# Is the Big Bang Theory racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2013, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243 "2013-01-06T07:14:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/41 "2013-01-07T01:29:00Z")
I don’t think it’s fair to accuse a show of saying “girls are dumb” because the only female main character at the time happened to be dumb. Did you get as far as Leslie Winkle? She showed up semi-regularly in the early seasons and was more than a match for the guys. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/42 "2013-01-07T01:48:55Z")
> [@Sevencl](#): > > I don’t think it’s fair to accuse a show of saying “girls are dumb” because the only female main character at the time happened to be dumb. Did you get as far as Leslie Winkle? She showed up semi-regularly in the early seasons and was more than a match for the guys. Not to mention Bernadette (biologist of some sort), Amy (neuroscience), and Priya (hot shot lawyer). I’m not a devoted follower of the show, but one of the things I like about it is the women - they’re well-rounded characters who are treated just as sympathetically as the guys. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/43 "2013-01-07T01:51:28Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > Not to mention Bernadette (biologist of some sort), Amy (neuroscience), and Priya (hot shot lawyer). I’m not a devoted follower of the show, but one of the things I like about it is the women - they’re well-rounded characters who are treated just as sympathetically as the guys. Oh, I didn’t even think of Priya. Now I think on it, there’s Leonard’s mother too, who also showed up quite early. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/44 "2013-01-07T01:51:42Z")
re: examples: The two episodes I watched (I’m sure somebody can find the exact episode for further reference): 1. Raj’s parents set up an arranged marriage for him over Skype or something. Chock full of Hindi sterotypes. 2. Raj and somebody had to stay awake all night at the lab to watch an experiment. I believe the Jewish guy made a joke about Raj’s inability to understand comic book sound effects like “fweep” or something because he’s a second language learner. I turned it off soon after that. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/45 "2013-01-07T01:53:49Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > 1. Raj and somebody had to stay awake all night at the lab to watch an experiment. I believe the Jewish guy made a joke about Raj’s inability to understand comic book sound effects like “fweep” or something because he’s a second language learner. I turned it off soon after that. That one has basis in fact. Onomatopoiea does vary between languages. In Japan for example, frogs say “kero”, as opposed to “croak”. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/46 "2013-01-07T02:08:53Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I’m serious. There was a great quote I read once in Entertainment Weekly (I think) and it’s really stuck with me: “The characters of The Big Bang Theory are the geeks we are, while the characters in How I Met Your Mother are the geeks we wish we were.” > > BBT seems very realistic to this geek/nerd. Even the constant sniping. That shit can get vicious. no, the characters of The Big Bang Theory are what Hollywood thinks “nerds/geeks” are, and the average sitcom viewer is too busy drooling on themself to notice. PROTIP: you can’t turn an actor into a nerd or geek by giving them a bad hairstyle, thick-rimmed glasses, and a script with quasi-scientific concepts that they don’t even understand. It’s insultingly fucking stupid. BBT is only “realistic” to people like [this girl.](http://www.explosm.net/comics/3023/) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/47 "2013-01-07T02:17:08Z")
> [@Sevencl](#): > > I don’t think it’s fair to accuse a show of saying “girls are dumb” because the only female main character at the time happened to be dumb. Did you get as far as Leslie Winkle? She showed up semi-regularly in the early seasons and was more than a match for the guys. As I said, I watched the first half-dozen episodes, and no, there were no smart women in those episodes: there were a few really smart geeky guys, and then there was the eye candy. I’m glad to hear they improved it later on, but the other factors I mentioned turned me off enough that I still have no interest. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/48 "2013-01-07T02:37:45Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Colander, > > when you say that there’s no difference between stereotypes and racism, are you saying: > > a) There is no difference between someone telling a joke and a klansman > or > b) There is such a thing as inoffensive racism since racism exists on a spectrum. > > ? 1. Racial stereotypes are racist. 2. I don’t even have a point 2. 3. See point 1. The show you are discussing is extremely offensive to my sensibilities, but it is not so much the “Klan-Rally” type offensive. I’d classify it more as the “The couple behind me in the restaurant is changing their sick baby on the dining table and the manager is watching them and masturbating” type of offensive. Which is to say that I don’t think it is very funny and it makes me sad that to some people this kind of comedic abortion is, to some, a source of pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/49 "2013-01-07T02:51:05Z")
Show ain’t funny. All else is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/50 "2013-01-07T04:03:01Z")
Show is hysterical. 4 of the previous 5 posters have zero sense of humor and would be total wet blankets at any social affair whatsoever, and nobody ever wants to sit at their table at lunch, for good reason. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/51 "2013-01-07T04:15:39Z")
