The Dangers of Sitcoms

The Dangers of Sitcoms

Growing up, I was a relatively defensive kid. There were certain aspects of my life I needed full control over. This included having control over the DVR to record my favorite shows. Whether I was home and able to watch my favorite shows live, or I was gone and needed to record them, they always needed to be recording. Not only did I refuse to miss an episode of one of my favorite shows, but I needed them recorded so I could go back and re-watch them as much as I wanted to.

All my favorite shows growing up were sitcoms. Looking back, it seems that almost all shows directed towards tweens were sitcoms. Shows like iCarly, Victorious, Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Drake and Josh, Zoey 101, and the list goes on. These were the shows the made-up my childhood. Something about these sitcoms kept me engaged and always wanting more. The reoccurring characters and locations created a sense of familiarity that made me feel like I knew them and understood them. I cared about these shows and in a way, I felt almost addicted to them.

It seems that over the years, many sitcoms have had this effect on their audiences. Other sitcoms geared more towards teens and adults such as Friends, Community, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and several others have all kept viewers engaged for years. It’s no surprise that the tween sitcoms and the teen and adult sitcoms have had tremendous success. All these shows aired for multiple seasons, won or were nominated for awards, and amounted to tremendous viewership. People everywhere and of all different ages have been hooked on sitcoms for decades.

Sitcoms dominate the television industry, and there’s no denying that some of the most successful television shows in history have been sitcoms. But what do sitcoms really do for viewers, and is it positive? Television sitcoms create misleading perceptions of reality and derogatory depictions of mental illnesses for the sake of humor. Writers accomplish this in three main ways. First, they use jealousy to classify characters with behaviors referred to as “crazy” by other characters. Second, they incorporate gaslighting and ableist language that promotes situations that stigmatize mental illnesses. Finally, they use laugh tracks and quick cuts to create humorous moment that could otherwise be interpreted as serious. Four well-known sitcoms that provide examples of this are: iCarly, Victorious, Friends, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Jealousy is a complex emotion often commented on within sitcoms. There is no denying that jealousy is a natural emotion that people feel at times for various reasons. However, where sitcom writers misrepresent the role of jealousy is when they associate it with characters who are also portrayed as mentally ill. This incorrect yet frequent association of jealousy with characters who are referred to by others as “crazy” furthers a derogatory depiction of mental illnesses. Examples of this are seen in episodes of iCarly and Friends.

The popular sitcom Friends shows the life of a group of close friends who live in the same apartment complex in New York. The show follows the lives of six main characters, along with their relationships to each other, themselves, and others outside of their group. In season 3 episode 11, “The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister”, a conflict begins between characters Ross and Rachel who are in a relationship. Rachel meets a man, Mark, who after overhearing Rachel complain about wanting a real job in the retail industry, offers to help get her an interview at Bloomingdales. Elated to tell her boyfriend Ross the good news, Rachel is disappointed when Ross’s response isn’t what she thought it would be. Ross tells Rachel that this guy, Mark, just “wants to have some sex.” He then asks their friend Joey if “men are ever nice to strange women for no reason”, to which Joey responds “no, only for sex.”. As the episode continues, Ross’s jealousy towards the situation grows and he shows no genuine happiness for Rachel and this opportunity because of it.

Ross’s jealousy comes from personal feelings of insecurity. He fears that he will lose Rachel to this “dreamy” man who is providing Rachel with an amazing opportunity for her career. While jealousy is a relatively common emotion, especially in relationships, it should not be confused with having a mental illness. Ross gets upset with his sister Monica after she encourages Rachel to call Mark for the sake of the interview. Monica reacts to Ross’s jealous rage and says, “Are you crazy?!”, which Ross responds with, “Am I? Am I? Am I out of my mind? Am I losing my senses?” While his tone insinuates sarcasm, it doesn’t take away from the stigmatizing use of the word crazy.

