"Will & Grace" -- The TV Series that Changed America

Art in its best form allows you to experience life and ultimately changes the way you view the world Will and Grace was one of those rare television shows to do just that It was entertaining but it did more than just amuse its viewers it was one of the first public explorations of gay malestraight female relationships presenting America with a completely fresh perspectiveIn September of 1998 following the failure of ABC39s Ellen Will ampamp Grace launched on NBC the first primetime television program to have an openly gay male lead character The show defied expectations running from 1998 through 2006 and was the highest rated sitcom in America among viewers ages eighteen to forty from 2001to 2005 according to Christopher Castiglia and Christopher Reed39s book If Memory Serves It opened doors and prepared America for future shows based on homosexuality possible because contrary to popular belief it wasn39t about homosexuality Instead the show was about understanding and being able to value and appreciate one of life39s greatest gifts friendshipWhile the show39s premise is about two best friends amp8211 Will and Grace amp8211 one who happens to be heterosexual and one who is not the plot continues a formulaic sitcom standard will the oddcouple pairing eventually be consummated romanticallyGranted the setup of Grace having her life revolve around finding the perfect man doesn39t exactly flatter women The show focused on her relationships and sexual encounters and rarely crossed the 39comfort line39 people may have had in terms of delving into Will39s relationships and sex life Viewers at the time were okay with a woman having a 39gay best friend39 as long as they didn39t have to hear too much about his personal or sex life It was especially palatable if he was upperclass white uptight and not acting in an overtly quotgayquot manner that made people uncomfortable Grace had several lovers on the show portrayed by actors such as Harry Connick Jr Edward Burns and Woody Harrelson Will had an occasional oneepisode fling but was never shown in a longterm relationship though it was mentioned in the first season that he39d previously had a sevenyear relationshipThe center of comic relief was usually Jack Will39s close friend Jack was out and proud but was so over the top that he was also fairly nonthreatening Everything about his onedimensional character was designed to set up the laughs Like gay character Oscar Martinez in The Office Jack is witty and sarcastic unlike Oscar he is a caricature written to be the campy butt of jokes Oscar on the other hand is intelligent and a bit of a dork amp8211 and he is also a bluecollar LatinoJack39s amp160flamboyant theaterloving loudmouthed personality served another purpose by contrasting with Will39s quotpassforstraightquot demeanor Will became a safer easiertodigest approximation of a gay man This was in line with the new asexual but quotmasculinequot image of gays presented in the media an image that didn39t challenge mainstream society39s heteronormativity Will has restraint and a brain Jack is promiscuous and flighty The dichotomy presented asked gay viewers quotAre you a 39Will39 or a 39Jack39 type of gayquotWhether Will and Grace taught the uneducated public much of anything about real LGBT issues or about nonstereotypical thought is debatable but one thing can39t be argued there are more gay characters on television now Will ampamp Grace earned a place in cultural history as the vehicle that brought homosexuality out television39s closet The question now remains Is the sheer quantity of gay characters on television somehow more important than the quality of those representationsJoe Biden was quoted on Meet the Press saying that his personal belief was that Will ampamp Grace had done more to advance the cause of the gay population of America than anything else Biden39s opinion aside critics were initially dismissive of the show some calling it a quotgay Seinfeldquot and others doubting that a program devoid of romantic chemistry between the female and male leads could possibly last As we have seen these critics were incorrect Will ampamp Grace went on to run a total of eight seasons and receive eightythree Emmy Nominations and sixteen Emmy AwardsPart of the show39s success was the fact that it was in part simply a quotgay Seinfeldquot Being gay however was not the central theme of the show Although the two main leads were a gay man and his straight female friend the show was not focused on the issues related to homosexuality Instead it followed a standard sitcom formula while happening to have gay characters among its cast This lack of emphasis on being gay made homosexuality less of a loaded issue and pushed it towards the background paving the way for later shows which would introduce LGBT issuesMany of the central conflicts within Will ampamp Grace dealt with standard problems such as finding work romance fighting with friends and having children In this way Will ampamp Grace demonstrated to audiences that a show did not have to be about the homosexual community if it was to include a homosexual main character It also showed that the concerns of the gay community amp8211 friends and family amp8211 were the same as the concerns of the straight communityWill ampamp Grace Before and After Prior to Will ampamp Grace there were few popular gaythemed shows The same year that Will ampamp Grace launched Ellen DeGeneres had already stirred controversy with the show Ellen in which the title character and the actress who played her had come out as gay Ellen39s quotcoming outquot episode garnered a huge amount of positive response from viewers but the show was cancelled soon after When Ellen Morgan first came out on the show criticism was so intense that DeGeneres reported being followed in her car by strange men and the show39s executives had to screen calls from angry viewersToday it has become far more acceptable to have gay characters on television and to avoid making homosexuality the emphasis of the show itself Even when homosexuality is prominently featured a program is free to cover other topics Six Feet Under Glee The New Normal Modern Family White Collar Warehouse 13 and Orange is the New Black all have one or several gay main characters but this is rarely explored as a theme of the shows Having lead characters who are gay without their sexuality being the focus sends the message that being gay is as normal as any other random character trait such as red hair or being lefthandedModern Family is a direct spiritual successor to Will ampamp Grace The show gets a lot of mileage out of humor involving the gay couple in the show but at the same time has been welcomed by viewers and has consistently achieved high ratings As with Will ampamp Grace being gay is not the emphasis but does play a major part The program has been criticized at times for not indicating any physical chemistry between the two gay leads but it has also won many awards including