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Project Runway cracks a fag joke
I was curled in front of my TV, laptop on my knee, contemplating how lucky I am to have a job where I am paid to watch Project Runway and tell people what I think about it. Life, I thought, is very good. I was floating on a little riff of the show's trademark workroom banter between two of the show's out gay contestants, Chris March and Ricky Lazade. Chris had a joke:
Now, I did laugh. I get the joke. I even get that it's not anti-gay, and not simply because it was a joke between two gay men. I mean, the whole premise of it is that if you're gay, that's all homophobes will see. It doesn't matter if you're a college professor, auto mechanic, ballroom dance instructor, or paleolithic cartoon character: You're just a fag. So I'm not casting any aspersions on my beloved Chris or Ricky. I love you both, you know that, guys, right? No, I'm wondering about Bravo. And this isn't your usual rhetorical, fake-concern, I-already-know-the-answer type wondering, either. It's genuine, and it's this: Would Bravo have aired a similar exchange between two African-American designers joking about the word "n****r"? I don't watch much reality TV, and I never watch the kind where the focus is the backstage drama and backstabbing. Perhaps Bravo not only would air such an exchange, but already has. Those wiser in the ways of reality television can probably answer that question, and I hope one of you does. But it did give me a tiny pause, in the moment before I laughed, and again after. Just a little question in my brain, wondering what Bravo was thinking when they edited this episode, and made the decision to include this joke, and that word. Check out the whole recap here! Submitted by on Thu, 2008-01-10 16:50. |
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I thought the same thing....
I didn't hear the opening
Not surprised
Contempt for gays? Quite the opposite
While taste is subjective and one person's trash is another person's masterpiece, I can't think of a show that is so popular with so many people which has concurrently embraced gay men every step of the way. Not only was the first season's winner openly gay, its biggest/unexpected star has turned out to be gay (the dashing Tim Gunn), one of the permanent judges is gay (Michael Kors), and the show has had more than its share of succcessful gay designers as guest judges, including Zac Posen last week. Showing successful gay men is not a sign of contempt.
You can't look anywhere without seeing gay representation as a matter of fact thing. This season, with one exception, every single male contestant is gay. One could correctly argue that quantity does not equal quality as many reality shows cast people who will play a particular role without regard to how that person comes across; however did the show treat HIV+ Jack's infection with contempt? Has Rami been treated with contempt? Annoyingly acerbic (to me) Christian, who finally came across as a human being this week seems to be a favorite with the judges. The enthusiasm when Chris was brought back was palpable among the contestants. I see homo-heaven as even those fat boys who did not to to the prom are having a chance to shine.
When it comes to who should win each season, we all may have different choices as to who is best, but just because they liked annoying Jeffrey does not make them contemptful. I was all about Laura and think she was robbed, but I would not say that it's because the show is anti-female. And you may want to do some research on Michael (the contestant) before assuming with doubt that he's heterosexual.
I am not loving the show as I have in previous seasons, but I think that it's getting more traction. The editing folks may be so used to the gay sensibility that they did not even think about the f-word. I am so clueless that I did not even get the joke. Poor taste in editing in show does not trump almost 4 seasons of embracing even the most stereotypical gay man.
Driven into the ground?
The contest is to make the judges adore your creations more than any of the other contestants. A big part of that is designing with the taste of the judges in mind. Kayne was repeatedly told that his work was not to the liking of the judges and he could never seem to edit himself. Telling a contestant the same thing every week may seem like driving him into the groung, but it's not when every week he makes the same mistakes.
Chris is an excellent example of this. His first few creations were "too costumey." Evidently getting sent off woke him up to the need to tone down the more out there elements of his work. While the ordinary woman challenge bordered on problematic, the next two have been sublimely edited versions of his vision.
This isn't a costume contest and he needed to leave that element of his former work behind. I'm really glad he has without losing his voice.
They changed their opinions on a dime
When he tried to tailor himself, they weren't impressed. When he didn't tailor himself, they weren't impressed. They were also very openly contemptuous of the flashy costume he made for himself in one challenge, while fawning over Jeffrey wearing almost the exact same type of outfit.
The show exploits gays for cheap laughs, but will go with the safe heterosexual choice if they can. This is the network that said they did not want to be the "gay network" and which has had no problem editing people into the closet.
There's a good reason that less and less people pay attention to PR.
Heaven forbid they show a
The 'Joke'
He shoots, he scores!
Assuming that it was not a word play, Christie poses the interesting question of whether Bravo would have aired a similar exchange between black men and the punchline where the "n" word was the punch line, and my guess would be that it would have aired it. I've seen it more than once in reality TV (The Real World) but especially in fiction and seem more directed at those who use stereotypes to define an entire group of people.
With regard to the "n" word in current and recent fiction, the most use prominent that comes to mind is showing black characters talking about how the police treats all blacks badly, irrespectively of anything else. In Living Color did it all the time have used it for humor and the much maligned Crash did it dramatically. Oh, oh, I opened the Crash can of worms.... Is that worse than using the "n" or the "f" words concurrently?
"What would you call the Flintstones if they were gay?"