The American Dream through the eyes of a homogeneous mass culture can be seen as one’s individual success without realistic hard work. We can be a consuming and rather lazy culture that has become standardized with the fantasy that one’s personal utopia can be easily obtained without discussing life’s inconveniences. This notion can be applied to America’s media and the possible manipulation by its entertainment industry. “Mass Culture is at best a vulgarized reflection of High Culture” (Macdonald 14). For example, several pop-culture characters on television can place added delusions towards the realism of everyday life. The character of Joey Tribbiani on NBC’s Friends, if viewed incorrectly, is a symbolic fantasy of mass culture that creates the illusion of carefree happiness.
Joey Tribbiani is a young and handsome man who lives in downtown New York City as an inspiring actor. He has five friends who love him dearly and can attract anyone from the opposite sex without even trying. He also lives with a limited concern for money, as he spends his days sleeping in until noon, eating too much food, and hanging out with his friends in their beautifully oversized apartments. Sounds like every person’s fantasy right? Sure. Yet throughout this “fantasy,” Friends never shows the reality of what Joey Tribbiani would have to go through in order to maintain his everyday lifestyle. Rather than using the character as a tool for audiences to escape from their troubles, Joey is presented as the ideal carpe diem of a mass cultural member’s ambitions. “This is not a raising of the level of Mass Culture, as might appear at first, but rather a corruption of High Culture” (Macdonald 15). He is not a contributing member to a socially responsible or Avant-garde culture, but rather an exploitation and regulation of popular tastes.
For example, Joey has the definitive nutrition of mass culture’s popular tastes. In the show, the characters (his five friends Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler and Ross) have a name for Joey’s vintage meal called “The Joey Special,” consisting of two large pizzas. His favorite food is sandwiches and he is always seen eating unlimited amounts of food throughout his entire day. Yet even with this diet he is in great shape and is never seen with any medical issues or struggles with personal appearance.
Relatable to Joey’s nutrition are his spending habits. Throughout the show, the writers occasionally drop lines of dialogue that indicate the struggles of making rent, but they never explain how he actually makes it every month. I guess that would be a boring show and too tough for audiences to relate to. Instead, he travels with his friends to London (during Ross’s wedding), flies to Barbados for a vacation, and drives across the country to Las Vegas and back without ever planning how he’ll afford it. Again, real-life inconveniences such as gas money, car maintenance, flight expenses and smart preparation before traveling doesn’t exist when writing an entertaining show. Instead, we see the six friends doing activities that would cost an unrealistic amount of money in accordance to their annual income.
Adding further to Joey’s image is his philosophy on sex and relationships. The idea that pop culture’s road to happiness is physical appearance is expressed through Joey’s dating record. He mentions one day that he would like to get married, but he has the reputation of sleeping with endless amounts of beautiful women without repercussions. This is an apparent sign of personal happiness. As long as you are physically attractive and have lots of sex then everything will be completely fine.
Joey’s actions surrounding nutrition, economical spending, and relationships debates the conformities of specific taste groups and the allegiance of where an individual stands culturally. With the majority (mass culture) many would publicly embrace the character of Joey as who they aspire to be. For the minority (high/folk culture) they may publicly denounce Joey’s behavior simply because of “the fear to be caught liking what others have decided not to like” (Riesman 12) but they may secretly feel an attraction towards his lifestyle. Those flirting on the edge of mass and high culture are forced to choose their identities like a political race to office: to pick a side. While this group is probably able to see Joey’s behavior as fantasy, many accept it as a standard to live by. Therefore “the cultural industries, if they are to establish a stable market, are forced to create a relationship with an audience or public to whom they offer not a simple cultural good, but a cultural repertoire across which the risks can be spread” (Garnham 21). Mass culture is spreading constantly through the character of Joey Tribbiani.
While I would obviously defend this overall critique, I think it can be acceptable to represent characters like Joey Tribbiani on television if there is a clear distinction between living a fantasy versus living in the real world. One cannot think that they can adopt a lifestyle like Joey’s and still manage to support all the assets they come to own. That’s the fantasy. Yet Friends, one of the most successful sitcoms in history,is an innocent show with a lovable premise about six friends bound together by love through good times and bad. That can easily be the reality. And a good one at that. Even with this description, Joey’s heart is always in the right place. He treats people with respect, shows dedication and loyalty to his friends, and is always portrayed with a good spirit. Instead of labeling Joey’s actions from an outside perspective, the critique of his character should also involve his interpersonal connection with his close friends and the love he desperately tries to pour into other people. When one of his friends is suffering from an issue or problem, Joey is always there to support them. He may not succeed with his intelligence, but he is down-to-earth and willing to sacrifice for the ones he loves.
My revision of the show speaks as a personal and sentimental statement of NBC’s Friends. I’ll admit that it’s one of my favorite shows and balancing an objective view of the show’s impact on society is rather difficult. But because I am fortunate enough to receive an excellent education and have the ability to understand fantasy over reality, I think my revision and critique go hand-in-hand. Without the aptitude for balancing what’s escapist entertainment versus what’s real, one could easily fall victim to the Nurse Betty disease (a Neil Labute film about the manipulation of media). If one can differentiate the two, then it is perfectly safe to enjoy characters like Joey Tribbiani and shows like Friends. Maybe that’s just me. I’ll start my actual concern the day I walk into a pizza shop and see a meal called “The Joey Special”.
Work Cited
-Hollows, Joanne, Peter Hutchings, and Mark Jancovich. The Film Studies Reader. New York: 2000.
-Frith, Simon, and Andrew Goodwin. On Record. New York: 1990.
