Marxism Perspective in Abbott Elementary
With two seasons complete and a third about to begin airing next month, ABC’s mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary has found great success with viewers and critics alike since its release in 2021. The show portrays a group of ragtag teachers finding ways to help their students be successful at an underfunded, predominantly black elementary school in Philadelphia. This show has become a favorite of mine because of its smart humor and writing, relatability to a wide audience, and an exceptional cast. It wasn’t until learning more about the marxist perspective that I considered a deeper analysis of the themes in Abbott Elementary. Here are two of the primary observations I noticed in my analysis:
The casting rejects hegemonyOne of the ways the show portrays Abbott Elementary teachers opposing the hegemony of the status quo, is by being racially and gender diverse. In reality, the National Center for Education Statistics (2020) reported that 79% of teachers are white and 75% of teachers are women. Further, in schools where the students are predominantly not white, the majority of teachers tended to be white. While I believe representation is important in pop culture contexts like TV and movies, it is interesting to note how Abbott’s portrayal rejects the status quo and therefore could be considered a subverted oppositional reading.
Economic differences are a main theme
One of the foundational plot points of Abbott Elementary is an understanding by the characters and the audience of the student’s low socioeconomic status and how little money the school has to assist them. When considering Abbott Elementary as an occluded, preferred reading, we see how the teachers and students don’t live in the “normal” or “average” situation at the school or at home, highlighting an oppositional argument to empowerment. From a viewer’s perspective, this may not make a real-world equivalent to Abbott Elementary a desired place to work or send a child to school.
Another example of Abbott Elementary as an occluded, preferred reading can be observed in a few episodes that showcase a neighboring charter school with more money, equipment, and opportunities for students wanting to take over Abbott as a charter school. Abbott Elementary teachers are concerned about the lack of inclusion and socioeconomic status of the staff and parents at the charter school and fight to keep Abbott public. This storyline speaks to both the praise and concerns about charter schools in the real world, yet further illustrates how the occluded, preferred reading of this text might lead the viewer to find the state of Abbott Elementary School undesirable and not a place they would want to send their child in comparison to the charter school, reinforcing hegemony.
Abbott Elementary fans, what am I missing? What other examples of the marxist perspective can be found in the show?
Abbott Elementary is one of my favorite shows! When I first watched the show, I noticed the diversity in the casting like you did. I thought it was important that they made diversity a priority when casting actors, especially the child actors that play the Abbott students. I found this resource from Santa Clara University that talks about ethical casting practices in regards to race. In this resource, the author talks about the casting director for Abbott Elementary and how she made the effort to cast Black child actors. The resource says: “The task of finding a regular cast of 30+ Black child actors presented a challenge to casting director, Wendy O’Brien. But rather than forgo this specific detail and cast whatever child actor was available, O’Brien utilized unconventional methods such as outreaching to companies that specialized in representing child actors or collecting referrals from family/friends, to honor the authenticity of the show and the environment it was attempting to replicate. Abbott Elementary’s commitment to accurate representation of roles – both big and small – serves as an exemplar of diverse casting practices, even when easier routes exist.” I think the way the show approaches the topics of racial, economic and gender diversity is important and done in a very tasteful way.
ReplyDeleteAbbott Elementary is a great example of how Marxism is present in media and is a very fun show.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your second paragraph and the discussion about hegemony I think it would have been beneficial to describe more examples in regards to how the show subverts the typical hegemony in the public school system. If someone is not familiar with the show they may not have enough context to understand the importance of the subversion and rejection of stereotypes.