Homophobic "Friends"

11/9/2011

Tags: discourse/language, lgbtq, media, sex/sexuality, homophobia, heterosexism, media literacy, remix, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2011
Length: 50:13
Access: YouTube

Summary: This video is a montage of every homophobic joke included in the sitcom Friends. While it is not necessary to watch the entire clip in class, it provides an excellent example of how deeply embedded homophobia is within the show, an arguably popular media in general. The creator of the clip (in an interview available here) says,"the whole point of this project is to show the very extent to which homophobia pervades the show, and how it changes over the years." This video is useful in classroom discussions of homophobia, heterosexism, and the media as example of the level to which LGBT people are subject to discrimination and stereotypes within popular culture. It is also an excellent example of how those stereotypes evolve over time.

Submitted By: Anya Galli

1 Comment

Mike

11/9/2011 01:09:24 am

In the early 90s the very fact that Friends dealt with LGBT issues was revolutionary. By the standards of that time, it was conservative right wingers blasting the show for its sympathy to a gay identity and lifestyle.

Poitier's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was celebrated in its time as progressive on race issues but blasted years later for showing a black man who was submissive to white, upper class culture.

Clips like these raise interesting questions, but we have to discuss them, at least some of the time, in reference to the context in which they were made.

@thesocycinema / videos

Homophobic "Friends"

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