When TV shows portray good jobs as not good

[violiav]

I know it's supposed to be satire (maybe?) , but it irritates me to no end the mechanic bashing on Glee. The main charecters treat it as if it's the worst job on the planet. I mean, I know many fine mechanics that make total bank. In fact, anything that "blue collar" or really any service industry job they bash.
Im sure there are other shows that do this, but Glee came to mind right away because I'm watching it.

[anakhouri]

I noticed the same thing back when I watched The Big Bang Theory- the token girl, Penny, is a waitress, and she's also shown to not be the sharpest pencil in the box sometimes. The other characters are all geniuses and have jobs as theoretical scientists. The implication is clearly that Penny is a waitress because she is too stupid to get anything else.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

I noticed the same thing back when I watched The Big Bang Theory- the token girl, Penny, is a waitress, and she's also shown to not be the sharpest pencil in the box sometimes. The other characters are all geniuses and have jobs as theoretical scientists. The implication is clearly that Penny is a waitress because she is too stupid to get anything else.

Actually I think the implication is that she came to the city with no education past high school, just hoping to become an actress. I don't think the show brings it up so much anymore, actually, about her want to become an actress. I actually find Penny to be very realistic, to be honest. She's dumb in certain aspects (as in science and geek culture) but very knowledgeable in other aspects.

I mean, she's supposed to be a foil to Leonard, who is very smart, and the least socially awkward (IMO) of the four guys.

Actually, they kind of glorify her job as a bartender/waitress, instead of bashing it, since she can apparently afford a really nice apartment in the same building as two theoretical physicists with just that income alone. On-top of that really nice clothing and accessories and stuff like that. (Why does no one find it weird that she can afford such a NICE apartment in that city?)

[Greenday]

(Why does no one find it weird that she can afford such a NICE apartment in that city?)

Finally, someone asking the REAL questions.

Of course a bunch of snobbish geniuses make fun of her job. They are too stupid to understand her situation.

[Anthony K. S.]

That reminds me of that person who insisted that Customers Suck! was obviously a completely fake, made-up website.

This person claimed that "the fact that the posts are all so articulate, and yet they are supposedly written by the people who operate the drive-thru at the local fast food places, is too unbelievable."

... Um, okay.

(Some people, you can talk to. Others, all you can do is smile and nod a lot.)

[Nekojin]

That reminds me of that person who insisted that Customers Suck! was obviously a completely fake, made-up website.

This person claimed that "the fact that the posts are all so articulate, and yet they are supposedly written by the people who operate the drive-thru at the local fast food places, is too unbelievable."

Well, of course. Nobody with a real brain could possibly fail to have an advanced degree and a prestigious job. McDonalds only hires the scum of the scum, the people that even mouthbreathers look down on. That's how they've come to be a multibillion dollar corporation - by hiring idiots.

[fireheart17]

Well, of course. Nobody with a real brain could possibly fail to have an advanced degree and a prestigious job. McDonalds only hires the scum of the scum, the people that even mouthbreathers look down on. That's how they've come to be a multibillion dollar corporation - by hiring idiots.

Heh, admittedly the corporate honchos down here are asking the public what they would like to see on the menu.
Apparently some of the rejected concepts include spaghetti bolognaise, Big Mac lite, orange and lime chicken, McGratin which consists of shrimp, potatoes and macaroni
... (they did also do a vegetarian patty, which didn't go down too well with the vego crowd)

[Racket_Man]

not really TV shows per se:

But I find that commercials AND TV shows in general portray pizza delivery drivers as HS dropouts, losers, loners, stoners, bad drivers, ignorant, dumb, slow, and wreckless drivers.

Most of the drivers I know and interact with in RL and on the internet including myself are fairly smart and intellligent, GOOD drivers (hmmm it IS our profession), are not losers, etc.

[Greenday]

Most of the drivers I know and interact with in RL and on the internet including myself are fairly smart and intellligent, GOOD drivers (hmmm it IS our profession), are not losers, etc.

