Winning the Golden Globe for best comedy [1], ‘Ugly Betty’ has become a huge successful hit attracting 1.8 million people in the U.K [2] and 16.1 million in America [3]. ‘Ugly Betty’ starring America Ferrera is actually an Americanized adaptation of a wildly popular Colombian telenovela, [4] which is about the life of a young unattractive Latino woman in America. Becoming Daniel Meade’s assistant at ‘Mode Magazines’, Betty tries to ‘fit in’ the fashion world as well as dealing with her home life. The protagonist being female engages with predominantly a female audience and although ‘Ugly Betty’ is a sitcom, it is a hybrid of various genres in terms of the issues and complex narrative, demonstrating how much the genre has evolved in comparison to ‘Our Miss Brooks’ (1952-1956), an office sitcom where the character of Connie Brooks has been described as the first independent woman in radio and she naturally became the first independent woman in television [5]. The humor in ‘Ugly Betty’ is underpinned by serious issues and this sitcom incorporates many themes and ideas which reflect the zeitgeist, for instance, beauty, capitalism, celebrification etc. A major change shown is the representation of females, which is shown via the diverse female characters. Gone are the days where ‘men act and women appear’ [6] as ‘Ugly Betty’ is a portrayal of a modern society.
http://vivirlatino.com/2007/01/16/ugly-betty-takes-home-two-golden-globes.php [1]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/26/tvratings.television2 [2]
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20060930/tv-ugly-betty-ratings.htm [3]
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0002958.cfm [4]
-Moore,Barbara , Bensman, Marvin R. ,Dyker,Jim Van: Prime-Time Television: A Concise History, 2006, praeger publishers [5]
-Lawson,Tony, Jones,Marsha,Moores,Ruth (2000): Advanced Sociology through diagrams ,Great Clarendon street,Oxford, Oxford university press [6]
http://vivirlatino.com/2007/01/16/ugly-betty-takes-home-two-golden-globes.php [1]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/26/tvratings.television2 [2]
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20060930/tv-ugly-betty-ratings.htm [3]
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0002958.cfm [4]
-Moore,Barbara , Bensman, Marvin R. ,Dyker,Jim Van: Prime-Time Television: A Concise History, 2006, praeger publishers [5]
-Lawson,Tony, Jones,Marsha,Moores,Ruth (2000): Advanced Sociology through diagrams ,Great Clarendon street,Oxford, Oxford university press [6]
One of the ideas challenged by ‘Ugly Betty’ is the idea of beauty. Dating back to the 1950’s ‘Our Miss Brooks’, the media’s portrayal of the female protagonist has always been attractive. Connie Brooks (played by Eve Arden) was no exception to this norm and the show on television being black and white, many a woman identified with an unattached but still attractive heroine [7]. Similarly, in the 1970’s sitcom, ‘The Mary Tyler Show’, the protagonist Mary Richards is shown to be attractive although she is a slight difference from Connie Brooks due to her hair being darker in comparison to brooks who is blonde. This is significant as although Connie Brooks may be a conventional beauty due to her blonde hair, the stereotypical view associated with blonde heads is negative hence Mary Richards may have had dark hair so her role of an independent woman who was determined to ‘make it on her own’[8] would be taken seriously.
This image of the female protagonists being young, slim and pretty still exists today as shown in ‘Desperate Housewives’. The fact that all the females are shown this way promotes the idea that females should be feminine and places importance on self-image. The female audiences have been and still are encouraged to identify with an attractive protagonist, which supports and challenges Mulvey who claims that the protagonist usually tends to be male. In ‘Our Miss Brooks’, ‘The Mary Tyler Show’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’, the main protagonists are attractive females, and the mainly female audience are positioned to identify and idealize the female heroine, as they see a perfect version of themselves which generates narcissism, as the idealized version of the female audience is reflected via the heroine [9]. Therefore, the female protagonists’ image has a major impact on the audience, as the image promotes values of being feminine etc which a passive audience will easily believe whereas a more active audience will view the high standards unrealistic.
