Workplace settings on television go back almost all the way to the beginning of television programming, and there is something special about these workplace shows. While Archie Bunker can argue with his son-in-law Meathead for thirty odd minutes about the social issues of the day, Sanford and Son can actually show you those class and race issues, and Mary Tyler Moore and Murphy Brown can demonstrate more clearly feminist issues by placing those title characters at work. Workplace settings in sitcoms are practically an institution these days. Despite this, the number of shows that center around the retail workplace is trumped enormously by shows that depict blue and white collar work. Those that do depict retail work, often use the setting as a jumping off point instead of the main focal point around which the action takes place. Only one, Are You Being Served? which aired on the BBC for 11 seasons between 1972 and 1985, truly uses the retail setting as the premise for its comedy. Anyone who has worked in retail will instantly recognize the characters and the situations (exaggerated to milk the comedy out of them). I’m going to do a textual analysis of episodes from the first four season in order to demonstrate how the show reflects retail culture in a more authentic way than other shows that use the setting such as Cheers and Two Broke Girls.
About the presenterBrittany R Clark
Brittany Clark is a PhD candidate in American Studies at Penn State University - Harrisburg. Her primary area of interest is in representations of working culture, specifically retail working culture. Other areas of focus include consumer culture, popular culture (especially television), and gender.