2011 Emmy Analysis

More than a week has passed since the 2011 Emmy Awards, but there are a few moments I can’t stop thinking about. I live-tweeted the show this year, which is both a fun and exhausting experience, and enjoyed the interactions with other people watching and reacting on Twitter. (What?! You don’t follow us on Twitter? Go! Now!) Jane Lynch did a wonderful job hosting, and threw out some memorable zingers (The cast of Entourage!).

If your approach to awards shows is Who gives an eff? I can’t blame you, but respectfully disagree. We’ve written before about the kind of cultural work awards shows do. In short, the Emmys this year (every year?) exhibited the continued dominance of whiteness and maleness in our culture, made the implicit argument that those are the people who tell and create the important stories, and created the (false) impression that those are the kinds of stories we (should) want to see. (Check out the breakdown of people of color who were nominated this year at Racialicious. Out of 25 awards, not a single one went to a person of color.)

Here are my thoughts:

1. Only five* women gave solo acceptance speeches. These women were nominated in acting categories specifically designated for women.

Sometimes I wonder if any women at all would be recognized in film/television if the acting awards were gender neutral (and I asked earlier this year if we need a Best Female Director category at the Oscars).

Here are the winners:

  • Melissa McCarthy won Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Mike & Molly 
  • Julie Bowen won Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Modern Family
  • Julianna Marguiles won Lead Actress in a Drama Series for The Good Wife
  • Margo Martindale won Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Justified
  • Kate Winslet won Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Mildred Pierce
  • Maggie Smith won Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Downton Abbey (*she wasn’t there to accept the award)
2. The satirical beauty pageant staged by the women nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series was both my favorite and least-favorite moment.
Here it is, in case you missed the show:

I won’t say much about this, because it’s been written about in very smart ways already (check out Opinioness of the World‘s take, for starters), but it’s interesting that this setup, planned by Amy Poehler, was one of the few moments that deviated from awards show standards. I loathed Rob Lowe’s “girls” comment, even if it was part of the plan (I don’t know if it was), and feel ambivalent about the rest. Yes, the beauty pageant spoof emphasizes the fact that these shows are often most watched and discussed for What The Women Are Wearing. For many viewers, I suspect, fashion overshadows the actual awards. Women’s bodies and apparel choices are criticized and critiqued in every imaginable way, as if they are public property. But I question how effectively that message was delivered. The moment I think worked much better was Poehler and McCarthy joking about men finally getting substantial roles this year. However, it was great to see this group of talented women up on the stage together, supporting one another, and bringing a feminist sense of humor to the show.

3. Does Modern Family teach tolerance?
In accepting Modern Family‘s Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, Steve Levitan relayed the anecdote of a gay couple telling him “you’re not just making people laugh, you’re making them more tolerant.” The most radical element of Modern Family, to me, is the depiction of a gay couple as loving parents. The word “tolerant,” however, is a tricky one. A person can be “tolerant” while still holding deeply seated racist/sexist/homophobic views. What Modern Family doesn’t do is challenge stereotypes or force anyone to really examine their prejudice. We still have the effeminate gay men, the feisty Latina, and the rich man with a much younger (and beautiful) woman. We have a cast of entirely upper-middle class white people, with the exception of Gloria and her son, Manny. Don’t get me wrong: I think Modern Family is a very funny show, but let’s not go off the deep end congratulating them for depicting a very narrow kind of “tolerance.”

Also, someone should tell Oustanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series winner Ty Burrell that repeated jokes about wearing makeup to work and being a “very masculine lady” (even in the context of imagining what his father would say about his job) doesn’t really jibe with that whole “making people more tolerant” idea.

If you haven’t already, check out our reviews of the 2011 Emmy Nominees.

5 thoughts on “2011 Emmy Analysis”

  1. Do you think Poehler had a feeling McCarthy would win? I think having the beauty pageant set up AND a woman who doesn’t fit the traditional hollywood defined beauty standards win makes it much more interesting. Of course, it was probably coincidence, but worth considering.

  2. Modern Family is tricky, I think. The Spicy Latina that Gloria represents is often horrifying, and so far seems to be worse in season 3. Mitch and Cam are in many ways as homonormative as it gets–white, male, affluent, monogomous, otherwise-traditional family, etc–but there are subtle ways in which the writing of that strand of the show pleasantly surprises me. First, while I would expect the show to be void of any sexual, or even romantic, element between them, that is not always the case. There are a lot of jokes that allude to their sex lives, and there was an entire show about Mitchell having hang-ups about showing affection and kissing in public. Sure, I don’t think they’ve actually kissed on the show (have they?) and the other couples clearly have. But maybe a small victory? Also, the balance of gender-normativity between the two of them is pleasantly surprising. Far from being one normative masculine guy and one queen, their characters are more complicated than that and neither one fits neatly into our two expectations of gay men. While Cam is outwardly more feminine, more emotional, and more the “mother” of the two of them, it is Mitchell who has more issues with his masculinity. He is the one who grew up loving show tunes, the one who named his pets after Broadway leading ladies, and the one who can’t throw a punch and has major anxiety about his masculinity in the face of raising a male child (another issue here–for another day). Cam, in all of his femininity, played Big Ten college football and is the one who takes the role of protector of the family physically. I have always liked this about the show. The show clearly has a lot of issues and a lot that is really fucked up about it. I think within the knowledge and expectation that it’s a mainstream sitcom on a network (if one can be willing to grant that), it is actually doing some great things sometimes.

  3. Thrilla: I thought about that, too! In terms of comedy, the bit wouldn’t have worked as well had one of the more ‘Hollywood beautiful’ (ie thin) women had won.

    kaite: Great point about Cam and Mitchell’s characters. You’ve clearly seen more of the show than I have, though I did recently catch an episode that focused on Mitchell’s anxiety about them adopting a male child.

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