TMC
04-09-2022, 06:15 AM
about teachers
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/arts/television/abbott-elementary.html
Past shows like Welcome Back, Kotter, Boston Public, Friday Night Lights and even The Wire have delved into the teaching profession, but the students are usually the protagonists. “Abbott Elementary, whose first season ends on April 12, is a workplace comedy, which means that it looks at teaching as a job done by complicated, messy humans," says James Poniewozik. "This also means that its mission and good intentions would mean nothing if it weren’t funny. And it is hilarious. (As a critic, I appreciate a bittersweet seven-episode niche dramedy more than most, but sometimes you just want a good sitcom.)" He adds: "What becomes clear over the first season is how thoroughly (Quinta) Brunson and her creative team have done the reading when it comes to American education, about both its eternal challenges and its of-the-moment dynamics....A drama could tell the same sorts of stories, but there’s something about a workplace comedy, with its focus on eccentricities and petty annoyances, that makes it especially effective. The teachers of Abbott Elementary are as imperfect as you are, and this is important. Part of the 'heartwarming' narrative that we like to tell ourselves about education is that teachers are saints. It’s convenient: You don’t owe anything to a saint." ALSO: Here are five moments showcasing why Abbott Elementary became a hit (https://www.indiewire.com/2022/04/abbott-elementary-quinta-brunson-abc-hit-succeeds-1234713478/).
The Dropout, Abbott Elementary and Inventing Anna have turned the "girlboss" into a punchline (https://jezebel.com/hollywoods-best-punchline-is-the-girlboss-1848767485)
"ABC’s Abbott Elementary became a smash hit overnight," says Kylie Cheung. "Clips of Amanda Seyfried dancing to Lil Wayne as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout have gone viral. And we’re collectively addicted to Anna Sorokin’s swindling in Inventing Anna. Indeed, the season of wildly problematic—and equally entertaining—women leads is upon us, and these shows are united in their vicious, hilarious mockery of the once-venerated 'girlboss' figure. Of these shows, only Abbott Elementary is technically a comedy, but each is undeniably, compulsively funny—thanks to the often twisted and cringe-inducing humor of the possibly psychopathic women at the hearts of these shows. As a school principal, billionaire CEO, and faux millionaire heiress respectively, Ava of Abbott Elementary, Holmes in The Dropout, and Anna Sorokin in Inventing Anna, are prototypical renderings of the girlboss: pioneering, at least semi-powerful women who have paved their own ways in a capitalist and patriarchal society. It once seemed unthinkable that a girlboss-like figure would be the punchline of a popular television series—especially not in an ostensibly liberal entertainment industry that’s constantly striving toward more feminist storytelling and representation. Recent cultural shifts in how we understand gender and power have ultimately opened the door to the brutal comedy of these shows, as well as their massive followings."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/arts/television/abbott-elementary.html
Past shows like Welcome Back, Kotter, Boston Public, Friday Night Lights and even The Wire have delved into the teaching profession, but the students are usually the protagonists. “Abbott Elementary, whose first season ends on April 12, is a workplace comedy, which means that it looks at teaching as a job done by complicated, messy humans," says James Poniewozik. "This also means that its mission and good intentions would mean nothing if it weren’t funny. And it is hilarious. (As a critic, I appreciate a bittersweet seven-episode niche dramedy more than most, but sometimes you just want a good sitcom.)" He adds: "What becomes clear over the first season is how thoroughly (Quinta) Brunson and her creative team have done the reading when it comes to American education, about both its eternal challenges and its of-the-moment dynamics....A drama could tell the same sorts of stories, but there’s something about a workplace comedy, with its focus on eccentricities and petty annoyances, that makes it especially effective. The teachers of Abbott Elementary are as imperfect as you are, and this is important. Part of the 'heartwarming' narrative that we like to tell ourselves about education is that teachers are saints. It’s convenient: You don’t owe anything to a saint." ALSO: Here are five moments showcasing why Abbott Elementary became a hit (https://www.indiewire.com/2022/04/abbott-elementary-quinta-brunson-abc-hit-succeeds-1234713478/).
The Dropout, Abbott Elementary and Inventing Anna have turned the "girlboss" into a punchline (https://jezebel.com/hollywoods-best-punchline-is-the-girlboss-1848767485)
"ABC’s Abbott Elementary became a smash hit overnight," says Kylie Cheung. "Clips of Amanda Seyfried dancing to Lil Wayne as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout have gone viral. And we’re collectively addicted to Anna Sorokin’s swindling in Inventing Anna. Indeed, the season of wildly problematic—and equally entertaining—women leads is upon us, and these shows are united in their vicious, hilarious mockery of the once-venerated 'girlboss' figure. Of these shows, only Abbott Elementary is technically a comedy, but each is undeniably, compulsively funny—thanks to the often twisted and cringe-inducing humor of the possibly psychopathic women at the hearts of these shows. As a school principal, billionaire CEO, and faux millionaire heiress respectively, Ava of Abbott Elementary, Holmes in The Dropout, and Anna Sorokin in Inventing Anna, are prototypical renderings of the girlboss: pioneering, at least semi-powerful women who have paved their own ways in a capitalist and patriarchal society. It once seemed unthinkable that a girlboss-like figure would be the punchline of a popular television series—especially not in an ostensibly liberal entertainment industry that’s constantly striving toward more feminist storytelling and representation. Recent cultural shifts in how we understand gender and power have ultimately opened the door to the brutal comedy of these shows, as well as their massive followings."