Because I got my job that I haven't started yet, I had given my number to my favorite pizza place since they needed drivers. And I have my BS, a minor, and actual field related experience in my degree. So that would certainly blow the door off that argument.

[Nekojin]

But I find that commercials AND TV shows in general portray pizza delivery drivers as HS dropouts, losers, loners, stoners, bad drivers, ignorant, dumb, slow, and wreckless drivers.

Except for commercials for pizza chains, such as Pizza Hut and Domino's - their commercials always show their pizza drivers as upbeat, clear-spoken, and well-groomed. I don't think I've ever seen a commercial for them that actually featured the driving in any way - it's usually just "open the door, there's the pizza guy."

[wolfie]

Well, of course. Nobody with a real brain could possibly fail to have an advanced degree and a prestigious job. McDonalds only hires the scum of the scum, the people that even mouthbreathers look down on. That's how they've come to be a multibillion dollar corporation - by hiring idiots.

And of course nobody with an Engineering degree would be driving an 18 wheeler. People who believe that wouldn't understand that I've made more money off the CDL than off the sheepskin.

[TheHuckster]

It all comes down to TV shows using stereotypes. It's not just retail and customer service work that falls victim.

Lawyers are often portrayed as assholes.

Taxi drivers are often portrayed as immigrants with thick accents.

Librarians are often portrayed as ugly old spinsters.

Engineers are portrayed as socially inept nerds.

anakhouri mentions Penny's job as a waitress on The Big Bang Theory but misses the big picture that the whole show is all about stereotypes. You've got four nerds who have varying social skills from the anti-social egotistic Sheldon to the perverted (especially in earlier seasons) Howard to the selective mute Raj. Leonard is by far the most socially competent person, and that's mostly due to his role in the series as the straight-man. They do all the things that the stereotypical nerd does, including having LAN parties, going to the comic book store, nitpicking Star Trek trivia, and using flowcharts to model mundane activities.

Add to that the many auxiliary stereotypes, such as Howard's Jewish family, Raj's Indian family, and Sheldon's evangelical Christian family and you've got a whole mix of caricatures of people's ethnicity, creed, and religion.

Compared to all of these, Penny's stereotype of a hopeful actress who has to make a living by working as a waitress is extremely tame compared to the myriad of other stereotypes in the series. I never considered Penny to be at all an airhead or stupid. She represents an average person who isn't familiar with the nerdy .

Is that a bad thing? Personally, no. Unless it's truly mean spirited, which I don't think many shows are with some exceptions, it's pointless to be offended by someone taking advantage of stereotypes for the sake of laughs. As a nerd who likes Star Trek, will play his share of MMORPGs, and is sometimes socially awkward, I cherish the treatment writers of The Big Bang Theory do to us. Almost as much as I do the IT Crowd.

[Racket_Man]

Because I got my job that I haven't started yet, I had given my number to my favorite pizza place since they needed drivers. And I have my BS, a minor, and actual field related experience in my degree. So that would certainly blow the door off that argument.

Here too. I hold an Associates Degree and a BS in IT and have 13 years of real world paid job experience. I choose to "lower" myself mostly for the "office politics" type of crap.

There are a lot of times when I can actually surprise the area manager during conversations when I bring up "high level" stuff that concerns the company in general. The last GM, however, was a total idiot and was a company parriot (having only worked for ONE company in his adult life)

[smileyeagle1021]

I recently accepted a call center job, not just because I couldn't get something with my degree (well, that was a big part), but the only things I was even getting close to being offered with my degree paid $4-$6 an hour less than what I'd make at this customer service job. Hell, I could drive a bus for more than I could make with my degree right now (granted, my degree would eventually get me more than a bus driver and potentially more than the customer service route, but at least with customer service, there is chance for advancement, not so much with driving a bus... at least not within UTA).

[gremcint]

Well it doesn't glorify it Big Bang theory doesn't really show being a waitress as being terrible aside from what Sheldon says. If anything because Sheldon says stupid stuff all the time you're less likely to listen to his comments about waitressing.