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Will&Grace&Lucy: A Close Look at Intertextuality at Odds with Representing Homosexuality — The American SitcomMain MenuWill&Grace&LucyA Close Look at Intertextuality at Odds with Representing Homosexuality — The American SitcomTable of ContentsIntroduction: More Intertextual than PoliticalAn introduction to the themes and arguments of the book: separating the show from political views.Chapter One - Lucy and GraceI Love Lucy intertextually informs the watching/reading of Will and Grace.Chapter Two - Self-intertextualizationInfantilization vs. StereotypingIf Grace and Lucy are infantilized, Ricky and Will are stereotyped.An Intertextual ReminderExplicit vs. Implied IntertextualityFernando Riverad5c88774d182c630c8a86d5da4bb2c0ee596e51d
1media/maxresdefault.jpg2019-05-06T00:02:27-07:00Infantilization vs. Stereotyping4If Grace and Lucy are infantilized, Ricky and Will are stereotyped.image_header2019-05-10T20:51:31-07:00Both men have minority identities which the women, use to gain the upper hand in arguments. Lucy makes fun of Ricky’s Cuban accent whenever he wants to “s’plain something to her” and Grace mocks Will’s feminine side equating it with weakness, calling him a “sissy” in one instance or more often addressing him and Jack as ladies (Battles and Hilton-Morrow). The men are given more status based on financial stability and traditional gender roles, but they are undermined by their minority identities: being gay in one instance and Cuban in the other. When the stereotypes are examined up close in this manor, it becomes evident how much of situational comedy is based on outmoded models. The below video exemplies how Lucy mocks Ricky's accent (there is no need to watch in it's entirety). The partial infantilization of women is an almost inherent - audiences laugh at capable female characters causing chaos. An easy tactic both women use to gain the upper hand in arguments is too go after their partner's own stereotyped identity marker. Mainstream (often straight, white) audiences often get behind these tactics for the same reflective reason they support the infantilization of women. Due to the comedic nature and the specialness defined in each pairs' relationships, audience members often get the feeling that it is okay for the fictional best friend/spouse to act in a stereotyping manner.