I wouldn’t normally consider using this space to write about cartoons, but a new series started on Fox this week that 1) is a cartoon and 2) oddly enough deals with many of the issues we have spent the semester discussing in class.
Sit Down, Shut Up focuses on a group of Florida high school teachers. The only reason I really watched the premiere (aside from the fact that, yes I admit it, I like cartoons) was that the producer was the man behind Arrested Development, the best comedy series that has ever been on television. It’s weird when a series hooks me based on the creative mind behind it, but keeps me interested by relating to things I’m studying in school.
The plot of the episode dealt heavily with budget concerns causing staff cutbacks. Given the staff members portrayed in the show, the problem would almost seem to be deciding who to keep rather than who to fire. Among the faculty members are: an openly bisexual drama teacher who frequently hides in the boy’s locker room, a pill-popping librarian who also makes a habit of hiding in the boy’s locker room and is known to have carried on a relationship with a student (a 23-year-old student, but a student nonetheless), a German teacher whose off-hours sexual activities inadvertently become known among the student body, a brainless English teacher who frequently hits on students, and a ditzy science teacher who ONLY teaches creation theory. It’s basically a gallery of characters embodying all the things we’ve learned NOT to do as educators.
All of this sounds pretty mortifying on paper, I suppose. But the show does play these qualities for laughs, with varying results. Sit Down, Shut Up was funny in parts, but I actually found myself more intrigued by the caricatures of bad educators the show put on display. Did anyone else happen to see it and get left with the same impression?
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2 comments:
I appreciate a funny cartoon just as much as the next guy but I am disappointed that this type of cartoon is on. We have spoken about teachers as professionals and I don't know how many people will take this cartoon seriously but with the way people view our education system as lacking, at this point I think the last thing teachers need is to be represented so irresponsibly in a cartoon. Give the audience this cartoon caters too, I wonder if this will contribute to further disrespect for teachers. Just seems to me like another way for people to think less of teachers and about whether they really are professionals.
I'm not sure how seriously people will take the material in the cartoon, but I'm still inclined to agree with you. It seems like most of this material (except maybe the bit about the science teacher, which seems more a contradiction than a reinforcement of stereotypes) hits a little too close to disturbing reality to safely parody.
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