By attributing feelings of jealousy to Ross, writers have associated his jealousy with behaviors referred to by other characters as “crazy.” It may be assumed that Ross does not have a mental illness and is in fact just jealous over the situation with his girlfriend Rachel. However, it is not uncommon for sitcom writers to use jealousy as a means to motivate characters with behaviors that are being associated with mental illnesses. Another example of this is seen in the tween sitcom iCarly.

The sitcom iCarly centers on the life of teenager Carly, along with her friends and brother, who have gained internet stardom with their web series. In season 5, episode 7, “iStill Psycho”, Carly and her friends discover that Nora, a mega-fan of the show who had previously kidnapped them, may be getting released from jail. They attend Nora’s court hearing where she apologizes to them for her past actions and promises to be a changed person. Carly and her friends take pity on Nora and tell the judge it would be okay for her to be released. Ultimately, Nora and her parents end up tricking and kidnapping Carly, her friends, and her brother Spencer. They do this out of vengeance as they feel Carly and her friends ruined Nora’s last birthday party when Nora previously kidnapped them which is what put her in jail. They torture each member of the group, forcing them to do different things and even locking Carly’s brother in the basement on a spinning wheel.

While this act of vengeance is clear, it is more important to look at what motivates this vengeance. Nora is a super fan of the group which she refers to them as the “iCarlies.” At her original birthday party where she previously kidnapped them, the iCarly group knew of Nora as a huge fan and they attended her party after learning from her that she has no friends. This made Nora so happy that she kidnapped them so they would always be around her to make her feel as if she had friends and popularity. While it seems very ironic that the iCarly group would again take pity on Nora after she’s released from jail and then finds themselves back at her home, the situation again repeats itself.

However, this “vengeance” to relive her birthday party is not truly vengeance. Nora is jealous of the friendship and popularity the group has. She wants to feel the way she did before when they made her feel happy and popular, except she again kidnaps them so she can always feel that way with them around. It is this jealously, and some strange quirks, that prompts Carly, her friends, and brother to label Nora as “crazy.” Writers of this show, like those of Friends, have associated jealousy with behaviors that are classified as “crazy.” In both shows, neither Ross or Nora is diagnosed or told to have a mental illness. It is their jealous feelings that prompt others to classify their behaviors as being “crazy”, which are ultimately derogatory depictions of mental illnesses to viewers.

Television sitcom writers may not recognize the ways in which incorporating jealousy as a means of motivation for characters referred to as “crazy” could create misleading perceptions of reality and derogatory depictions of mental illnesses for the sake of humor. However, a much more direct and obvious way they are doing so is through the incorporation of gaslighting and ableist language that promotes situations that stigmatize mental illnesses. Ableist language refers to any word or phrase that targets individuals with a disability or mental illness. Gaslighting is manipulating someone into questioning their own sanity. Examples of this are seen in the shows iCarly, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Victorious.

The show Victorious is about the main character Tori, along with her friends and sister Trina, while she navigates life at her new performing arts high school. In season 3, episode 12, “Crazy Ponnie”, Tori makes friends with a shy girl, Ponnie, who constantly disappears when others are around. The situation escalates when Tori begins to realize Ponnie may have ulterior motives, and Tori becomes nervous Ponnie is out to get her.

When Tori first meets Ponnie, she finds Ponnie sobbing in a bathroom stall while eating a sandwich. Tori immediately pities her and invites her to have lunch with her and her friends. As they arrive at the table, Ponnie is gone. Tori begins to realize Ponnie may not be who she says she is, especially after none of Tori’s classmates or teachers know who she’s talking about. Tori finds a strange doll in Ponnie’s backpack that looks like Tori. When Tori pulls its’ string it says, “I’m Tori and I’m evil.” It’s clear that Ponnie is not only strange, but has vengeance towards Tori. Later, Ponnie dresses in a disguise and delivers food to Tori’s home. When Tori confronts her, Ponnie dumps the food on Tori’s head, kicks her, and runs away saying, “Get out of my school!” It is later discovered that Ponnie, whose real name is Fawn, was kicked out for her behavior but she blames Tori for “taking her spot” at their school.

