![]() ![]() ![]() While Leslie Knope is a successful, middle-class White woman with a career in politics who was raised by a successful, middle-class White woman with a career in education, she is obviously not representative of all women. None of them are limited completely to their romantic interests (though of course, romance plays a large part in every one of their stories - a symptom more of our voyeuristic side as a society than problems of the patriarchy, I think) and there are several conversations that happen between women that are not about men, allowing “Parks” to pass The Bechtel Test.īut there are also some comments made in the series early on that are distinctly anti-feminist. The female characters on “Parks” are well-rounded and interesting, each with her own quirks and faults and story lines. With women like Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones and Aubrey Plaza leading the cast, I expected this series to be extremely pro-feminist. And it’s important that a series with this kind of popularity learns from its mistakes. Many of the things that irk me about the first seasons have been resolved (or at least don’t seem to crop up as often) by the point that I’ve reached in the series. I’m about a third of the way through season four at the moment and it’s apparent to me that the show gets better every season. I haven’t seen all of “Parks and Recreation” yet. And while I agree that there are a lot of things to love about this show, there are also a lot of things that make me feel uncomfortable. It’s heralded for being pro-feminist and hilarious and clever. As I mentioned, this series is put on a pedestal by its fans. The characters are balanced and the writing, for the most part, is witty and intelligent and well-timed.īut since I’m coming into “Parks” without knowing a whole lot about it other than what the fandom has shown me, I’ve been surprised by some of what I’ve seen. It’s easy to see why this show is put on a pedestal by its fans - Knope is an excellent, well-rounded character whose growth is obvious throughout each season. It’s quirky and funny and bright and cute and features several strong female characters who are loved for their faults rather than because of them. The show follows her adventures in government as well as those of her friends and coworkers. “Parks” centers around Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a mid-level politician in Pawnee, Indiana. The NBC comedy, conceived of by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur (also behind “The Office”, which I loved for five seasons and then abruptly stopped watching - I’m still not sure why), first premiered in 2009. ![]() That means I miss out on a lot of shows that the rest of the Internet is seemingly obsessed with - among the ones I’ve missed over the years are some that stand out for their popularity as well as their seeming perfection in the eyes of the Tumblr crowd.Ī paradigm example is “Parks and Recreation”. Even with shows that I love, it’s hard for me to stay on top of current episodes. In a world full of imperfect asshole male characters, I live for a female character who can be imperfect and still someone we can all aspire to be.I’m really bad at keeping up with television. She doesn’t care that people might find her annoying, she just cares about doing the right thing and getting the job done. I love that I can call Leslie frustrating and still be inspired by her. Knope, but please don’t let my word choice fool you. Sometimes the people who are upset are being defensive or are in the wrong, and other times Leslie has made a mistake. When she frustrates us or the characters, it’s not the end of the world. She wants to do the right thing and push people to be better. Sometimes, she gets angry and overly passionate and upsets those around her. Leslie’s drive doesn’t always match that of those around her, from disaffected intern April to her libertarian co-worker Ron. ![]()
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