The new NBC comedy series, "Community," takes place at a fictional community college in Colorado. The promotional material has been raising eyebrows for weeks among educators at two-year schools, who are concerned that the show will perpetuate negative stereotypes. The series stars Chevy Chase (the clueless patriarch of the Griswald family in the "Vacation" movies) and will focus on various misfits at the school, according to online previews. Here's the NBC link.
Inside Higher Ed. asked a cross-section of community college presidents, faculty members, and students to view the advanced screening of the pilot episode on Facebook and write their impressions. A a number took up the offer.
Not surprisingly, reviews are mixed. Some see no harm whatsoever and find the show amusing, others not so much.
Here's an interesting excerpt profiling the president of a Texas community college:
One of the most eager to comment about the pilot episode was Betty K. Young, president of Houston Community College’s Coleman College for Heath Sciences. You might know her as the motorcycle-riding president, then at Northwest State Community College, who made a cross-country trip in 2005 to appear on “The Tonight Show” to set Jay Leno straight for making jokes at the expense of community colleges. Still, for those expecting a harsh review, Young may disappoint.
“The show is a comedy, so it takes a few jabs at the perceived community college experience, but not in a mean-spirited or spiteful way – more like the way life takes jabs at all of us,” Young writes.
Here's the link to the entire article, available for free.
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