H.E Pennypacker: Wealth American Industrialist, Phianthropist, and Bicyclist

Is being working class represented as a lifestyle choice?

Class Dismissed (2005) touches on many key points that we should be aware of when looking at how media effects our perception of class. The model for today's sit-com is based on the family unit as the source of prosperity and economic-free struggles; in order to be happy and live a successful life you must have a family.

The jobs of the mother and father are used as plot points to explain things like "how did this couple afford this house?", "Why couldn't mom and dad afford piano lessons for so and so?" Their jobs are not functional, in other words, their work doesn't affect the outcome of the plot of the show, whether or not the family can afford to replace the window Billy broke, or go on vacation for an extended two part season finale. 

The life of the viewer is the opposite of the sitcom character; while the individual's lifestyle is determined by social/cultural factors as well as class, such as type of career and employment, the character on a sitcom's lifestyle determines what line of work the character would be in to justify say having a butler or having a mini-van as opposed to a compact car.  

Also sitcoms are based around one set as the main stage (home, bar, etc) where all conflicts take place, evolve and resolve across the span of the series. This focus on the household for example as the center of conflict leads writers to explore plots of moral consequences and family values; such as "can the children show they are responsible enough to have a dog?" and "Is Billy jumping off all these bridges because his friends are doing it and his parents have been fighting over where to best spend their vacation for the two part season finale (because the rating have been down and they really need a come back) to instruct him on peer-pressure?"

These issues appear to be lessons in "how to have the perfect family in six seasons or less" and put the focus of conflict on the fault of the individual rather than the system they are apart of. So while Billy is jumping off bridges with all his friends cause his parents are too busy fighting over the plot we need to take into consideration the big picture--class. 

I don't think I've ever seen a plot for an episode of a sit-com be determined by factors outside the nucleus of the family; "Billy's been doing poorly in school because the education facility in his area is out of date and lacks funding" or "Mrs. Billy struggles with trying to increase her pay wages so she can gain some class mobility." 

The closest thing I've seen to dealing with class issues is that one of the middle class family members tries to appeal to their "rich friends" and live their lifestyle of fur coats and fine wines. At the end of the episode the naive middle class family learns that having nice things doesn't make you happy and the credits roll. This discourages class mobility among the middle and working class and portrays having money equates to having more stuff and is not about financial stability; thus working/middle class workers who wish to move up in class are seen as greedy because they already have everything they need when that is not the case at all. This "lifestyle" of Ferraris and furs is portrayed as a choice of the individual to participate in a culture of over the top luxury and greed that to have more money is unmoral. When in reality, the working class and middle class families watching these shows are just looking for more financial stability and job security. 

I haven't been watching a lot of sitcoms lately, but Seinfeld (1989-1998) has always been a classic that is in a way an anti-sitcom sitcom. For example Kramer is unemployed before the series has started up until the middle of the 9th and final season where he gets his job back at a bagel shop after the strike for raising pay wages is over (because minimum wage went up). He ends up loosing this job over the course of the episode. BUT my point is that, we suspend our disbelief for the sake of the show and just accept that this 35 year old man can so how afford a New York City apartment with no job and still manages to get food on the table. One of Kramer's characters, "H.E Pennypaker" I think exemplifies how we perceive class as a lifestyle choice because even in the show people believe he is this philanthropist industrialist because of the way he acts and dresses.

Here's a link to Kramer coming off strike

Here's the best of H.E Pennypacker
      
Here's another one just for fun, It's not mentioned above but worth seeing