From a feminist perspective, Wolf wrote: 'Beauty is a currency like the gold standard. Like any economy, it is determined by politics and in the modern age in the West, it is the last, best belief system that keeps male domination intact' [10]. This statement is true as being concerned about our image means more consumption which results in greater profit for males reflecting our patriarchal society. A multi-billion-dollar global industry exists that centers on appearance (the fitness industry, the cosmetic industry, the fashion industry). These industries are all built on notions of attractiveness [11]. This also demonstrates how image supports capitalism.
-James, Edward T. : Notable American Women , 1971, Harvard university press [7]
-Bennett,Peter ,Slater,Jerry and Wall,Peter:A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction,2006,Routledge [10]
In Ugly Betty, the protagonist Betty Suarez is unattractive and is shown to be in a fashion industry where image is vital. Betty is presented as a short average weight female with thick spectacles, thick frizzy hair and to top it of shiny braces. Her costume is equally shocking, on her first day at work she wears a ridiculously lumpy, red and yellow ‘Guadalajara’ poncho [12]. This process of ‘Bettification’ [13] perhaps being the most flamboyant side of Betty is a stereotypical image of a geek so the audience already forms an opinion on Betty’s character. She is viewed as a geek so the audience expects her to be hardworking, unsociable and to an extent an outcast, which she is as she stands out. However, although Betty stands out, via the high angle shots and the fact that she is usually shown tagging along behind her boss and people at work demonstrates her insignificance and connotes she is inferior. This can be viewed as ironic, as she stands out yet is hardly acknowledged. Betty herself is a contrast to the fashion world and she makes a statement as she is surrounded by slim models and other slim characters such as Amanda. As Betty is viewed as an outcast, this promotes the idea of females being slim and relates to society where image obsession is at its highest peak. The models are shown to be dieting which is a true portrayal of the fashion industry. However, the seriousness of the matter is dismissed, for instance the death of Ana Carolina Reston, a Brazilian model aged 21 who lived on a diet of apples and tomatoes, sparked worldwide concern [14]. The extent of the dieting and consequences are not portrayed and therefore it can be argued that ‘Ugly Betty’ promotes values such as females should be slim. This is further reinforced by Wolf: “Women’s bodies and female sexuality have become commodities and the consequences of this are mental and physical illness, starvation diets and eating disorders” [15].
However, Betty is shown to be average weight and as she is the protagonist the audiences identify with her and she is supposedly representing real women and this could be one of the main reasons for the shows popularity and high viewing figures. Betty shows a side of society that is so obsessed with looks that the everyday person feels inferior and not meeting the standard the world (not the real world, but the business and fashion world) has set on them [16]
Yet whether Betty is actually ugly is questionable as the actress America Ferrera is in fact not ugly, she wears fake braces on her teeth, bushy eyebrows and a dishevelled wig, and make-up and clothing intended to downplay her looks. Moreover, Ferrera’s smile has been insured by Lloyd for $10 million [17]. This demonstrates that Ferrera is not unattractive and is concerned about her image, and it can be argued that she contradicts the character of Betty, which when considering Ferrera is not ugly seems unrealistic. By having an attractive actress to play the role of an unattractive character seems to promote the importance of image, and the audience may view Betty’s character as unrealistic. Nevertheless, Ferrera is not the conventional beauty so in some ways does seem to represent real women due to her weight etc.
-Bennett,Peter ,Slater,Jerry and Wall,Peter: A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction , 2006, Routledge [15]
http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/2465 [16]http://www.lloyds.com/News_Centre/Features_from_Lloyds/Lloyds_insures_Ugly_Bettys_smile.htm [17]
Betty’s image seems to fit in with the role she plays, she is represented as a mother figure to Daniel which is reinforced by her facial expressions of disappointment when he does something wrong, and by the position she stands in- usually hands on her hips when telling him off. Her mother role is further emphasized by Daniel’s father who says ‘Protect him Betty’. Similarly in ‘Our Miss Brooks’, Connie Brooks occupation as a teacher means she is also fulfilling her nurturing motherly role as she is surrounded by children. This promotes the idea of gender roles and that being a nurturer is ‘natural’ to females, as they are unable to escape from this role even though they are working women. Moreover, Betty seems to have other characteristics which reflect her mother role, for instance, in the Swag episode, Betty sells her Gucci bag in order to obtain medicine for her father, which shows that she is self-sacrificing. This also demonstrates the bond Betty has with her family, as she tries to take care of them and is the main breadwinner in her household, which promotes family values. By showing Betty’s family life reflects that the genre is not a sitcom but is a hybrid of drama and comedy.
