main character of the show, is located in the center of the image. This shows that she is the most important, and the show is centered around her.

Ann Perkins, who is sitting in the chair to Leslie’s right, is Leslie’s best friend. I think that her placement in the image displays that she is always by Leslie’s side. And I think that sitting in a chair shows her laid back attitude.

Ron Swanson, who is sitting in the other chair, is Leslie’s boss. Again, I think that the fact he is sitting in a chair shows that he is more laid back, and doesn’t take his job too seriously. But his posture and facial expression show his serious attitude.

April Ludgate, standing on Leslie’s left is the office intern.  Her posture and facial expression shows that she really doesn’t care too much. But her positioning next to Leslie displays that she is a important character and plays a large role in the show.

Andy Dwyer, on the far left of the photo is Aprils Boyfriend. His facial expression shows his silly and fun personality. Then his positioning on the outside of the image shows that he is a much less important character than some of the others.  Also, his outfit shows that he is very casual and not highly professional.

Tom Haverford, on the far left of the photo is another worker in their parks and recreation office. He works very closely along with Leslie. His positioning towards the front of the image shows that he plays a large role in the show. And his outfit shows that he is kind of extravagant. He is the most dressed up out of everyone, and this really goes along with his personality.

Donna, Chris, Ben and Jerry are all towards the back of the image. They are all other workers in the parks department. They do play a role in the show, but their characters are not quite as important.

Also, the image takes place outdoors, around an office desk. This portrays that a lot of their work has to do with parks and the outdoors, however most of the show takes place in an office.

All of these signifiers tell us so much about the characters in the show. Using semiotics, we can look at the image, and find out about the show without even watching it. It is easier to interpret what the image means when you have seen the show and are familiar with the characters, however you can still learn these things just by dissecting the signifiers and determining the signified.

Parks & Rec and Media Technologies

Regarding media technologies, NBC’s show, Parks & Recreation can be looked at as what McLuhan calls a cool medium. The show offers a low intensity of information and a higher amount of audience participation. Compared to a more in depth show like Lost or Numbers, which gives you a much higher intensity of information.

Parks and Recreation has really utilized the digital age as well. Through interactivity and mobility, they have established many other ways to engage their audience. The show has their own Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube and Tumblr as well as their own website.  I think that these other forms of digital media are a really important part of the show’s existence. Just their Facebook page has over 1,000,000 likes, which shows that there is a huge amount of people wanting to be engaged with it through Facebook. The page has new posts every day which mainly include funny photos or telling people to watch the show, but each of these posts racks up thousands of likes and comments. On their Youtube page they post deleted scenes and highlights. I thought this was also an interesting way of getting viewers engaged. 

I also found their Pinterest page to be really interesting. They include funny memes, behind the scenes photos and different albums from big events in the show. Looking at this page, it made me feel like I knew a lot more of the show. For example they have a whole album of Ben and Leslie’s wedding, with many images that have never been shown on the show. This is a great incorporation with the show and digital media to include the audience as well.

( http://www.pinterest.com/nbcparksandrec/ )

( http://www.pinterest.com/nbcparksandrec/ )

I think that this interactivity lets people feel more like they are a part of the show thus giving them more of a reason to watch it. Mobility also allows for people to keep in touch with these pages on the go as well as watch the episodes on the go.  Viewers can even catch up on new episodes that they may have missed from the website. And older episodes of Parks and Recreation can be watched on Netflix, Amazon Instant and on other streaming websites.

Parks and Recreation has really embraced every aspect of today’s digital world, using it much to their advantage.

( http://www.pinterest.com/nbcparksandrec/ )