Like Nora’s character in the episode of iCarly, Ponnie is a character whose vengeance is rooted in jealousy and envy. And while both characters Nora and Ponnie are never diagnosed or told to have a mental illness, they are labeled as being “crazy” and “psycho” just from the titles of the episodes, “iStill Psycho” and “Crazy Ponnie.” In the episode of Victorious, there are several moments where ableist language and gaslighting are used towards Ponnie as well as main character Tori.

For starters, Ponnie is clearly labeled “crazy” just by the episode’s title. This, as well as being called “crazy” and a “loony bat” by a teacher once her real identity is revealed at the end of the episode. But besides for Ponnie, main character Tori is also on the receiving end of ableist language and gaslighting throughout the episode. Tori’s appearance and lack of energy is unusual to how she normally looks and acts due to her lack of sleep from being kept up at night by her sister who is sick. Tori’s friends refer to her as “crazy face” and “psychotic bunny” because of this. This is also because she is being gaslighted by Ponnie and since her friends do not see Ponnie or believe Tori, it makes things worse.

Using ableist language and gaslighting, Tori and Ponnie are both being classified in an inaccurate way to viewers. This also creates derogatory depictions of mental illnesses, furthering the stigma. In a very similar way, iCarly also shows this misrepresentation in the episode “iStill Psycho.”

There are several uses of ableist language from the beginning, middle, and end of the episode “iStill Psycho.” In the opening scene, Carly and her best friend Sam are doing a comedy sketch for their web series. This sketch appears to be about a cowboy and an immature girl. Twenty seconds into the sketch, Sam refers to Carly as “idiot farm girl” due to her silly and apparent unintelligent behavior. Where this becomes a problem is the use of the word “idiot” combined with their actions and how the word was used. This is considered ableist language, the word idiot(ic) refers to people with intellectual disabilities. It only took twenty seconds into the episode to see the first use of ableist language. As the episode continues, Sam refers to Nora as a “lunatic.” Carly refers to Nora as “that crazy girl” and “freaky.” And their friend Freddie refers to Nora by saying, “maybe she’s depressed or something.”

While Nora is considered a criminal for her acts of kidnapping, it is never stated or shown that she is diagnosed with a mental illness. The repetitive use of ableist language in referring to Nora are derogatory depictions of mental illnesses. Not only is this harmful to those who do suffer mental illnesses, but it is also extremely harmful to young viewers watching. By showing viewers these false depictions of reality and the use of stigmatizing language, writers are negatively impacting their young audience.

While sitcom writers continue to incorporate ableist language without recognizing the negative impacts it may have on its viewers, the incorporation of gaslighting may lead to misleading perceptions of reality. Just as gaslighting is seen in the sitcom Victorious, it is also seen in a different way in the classic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show.

The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American sitcom from the 1960’s centered around the work and family life of Rob, a head writer of a televised comedy show. In season 1, episode 7, “Jealousy”, Rob’s wife becomes jealous when he must work late nights with a beautiful movie star. When the episode begins, Rob’s wife Laura is unphased by the news. She understands her husband’s job and knows that he’s a loyal and caring man. Laura’s fear becomes evoked when family friend Jerry makes suggestive comments about Rob spending time with Valerie Blake, the beautiful movie star. In the context of the episode, Jerry serves as an agent provocateur which is a character meant to elicit feelings of fear and uncertainty. As the episode continues, Rob spends a few late nights with Valerie re-writing a sketch which continues to instill fear in Laura. Being a stay-at-home mother, Laura feels alone and becomes consumed with fearful thoughts of what her husband could be doing. While this starts with Jerry’s comments and continues with Rob’s late nights at the office, it escalates to Laura crashing a rehearsal with Rob, his co-workers, and Valerie. This situation did not start or end with Laura being jealous of Valerie, it was Laura’s fear that created jealousy of losing her husband to another woman.