By having many elements such as the home and work environment as well as the fact that the protagonist is Latino reflects the fact that this show has been adapted from the telenovela genre. For co-executive producer Salma Hayek, it was only natural to bring Ugly Betty to ABC and a wider American audience that's becoming increasingly Latino. [18].This is a reflection of society which is very multicultural, and one of the many narratives concerning Betty’s father involves the idea of immigration, which seems to give a portrayal of society. This is what Ugly Betty is partly about, as Horta states when accepting the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series (2007) “"Like a lot of its characters and a lot of us up here right now, this show is an immigrant, and Betty is a testament to the American… and the American dream is, in fact, alive and well and within reach of anyone in the world who wants it." [19]. ‘Ugly Betty’ does represent America as the land of opportunity and promotes capitalist ideas to all audiences- whether they are Latino or not. The mise-en-scene reinforces the ‘American Dream’ as the environment is shown to be busy and glamorous.
By having many elements such as the home and work environment as well as the fact that the protagonist is Latino reflects the fact that this show has been adapted from the telenovela genre. For co-executive producer Salma Hayek, it was only natural to bring Ugly Betty to ABC and a wider American audience that's becoming increasingly Latino. [18].This is a reflection of society which is very multicultural, and one of the many narratives concerning Betty’s father involves the idea of immigration, which seems to give a portrayal of society. This is what Ugly Betty is partly about, as Horta states when accepting the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series (2007) “"Like a lot of its characters and a lot of us up here right now, this show is an immigrant, and Betty is a testament to the American… and the American dream is, in fact, alive and well and within reach of anyone in the world who wants it." [19]. ‘Ugly Betty’ does represent America as the land of opportunity and promotes capitalist ideas to all audiences- whether they are Latino or not. The mise-en-scene reinforces the ‘American Dream’ as the environment is shown to be busy and glamorous.
Within this glamorous environment Betty works as Daniel’s assistant. This is not a positive representation as the occupation has a low status and demonstrates that perhaps some of the representations and roles of women have not changed. ‘Our Miss Brooks’ protagonist Connie was one of TV's noblest working women: the center of a highly successful show, toiling in a realistically portrayed, and unglamorized career (Miss Brooks often made mention of how low her wages were), and rewarded and honored by real workers whom she represented [20]. Similarly, Betty seems to be giving a realistic portrayal of people who are assistants. ‘Ugly Betty’ shows that in some ways the representation of women has not changed as she is the assistant and her boss being a male is a reflection of our patriarchal society and it reinforces this ideology, which is also the case with ‘Our Miss Brooks’ where the principle is a male which also reflects patriarchy.
Betty is represented as a strong, kind caring woman and this promotes feminine characteristics to the females audiences, which feminist would argue is a negative representation, as by promoting feminine characteristics through Betty’s character, ‘Ugly Betty’ is enforcing gender roles which a passive audience will follow. Not only this, but the characteristics of Betty show a dichotomy between the masculine and feminine characteristics which people have to conform to according to their gender, which from a feminist perspective is negative as this means patriarchy will always remain intact. Moreover, the fact that Betty has these qualities could be to validate for her appearance, as the audience need to see something positive in the main protagonist in order to identify with them. But as the 22-year-old Ferrera states,"[It's] not about being ugly at all. More than anything it's just about looking past what you see. Achieving that image is not all that we're on this planet to do" [21].