seventeen Emmy nominationsWill ampamp Grace has also been credited with the development of Queer as Folk Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Boy Meets Boy All three of these shows gained widespread acceptance and achieved commercial successQueer Eye for the Straight Guy was an excellent example of a show that presented a point of view of the gay community that had previously been unexplored by the straight community In the program gay men completely made over a straight and typically macho man While it was not a perfect representation it still went a long way in communicating the fact that the gay community was not a threat nor ever would be a threat to the lifestyles of the straight community The program garnered some criticism due to being rooted in stereotypes but it was nevertheless extremely popularSix Feet Under was a unique series in that two of the characters were gay and their relationship was heavily featured despite central themes that dealt with other topics The gay relationship was given no more or less weight than any other in the show and was framed in much the same way as them Six Feet Under proved to be a crowd favorite and was not crippled or held back by the homosexual content The show humanized its gay characters and gay relationships in a way that was extremely relatable as well as critically acclaimedAnother series that introduced gay themes was the legendary TV series thirtysomething In an episode in season three artist Russell meets ad executive Peter amp160The two men with a bit of prodding from mutual friends are introduced and arrange a business meeting over dinner Peter gives Russell some excellent professional advice about Russell39s upcoming art exhibit and shows his keen ability to read Russell through his artistic expressions The two hit it off and they spend the night togetherFrom the very beginning Russell is trying to talk himself out of being attracted to Peter It39s not that Russell is not gay both men are somewhat guarded yet openly homosexual The late eightiesearly nineties was the height of the HIVAIDS epidemic and very little was known about the disease Everyone in the gay community knew someone who either had the AIDS virus or had already died from it This common thread is brought up very casually when Russell and Peter are in bed together for the first time The casualness of their tone speaks volumes The epidemic was a very large very real part of their lives and checking the obituaries for familiar names is something only two gay men could speak about in the same context as checking the sports page or the daily crossword puzzleEven though Russell39s relationship with Peter had the dynamic of being gay amp8211 foreign to most heterosexual viewers amp8211 their relationship otherwise was very relatable Russell39s hesitance to approach Peter for example even with Melissa39s encouragement and full support was the same found in any new relationship People watching could not only relate to his fear of commitment but could see a little more into the gay world because of it His vulnerability allowed viewers to imagine what it must have been like to avoid attachment for the fear of losing yet another close friendPeter in this episode was even more apprehensive than Russell He allowed Russell to make all the first moves and even though he accepted each advance it was with cautious reserve While he admitted he was open with most people about his sexuality which was particularly brave for that period in time he shared Russell39s fear of attachment Seeing the two of them attracted to each other but at the same time so afraid lent an element of sadness to the storyline Both characters were very likeable attractive and successful people viewers automatically wanted there to be a happy ending such as seeing two people who should get together actually be together The opportunity to relate to two gay men was a gift from the writers of the show to viewers that had never been given beforeAs Harvey Milk America39s first openly gay politician who was later tragically assassinated said quotEvery gay person must come out As difficult as it is you must tell your immediate family You must tell your relatives You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends You must tell the people you work with You must tell the people in the stores you shop in Once they realize that we are indeed their children that we are indeed everywhere every myth every lie every innuendo will be destroyed once and allquotBefore Will ampamp Grace TV programs approached gay themes extremely cautiously In Three39s Company the main character Jack has to pretend to be gay in front of their landlord in order to be allowed to live with two women After Will ampamp Grace shows such as thirtysomething brought a completely new mindset breaking stereotypes that needed to be obliterated Being gay was no longer going to be anyone39s punch line it was part of life a reality that was finally coming to light after being the elephant in the room for so long Thirtysomething writers did more than create gay characters for their show they gave them a voice and made them visible It was controversial at the time yes but very much appreciated by gays and straights alike who could no longer stand for the injustice of homosexuals being seen as unequalAs acceptance for homosexuality grows it is very likely that shows will keep including gay characters more often both in supporting roles and leading roles Shows may deemphasize the topic of homosexuality instead focusing on the characters39 personalities Being gay will no longer have to dominate characters will be wellrounded complex individuals who also happen to be gayAs gays gain more visibility and prominence in society and in media the cultural image of the quotreal manquot will change with it and as a bonus objectification of women will become less prominent It may be political correctness or it may be a reflection of how studios perceive reality but today gay male characters are portrayed as more sensitive creative enlightened intelligent honest intimate and emotionally tunedin than straight male characters It39s ironic and controversial that the image of the ideal man currently emerging in society and in media has gay qualities amp160Young straight men exposed to role models of gay men who are successful with women both on TV and in life will be more likely to emulate their behavior than the less respected and less successful behaviors of the traditional misogynistic objectifying heman who has dominated media and society from the beginning of timeClick the link to download Jack Myers39 book The Future of MenClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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"Will & Grace" -- The TV Series that Changed America

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Jack Myers

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"Will & Grace" -- The TV Series that Changed America

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