Over the weekend I caught some episodes of 30 Rock on netflix.
I love that show.
Somewhere along the way I missed a few episodes: specifically, the ones in which Jane Krakowski’s character, Jenna Maroney, gains weight after a summer spent eating pizza. While the writers for her show want to use her weight to make fat jokes, Tina Fey’s character is adamant that this won’t change the roles Jenna plays. But after a disastrous disco roller skating sketch where Jenna lands in a sprawl on the floor, she stares up at her live audience and utters the only phrase she can think of to save her: “Me want FOOOOD!”
The audience collapses in laughter. Jenna glows in delight. Soon Jack Donaghy is giving her high-fives in the hallway. People are selling shirts with her caricature on the streets of New York. Jenna loves attention. She decides to remain fat so that she’ll continue to be loved.
I thought this was an interesting concept. Here were some of my reflections:
- The show addressed the issue of gender inequality in the entertainment industry (with regards to weight) to an extent. Liz Lemon announces she wants to take a stand, demonstrating that fat people (women in particular) don’t need to play “fat roles”, or roles that center around their weight.
- That said, there are a couple of overweight male writers on the show. Over the course of 30 Rock they’ve been mocked for several things, but never their extra poundage. When Jenna gains weight, one of these writers suggests fat jokes (such as the above referenced “me want food”, and even mentions that Jenna can play a “fat Hillary Clinton”. It would have been easy for either Liz or Jenna to fire a quick snarky comment his way. But they don’t.
- That said, do we really want equal opportunity mockery?
- I loved the unexpected twist that Jenna received so much positive attention for her weight gain, rather than disgust.
- However, why does extra weight mean that she ends up as just another caricature?
- Yes, I’m overthinking this. I know it’s a comedy. But it’s hard not to notice that the three main women on this show – Liz, Jenna, and Cerie - are all slim and beautiful (although Tina Fey’s beauty is downplayed) while the male characters range from funny looking to creepy looking to plump to thin to handsome.
Did you see these episodes? What were your thoughts?
Tags: 30 rock, jenna maroney, me want food, weight and gender
I’ve never seen “30 Rock,” so I don’t know what exactly you’re talking about, but you ought to check out “Drop Dead Diva” Sunday nights at 9ET on Lifetime. Basically, a very thin model dies at the same time as an overweight lawyer. She comes back in the lawyer’s body and has to make a huge mental adjustment. She tried to lose weight, but the cravings and habits of her new body are too strong to break. Many of teh storylines revolve around her weight and how that affects her job, her life and how other people see her. It’s an interesting program.
Also interesting to note about that show was that when Jenna accepted her weight and was happy with herself, she lost the weight. Much to her dismay…