Cheap Laughs

We apologize for the brevity--not to say non-existence--of yesterday's post. We were at an academic conference on "The Future of the Semi-Colon"; it looks bright! We had major difficulty accessing the internet via our handy new cellphone. We managed to make it to blogger.com, and even to the "New Post" tab of "The Solipsist"; we couldn't, however, enter any text beyond the title. Still, we maintain that our daily blogging streak continues. (Like if Cal Ripken, Jr., had come in as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the ninth. It would still count!)

While away, though, we caught the premiere of NBC's new comedy, "Community." The show takes place at a community college, so you can understand YNSHC's interest.

Frankly, we wonder if we should take offense.

The show stars Joel ("The Soup") McHale as a shady lawyer forced to return to school in order to avoid disbarment. He figures the easiest way to earn credits is to go to a community college, where he can fake his way through classes, as he once faked his way through courtrooms. He is surrounded by a group of misfits, representing the predictable stereotypes of community-college students: Abed (Danny Pudi), a socially dysfunctional middle-easterner who appears to suffer from Asperger's Syndrome; Troy (Donald Glover), a former prom king/jock clinging to the glory of his high school days; Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), an early-middle-aged African-American woman seeking to continue her education (the academic term of art is "returning student"); Annie (Alison Brie), a neurotic recent high-school graduate who apparently struggles with an addiction to ADHD medication; and Chevy Chase. He plays the elderly student looking to fill his retirement with educational enrichment, and he, too, is a bit of a dolt.

McHale's Navy--or at least his crew--is rounded out by Britta (Gillian Jacobs), an attractive, young(ish), high-functioning woman, who belies the stereotype of the typical attendee of "loser college" (as the dean refers to CC's in the show's opening). Her excuse for not attending UCLA? She "dropped out of high school to impress Radiohead." This, of course, was followed by time in the Peace Corps and other resume-filling activities sure to impress whatever four-year school she eventually transfers to.

Therein, of course, lies one flaw in this--or any--show revolving around a community college: The high-functioning students won't stick around for long. Two years, at most. Of course, if the producers of "M*A*S*H" could keep the Korean War raging for 11 years, the producers of "Community" will find a way to keep Britta at Greendale for a while.

But will they have to worry about that? Probably not. The show did provide a couple of chuckles, but nothing truly memorable. One of the best parts of the pilot was an appearance by "Daily Show" alum John Oliver as a psychology professor, and we're not even sure he's a regular on the cast.

And then there's the "offense" question. Apparently, some were bothered by the light-hearted banter about Asperger's Syndrome; that, however, is politically correct inanity. We were more bothered by what the show says about community colleges.

We will be the first to admit that there is some truth to the caricatures: you can find virtually all those stereotypes--including, it must be noted, the high-functioning, perfectly "normal" girls like Britta--at every community college. You also, frankly, also find students much more dysfunctional than even Chevy Chase (hard to believe, we know!). Still, a part of us was put off by the show's mockery.

Don't get us wrong: We agree with the old "Candid Camera" lyric--it is "fun to laugh at yourself." No one knows better than the Solipsist that a rich vein of comic material can be mined at any institution of higher (or lower) learning. "Welcome Back, Kotter," "Head of the Class," "Animal House." But consider the targets of those shows: "Kotter" was about a dysfunctional class filled with misfits--who actually start to thrive under a teacher's guidance. "Head of the Class" was about high-achieving "Sweat Hogs." "Animal House" poked fun at fraternity culture. "Community," indeed, could work if it poked fun at a BAD community college; the problem is that the show seems to tar ALL community colleges as bad ("loser" college, indeed).

Sure, the students at community college are not the types you'd find at Harvard or Yale or even Missouri State (for example). But that's the point. These students are people who have made a conscious choice to better themselves through education, and they are often doing it at the only place they can. We would hate to see the already second-class image of community colleges degraded even further by its representation as a holding pen for societal misfits.

Especially if it's just not that funny.