While it may appear that Jerry was not intentionally gaslighting Laura, his repetitive and insinuating comments are what leads Laura to self-doubt. This self-doubt affects Laura by questioning her marriage, herself, and ultimately her own sanity. This becomes clear at the end of the episode when she ambushes Rob’s meeting expecting him to be cheating on her with Valerie Blake. When she realizes that he is not and it has all been in her head, she seems to panic and immediately feels embarrassed for her actions. While Laura’s feelings are not unusual, it is the gaslighting from Jerry that creates a misleading perception of reality. As this situation differs from the gaslighting seen in Victorious, the effects are similar on both Tori and Laura.

While all sitcoms may have different stories and characters, there are several reoccurring elements which many of them have in common. Ableist language and gaslighting are regularly seen within these shows regardless of the intentionality by the writers. However, other reoccurring elements included by sitcom writers that are extremely intentional is the use of laugh tracks and quick cuts to create humorous moments out of otherwise serious moments.

One of the most quintessential elements of sitcoms in the history of television has been the use of laugh tracks and quick cuts. From early American sitcoms such as The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1960’s, to Friends in the 1990’s, and iCarly and Victorious in the 2000’s, the incorporation of laugh tracks and editing styles have remained the same throughout the decades.

Laughter tracks are audio recordings or live-audience laughter that is regularly incorporated in sitcoms. In episodes from all four shows, there are several occurrences of the laugh track which are meant to capitalize on jokes or create funny moments throughout the episode. This element is something often overlooked and not always used, but is a trademark of American sitcoms. This also pertains to quick cuts, which are used in sitcoms to keep a fast pace of action and dialogue occurring.

The most intentional aspect of both elements is to capitalize on funny moments of the show. However, they may also be used to create humor for the audience that could be misinterpreted at moments. There are also moments where these elements are used in ways that seem to undermine serious themes and sometimes may even stigmatize mental illnesses in doing so.

In the episode “Jealousy”, of The Dick Van Dyke Show, there are several moments where these elements create humor out of serious situations or problems. For example, when Jerry makes remarks to Laura that imply Rob would be unfaithful to her with Valerie Blake, the laugh track is used. While Jerry’s comments and his actions may appear to be funny, the topic of infidelity is not. To add a humorous mood to the scene, the laugh track is employed to capitalize on some of the funny beats. In a similar way, the sitcom Friends also uses these elements to create humorous moments.

During the episode “The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister” of the show Friends, tensions rise between Ross and Rachel. Ross becomes jealous over losing Rachel to a man who helped her with a job interview. During the episode, words are exchanged and arguments occur between Ross and Rachel over this situation. There are several times where the laugh track is used throughout these tense moments. It is used to highlight some funny aspects but to otherwise create humor out of what is really a difficult situation for the two and their relationship. Jealousy is a natural feeling, but it isn’t necessarily a humorous one. By using the laugh track, writers want their audiences to feel they’re watching a comedy, not a drama. This is also executed by quick edits. By keeping a fast pace of action and dialogue, the audience has little time to process how they feel about what’s occurring. So instead of contemplating if something really was funny to them, the laugh track is their indication that whatever was said or what occurred was funny.

During the conversation between Ross and his sister Monica where she asks if he is “crazy” and he responds questioning his own sanity, the laugh track is used. Although his tone and actions indicate his sarcasm, the use of ableist language followed by the laugh track is a derogatory depiction of mental illnesses. Ross’s character does not have a mental illness, he is just jealous. However, by including that kind of language and following it with a laugh track to make it a humorous moment, writers are stigmatizing mental illnesses for the sake of humor. This is also seen in the episode of iCarly, “iStill Psycho.”

Throughout the episode of “iStill Psycho”, there are repeated uses of ableist language. Every single time this kind of language is used by the characters about the character Nora, the laugh track is also used. When Sam refers to her as a “lunatic”, Carly refers to her as “crazy”, and Carly responds back to Freddy’s comment that Nora may be “depressed or something”, the laugh track follows. This placement and use of the laugh track not only attempts to make these inaccurate claims humorous, but it mocks mental illnesses and furthers the stigma. While the writers’ insensitivity may be the blame, a problem this creates comes down to the audience watching. If the young viewers watching see and hear this, they may not only repeat these words being used, but attribute humor to them.