Whereas Betty doesn’t fit into the Mode environment, Wilhelmina’s character does. According to Prop’s theory, she is the villain whereas Betty is the heroine, thus creating binary opposition (Barthes) which allows the narrative to progress. The hero/villain idea is a convention of fairy tales, and ‘ugly betty’ is almost like an updated version to suit the needs of the audiences. Wilhelmina is almost like the witch- who is represented within patriarchal discourses as an implacable enemy of the symbolic order [22].
Wilhelmina is represented as a classy sophisticated career woman in a ‘dog eat dog’ industry, and although she is shown to be the villain, according to the second wave of feminist “"They argue that many battles for economic and workplace equality has still to be fought and won...” [23]. ‘Ugly Betty’ uses this idea by having Wilhelmina as the villain as she is constantly in competition with Daniel to get power and own everything. The fact that she has been employed in a high status position due to her talent promotes meritocracy as well as representing America to be a fair country. However, the fact that Daniel has attained his position due to his father owning the business not only reflects on Marxist ideas about the ruling elite having a ascribed status, but this also reflects patriarchy. By having Wilhelmina as this powerful strong character challenges this patriarchy.
Despite this strong role, Wilhelmina being represented as a villain promotes the ideology that females should be feminine and have feminine qualities. Wilhelmina is shown to be sly, manipulative and very career focused. These characteristics in the business world are viewed stereotypically as male characteristics and even the business world is male dominated, so it can be argued that the fact that she is viewed as a villain demonstrates that society does not approve of her taking this role, hence ‘Ugly Betty’ promotes gender roles, and Wilhelmina is punished for this behavior as she never wins and is not a likeable character.
Moreover, the fact that she is threatening Daniel’s position to some extent creates misogyny and relates to wider society, as there is a ‘crisis of masculinity’ as most jobs are becoming more female dominated, and by making Wilhelmina always unsuccessful and a hated character could be viewed as a male backlash, as that is her punishment for trying to be successful.
Wilhelmina’s character is also important in terms of representing the different classes and status. In ‘Ugly Betty’ Wilhelmina is usually shown standing straight with her head held high, and her body language connotes she is superior. Moreover, this is further reinforced via her costume, which is formal and sophisticated yet also feminine which promotes the glamorous lifestyle. Wilhelmina is shown to be wealthy and rich female and this suggests that her high status is also due to the things she owns, which promotes materialistic values and the idea of consumerism, which appeals more to the audiences who are aspirers. This also applies to passive audiences who will believe that in order to gain status, you need to buy things.
From the political economy approaches -Peter Golding ad Graham Murdock argue that the group who own huge proportions of the media "ensure that social imagery and knowledge which is circulated through the media is broadly in its interest, and reproduces inequalities from which it benefits" [24]. So by promoting these materialistic values, ‘Ugly Betty’ is influencing passive audiences as they are influenced to buy things which benefit the capitalist system- in particular the ruling elite. This idea is further reinforced by the ‘Swag’ episode, where Betty is respected and acknowledged due to the fact that she has a Gucci bag, which promotes the idea that it is not important who you are, but what you own. However, in general, Betty does not have a high status, she accepts this which demonstrates that ‘Ugly Betty’ is promoting inequalities as well as indoctrinates the working class to accept their social positions.
Wilhelmina’s character is also important in terms of representing the different classes and status. In ‘Ugly Betty’ Wilhelmina is usually shown standing straight with her head held high, and her body language connotes she is superior. Moreover, this is further reinforced via her costume, which is formal and sophisticated yet also feminine which promotes the glamorous lifestyle. Wilhelmina is shown to be wealthy and rich female and this suggests that her high status is also due to the things she owns, which promotes materialistic values and the idea of consumerism, which appeals more to the audiences who are aspirers. This also applies to passive audiences who will believe that in order to gain status, you need to buy things.
From the political economy approaches -Peter Golding ad Graham Murdock argue that the group who own huge proportions of the media "ensure that social imagery and knowledge which is circulated through the media is broadly in its interest, and reproduces inequalities from which it benefits" [24]. So by promoting these materialistic values, ‘Ugly Betty’ is influencing passive audiences as they are influenced to buy things which benefit the capitalist system- in particular the ruling elite. This idea is further reinforced by the ‘Swag’ episode, where Betty is respected and acknowledged due to the fact that she has a Gucci bag, which promotes the idea that it is not important who you are, but what you own. However, in general, Betty does not have a high status, she accepts this which demonstrates that ‘Ugly Betty’ is promoting inequalities as well as indoctrinates the working class to accept their social positions.
