Post #1 – Female Relationships Representation in Broad City
Created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, Broad City is a sitcom adapted from a web series of the same name, centred on two female friends in their mid-twenties living in New York City. Hailed by critics and viewers alike, the driving force of the show is the core relationship between the two main characters Abbi and Ilana, as it showcases a genuine friendship between women the likes of which have rarely been seen on television. This legitimacy is cemented through a number of aspects, such as the aforementioned creators themselves, as they play characters who share their real life names. Glazer and Jacobson help to pen the scripts which adds a depth to their onscreen friendship as a sense of history is easily identifiable within their interactions. Elaine Blair of the New Republic magazine wrote in her review of the series that “They have so many inside jokes that listening to them can be like trying to decipher a code.” During the first episode of the show, Ilana asks her friend “Can I talk to the Abbi who stole a van?” and Glazer and Jacobson do not elaborate on this piece of history as these inside jokes and pieces of backstory inform the audience of the depth of their relationship outside of what is shown on screen. An example of this can be seen in episode four of season two as Abbi is faced with the choice of ‘pegging’ Jeremy, the man she has a crush on.
In her review for this episode, Caroline Framke of the A.V. Club states that Abbi and Ilana ‘know and accept each other inside and out’ and this conversation is a perfect encapsulation of their friendship. Ilana is not jealous of Abbi for experiencing something she has always wanted to try, she celebrates it and doles out advice and encouragement. Throughout the series, the girls support each other in every endeavour without hesitation and Framke’s proclamation that Broad City is ‘one of the best and most touching depictions of female friendship’ stems from instances like these.
Glazer has been quoted in YES Magazine as saying that ‘the characters on the show are only “15 percent exaggerations”’ of their real life counterparts which illustrates that the events depicted on screen have roots in real life experiences. A situational comedy is centred on characters sharing a common environment and the humour stems from the hyperbolic aspects of the situation. Setting Broad City in New York places the women in the midst of countless other millennials suffering from similar post-college problems. The humour of the show stems from the personalities of the women, allowing them to be fully realised people and not just caricatures whose role it is to make an audience laugh.
Abbi and Ilana are regular working class people with cramped apartments and low income jobs who face problems that are common for people in their twenties. Audiences are able to connect with them on a social level because their lives mirror the ones they view week to week.
References:
Aronoff, Kate (2015) “Why “Broad City” Is the Perfect Comedy for the Student Debt Generation” YES Magazine. <http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/why-broad-city-is-the-perfect-comedy-for-the-student-debt-generation>.
Blair, Elaine (2014) “The importance of being dirty” The New Republic, Vol.245(9), p.7(2). <http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117702/broad-citys-post-feminist-sensibility-tvs-best-comedy>.
Comedy Central (YouTube Channel) (2015) “Broad City – To Peg or Not to Peg?”, video, viewed 10 August 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5uI_-mnojs>.
Framke, Caroline (2015) (Review) “Broad City: Knockoffs” The A.V. Club. <http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/broad-city-knockoffs-214781>.
Paper Kite Productions (2014) “Broad City”, television show.
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