Carly and her friends do not want Nora released from jail because she kidnapped them in the past which is a serious crime, not a humorous one. The words they are using to inaccurately describe her when Nora has not been told to have a mental illness, are not humorous. The way writers of the sitcom have used laugh tracks and quick edits create an extremely derogatory depiction of mental illnesses along with misleading perceptions of real life. A similar use of this is seen in the show Victorious in the episode “Crazy Ponnie.”

Throughout the episode, the main character Tori is being gaslighted. On several occurrences, Tori’s frustrations and self-doubt are followed-up with laugh tracks. At one point Tori proclaims, “I am not crazy”, which is followed with a laugh track. As her friends don’t believe her claims that Ponnie is a real person, they refer to Tori as “insane”, having “paranoid delusions”, and being a “psychotic little bunny.” These remarks are all followed with a laugh track. Tori does not have a mental illness and is solely experiencing the feelings of being gaslighted.

Using laugh tracks and quick cuts, writers have yet again exposed young viewers to stigmatizing words. This ableist language along with the use of laugh tracks continues to create derogatory depictions of mental illnesses. This type of situation paints a misleading depiction of reality for the sake of entertainment. The comedy being presented is at the expense of someone else, in this case Tori, who is visibly miserable and emotional. The quick edits again give viewers no time to process what they have seen and are indicated by the laugh tracks that whatever it is that was said or done is funny. However, everything being said and done further stigmatizes mental illnesses for the sake of humor.

Although several aspects of these sitcoms may have negative effects on viewers, it may be assumed that viewers will not pick up on these things. While ableist language may be harmful, several of these words and phrases are regularly a part of society’s vocabulary today.

Most people who use them may have no idea what the real negative connotations that these words come with. Viewers may also recognize that they are watching comedy television shows and not think too deeply about serious matters presented.

Regardless of how apparent or unintentional it may be, there are harmful disadvantages that come from these shows. Television sitcoms create misleading perceptions of reality and derogatory depictions of mental illnesses for the sake of humor. To begin with, this is done by writers using jealousy to classify characters with behaviors referred to as “crazy” by other characters. Examples of this are seen in the sitcoms iCarly and Friends. Next, through the incorporation of gaslighting and ableist language that promotes situations that stigmatize mental illnesses. Examples of this are seen in iCarly, Victorious, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Lastly, the use of laugh tracks and quick cuts to create humorous moments out of serious moments. Examples of this are seen in the episodes of all four sitcoms: iCarly, Friends, Victorious, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Sitcoms have been some of the most successful shows in television history. They keep audiences engaged, entertained, and feeling connected to the characters. In the span of fifty years, not much has changed when it comes to the way writers have approached these shows. And while that’s understandable due to the nature of sitcoms, maybe it is time for a change. While the purpose of these shows is to make viewers laugh, at whose expense are they laughing at? The character who’s afraid her husband is cheating on her? The characters who think they are going “crazy”? Those being stigmatized by the inclusion of ableist language?

There are several aspects of these sitcoms which may have negative impacts on their audiences. For young or mature viewers, it is seeing and hearing ableist language in a comical way that may lead them to use words or phrases without knowing the stigma they carry with them. While several of these words and phrases are already frequently used in our vocabularies, these shows reinforce their usage in a negative way. Also, seeing misleading depictions of reality for the sake of humor could negatively influence them or their understanding of their own lives and feelings.

There’s no denying the appeal of these sitcoms. They can be funny, interesting, relatable, and almost addicting to viewers. But do they do more harm than good? I’ll never forget the feeling I had as a young kid sprinting home to make sure my favorite sitcoms were recording. I’ll also never forget the gut-wrenching feeling when I discovered an episode wasn’t recording. Sitcoms have given me years of laughs and entertainment, but as I watch them now all I can see are the dangers of them.