Wilhelmina’s character is important as it does not conform to the typical nurturing role, as she has a daughter who she has minimum contact with, which demonstrates that she is very career focused and her role can be viewed as empowering women. However, Hilda Suarez’s does fulfill her mother nurturing role as she is shown to be a single mother raising her son. The fact that she is a single parent shows family diversity and reflects on society where nine out of 10 single parents are women. However, Hilda does not play a typical mother role, as her character integrates the two separate typical roles of females- being either sex objects or nurtures/mother. She is shown to be a mother looking after her son yet she wears revealing clothes which make her a subject of the ‘male gaze’. Her role reflects a postmodern age and promotes the idea that females can now take on a variety of roles. However, Dr Linda Seger argues the that media images show women in a wife, mother or girlfriend role and these images are restrictive and negative : 'These images misrepresent who we are, demean us, and it make it harder to see women as people...' [25].
Creed,Barbara: 'The Monstrous-Feminine Film,Feminism, Psychoanalysis' 1993,Routladge, London [22]
Bennett,Peter,Slater,Jerry and Wall,Peter: A2 Media Studies:The Essential Introduction, 2006, Routledge [23]
Branston,Gill and Stafford,Roy: 'the Media Student's Book' second edition, [24]
Price,John,Nicholas,Joe: 'As Media Studies' 2003, Nelson Thornes LTD, Cheltenham[25]
Betty’s and Wilhelmina’s dominant roles are accompanied by Alexis, who is also represented as a career woman. The fact that she was a man before and then becomes a female relates to Freud’s theory, on one hand it could be going against his theory as Freud argues that females have penis envy, yet by Alexis getting castrated, this challenges this theory. However, Freud also argued that males feel anxiety as the female in their perspective is castrated, and therefore she needs a fetish object to get rid of the male audiences’ anxiety and in Alexis’s case, she dresses feminine and wears high heels etc. As she is very attractive, this relates to Mulvey’s idea of the ‘male gaze’ [26]. Amanda’s character is also subjected to the ‘male gaze’ and her character is very stereotypical, as she is a receptionist which is a negative representation as the low status job reflects patriarchy. Her character is stereotypical as she is shown to be ditzy and stupid. Amanda does not have an active role as she does not drive the narrative forward. Her character relates to feminism, as Alice Embree argued that women were seen as bodies, not people (1970, 206). As she is attractive and takes care of her appearance, from a feminist perspective, she is not liberated like Betty, as in order to attain liberation "women must no longer be 'enslaved by ludicrous "beauty" standards' (Morgan 1970, 586) ".
Both ‘Ugly Betty’ and ‘Our Miss Brooks’ have been very successful hits which is shown via the number of awards and nominations. Altogether including the actresses and actors etc, ‘Our Miss Brooks’ won two major awards and had six other nominations [27]. ‘Ugly Betty’ has exceeded this number by wining two Golden Globes, another 27 wins and 38 nominations [28]. The reason for this huge success is mainly due to the fact that ‘Ugly Betty’ shows a true portrayal of society and is viewed as a fresh and original idea which has not been explored successfully before. This is the same with ‘Our Miss Brook’ as it was one of the first office sitcoms, which made it very successful. Both have appealed to a predominantly female audience and have been adapted to the time. The representation of females are different in both as is the genre, as ‘Ugly Betty’ is far more complex with the narrative and also with the characters, which is one of the reasons for its success as the audiences are more active than before. The representations of females in ‘Ugly Betty’ are positive to a bigger extent as the majority of the female characters are not passive and they are shown to have a variety of roles. However, each character can be viewed either as a negative representation or positive, for instance, Wilhelmina is a career woman and is shown to have power which is inspirational for female audiences, yet she is the villain, hence it depends of the way the audience interpret the characters.
