The paper’s main topic is female scientists’ representation in the comedy The Big Bang Theory. McIntosh (2014) pays special attention to analyzing Bernadette and Amy, the comedy’s characters, through the prism of their gender, intelligence, and professional roles. Therefore, McIntosh’s article aims to thoroughly, deeply, and in detail investigate several ideas about the images of female scientists represented in Bernadette and Amy in the sitcom.
Research questions are associated with studying knowledge, opinions, and ideas about the essence of female scientists’ behavior through the comedy series’ creators’ eyes. McIntosh (2014) hypothesizes that the show’s characters undermine imposed stereotypes and false opinions about female scientists through their behavior and speech at certain moments. The young girls have high intelligence and scientific achievements but simultaneously demonstrate true feminine qualities and manners. Based on the show’s format, Bernadette and Amy are living characters who love, hate, laugh, cry, make progress and mistakes, and get into ridiculous situations like “ordinary” people.
The problem’s nature lies in the lack of knowledge and a small amount of data about the representation of female scientists in comedies. The history and background information about this problem refers to the fact that the roles of female characters before the start of The Big Bang Theory were not clearly and fully disclosed from various sides and perspectives. As a rule, women in early comedy shows were forced to embody gender role expectations of being homemakers and mothers.
The author carried out the research by searching, analyzing, and interpreting information from reliable and trustworthy sources. McIntosh (2014) concluded that The Big Bang Theory made some push in revealing the characters of female scientists. The data analysis demonstrates that Bernadette and Amy often deftly and skillfully distinguish between professional and gender roles due to intelligence and progressive ways (McIntosh, 2014). These aspects promote the plot and lay the foundation for harmonious relationships with the men.
Based on the questions, McIntosh gave overall answers that women can be not only housewives and mothers but also scientists and researchers who want to move up the career ladder on a par with men. McIntosh (2014) concludes that Bernadette and Amy go beyond the usual and break outdated stereotypes- anachronisms- as if to say that a woman is a personality, not a beautiful decoration. The results obtained are significant in terms of an accurate understanding of women scientists in the media and for conducting further research on the images of women scientists on a TV screen. The implications and recommendations are that it is necessary to further examine the characters of female scientists in the context of the media and comedy genre, gender roles, and professional statuses, as well as women’s behavior, speech, manners, and intelligence.
Reference
McIntosh, H. (2014). Representations of female scientists in The Big Bang Theory. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 42(4), 195-204. Web.