I think I agree with **jz78817**. The characters are “geeks” the way highly processed cheese food product in a spray can is “cheddar”. There’s similarity there, but it’s largely superficial. I don’t mind the show (though I think it’s highly overrated). It’s definitely not aimed at a geek audience. At the risk of sounding like some kind of geek-hipster (“I was uncool _before_ it was cool”), there’s a type of cargo-cult geekdom now that is often confused with the real thing. As to the actual topic of the thread, from what I’ve seen the show “The Big Bang Theory” is not racist. I don’t even think any of the characters are racist. There are occasionally jokes based on someone’s culture. Occasionally these jokes are funny. But I don’t think making a joke about Indian culture is any worse than making a joke about Nebraskan culture, as is often done on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/52 "2013-01-07T04:21:54Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > 1. Raj’s parents set up an arranged marriage for him over Skype or something. Chock full of Hindi sterotypes. When precisely did joking about cultural features become “racism”? When I was at college a very large percentage of my friends, including both my girlfriend and my closest male friend, were Indian or Sri Lankan. Guess what? They ate curry at home almost exclusively, and their parents were always threatening - in some cases jokingly and in some cases not - to set them up in an arranged marriage through relatives “back home in India” with someone they had never met. Are you telling me that every time we joked together about these very real aspects of their (and - at the time - my) life we were being racist? If I discuss Americans eating normal American food is that racist? > [@jz78817](#): > > no, the characters of The Big Bang Theory are what Hollywood thinks “nerds/geeks” are, and the average sitcom viewer is too busy drooling on themself to notice. PROTIP: you can’t turn an actor into a nerd or geek by giving them a bad hairstyle, thick-rimmed glasses, and a script with quasi-scientific concepts that they don’t even understand. It’s insultingly fucking stupid. I would tend to agree except that - at least in my life - there is a very strong correlation between nerdy/geeky-ness and loving BBT. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/53 "2013-01-07T04:27:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Show ain’t funny. All else is irrelevant. I like it, though I havent seen all that many episodes. My wife watches it though, and I’ve caught a few and found them humorous. I think what people in this thread are viewing as ‘racist’ is really what a lot of technical people and nerds\geeks actually act like. To me the funniest thing is how the scientist guy looks down his nose at the engineer…which has been my experience though much of my working life. If they had some EE’s disparaging IT engineers and assuming they knew more about networks because they have a ‘real’ degree it would be pretty much spot on. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/54 "2013-01-07T04:31:08Z")
Changing the subject a little: What do people think of the new season of “Ow, My Balls”? ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/55 "2013-01-07T04:47:53Z")
The jokes are pretty much run-of-the-mill current sitcom type humour. I don’t think the show itself is racist because they tell a few racial/cultural jokes. Sometimes they’re funny, sometimes they’re not. I certainly don’t see any integrated racism… like the way they portray the Asian guy on Two Broke Girls (I only saw a clip, but that left a “WTF” taste in my mouth). BBT is a show for people to harp about how clever it is just because the writers throw in science/comic book/someone being socially inept references from time to time. People watch so they can say “Oh hey, I’m socially awkward, but I like what these guys like, so this is proof that we’re funny and likeable!” It makes them feel good about themselves. I mean, that’s what sitcoms are supposed to do, but sometimes it gets irritating that people don’t realize it’s not a show for smart people, it’s a show for people who _think_ they are smart. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/56 "2013-01-07T04:48:57Z")
No, the characters on _The Big Bang Theory_ are not perfectly accurate representations of real nerds. This is because they are TV sitcom characters. No TV sitcom character is ever an accurate representation of real people: They’re all exaggerated in various ways to make them funnier. However, the characters on _The Big Bang Theory_ are more accurate representations of real nerds than are found in the vast majority of popular culture. And the first six episodes weren’t all that funny. You could see the potential of the show if you sort of squinted, but it really wasn’t there yet. It does improve. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/57 "2013-01-07T04:57:40Z")
I’d disagree, having seen more episodes. As I said in post #2, it’s easy humor, which is to say, hacky. I’ve never laughed at a single thing on the show, unless groaning now counts as laughter. I’d recommend _Community_ for people who like geeky humor, but it’s been my experience _BBT_ fans don’t tend to go for it, for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/58 "2013-01-07T05:29:40Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Show is hysterical. 4 of the previous 5 posters have zero sense of humor and would be total wet blankets at any social affair whatsoever, and nobody ever wants to sit at their table at lunch, for good reason. They’re like the Barry Kripkes of the SDMB! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/59 "2013-01-07T05:46:15Z")
When I heard the premise, I thought the jokes would be about nerds. I was a nerd, and we had great jokes. I read a list of BBT quotes online, and I thought they were great and those were what I was hoping for. In the episode I watched, the skinny one got drunk at the end and sang some kind of Jewish song while playing the piano. Why didn’t he sing the theme song to the TV show Spiderman? Or Shatner’s spoken word Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? These would be funny, nerdy, and non-offensive. My point is that the humor is based on racial stereotypes. Real nerd humor is about making you look stupid. It’s highly personalized for the target and the best ones are when you guess the perfect reference that is within the target’s range of knowledge. If you have to explain it, you’ve failed. I wanted smart and funny, what I got was lame and offensive. [These quotes are great.](http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0,,259331,00.html) But, from what I’ve seen, there’s not many of them in the entire run of the show, and maybe 1 in the two episodes I watched (I believe I saw the “one lab accident away from being a supervillain” line.) ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243/60 "2013-01-07T05:49:24Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > In the episode I watched, the skinny one got drunk at the end and sang some kind of Jewish song while playing the piano. Why didn’t he sing the theme song to the TV show Spiderman? Or Shatner’s spoken word Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? These would be funny, nerdy, and non-offensive. Why is it offensive to sing a Jewish song? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-big-bang-theory-racist/646243.md?page=4)