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>First of all, it's a sitcom, so it makes fun of all of its >characters. Yeah, Diane's a pompous snob, but Norm's a >hopeless alcoholic, Sam's an aging has-been lothario, Carla's >a miserable a-hole, and so on. You're not supposed to >celebrate any of them, as they're all pretty much losers >(except for maybe Woody later on). The point of the show is >that all these sad-sack misfits managed to form a make-shift >family.
Norm IS celebrated....I don't see how you could see it any other way. He's presented as the most likeable character in the show and the most popular amongst the barflies. Woody and Coach are basically the same character. They are both presented as lovable idiots....the archetype of Shakespeare's fool. There's several times when one of them says something which is presented as the wisest thing (especially Coach with Diane). It happens over and over again. They're playfully stupid....but actually smarter than everybody else at key moments. Not unlike Forrest Gump. It's a very clear celebration of ignorance. Chuck is right....all of the unlikeable characters are intelligent.
>And I have no idea where you get that the show is >anti-politcal correctness or conservative. I'm kind of Cheers >fanatic and I can't recall them touching on that stuff. Maybe >you're mistaking Diane's grad-school pretension or Frasier's >haughtiness for a political stance?
Off the top of my head.....there's an episode where Norm pretends to be gay because Frasier's intellectual friends (again with the anti-intellectualism) hire him to be an interior designer. There's also some extremely flaming one-off characters that show up from time to time. There's also another episode where one of Sam's old baseball buddies shows up and comes out. I'd have to see it again....but I can recall that it was an ATTEMPT to be progressive about homosexuality....but was basically filled with really lame gay jokes. And Norm, Cliff and the other guys decide they don't want to go to Cheers anymore because it's becoming a 'gay bar'. The end of the show DOES present a progressive message....Sam decides to accept his gay friend....but not until after we have to sit through a whole lotta predictable innuendos.
As for feminism....Diane's whole character arc is anti-feminist imo. It's intrinsic to the storyline. Educated, modern woman with progressive values can't help herself in falling for the stereotypical alpha-male in contradiction of her politically correct views. For all her 'women hear me roar' (a trope they actually used in one episode)....she can't help but fall into what's portrayed as the 'natural' order of things. She needs a tall, dark handsome alpha-male with a big cock. There are several episodes that portray feminists as man-hating, militant, unreasonable, theory-loving intellectuals who are out of touch with 'reality'. WHENEVER Diane espouses feminist values she is made a fool of pretty much immediately.
It's a good thing the Simpson's swooped in and made it cool to be smart again.
Critique aside...the best episodes I remember were when they feuded with the other bar owned by Gary (Gary's old town tavern or something like that). Also, the con-man guy....I think his name was Harry. Those eps stick out to me.
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