We talked a lot in class about different kinds of characters that create tokens. Mr. Bolos showed a presentation that discussed the token character in the aforementioned 30 Rock named Toofer. Bolos' hypothesis was Toofer was code for "Two for One", meaning they filled two Token roles in one character. These roles were the "black guy" and the "smart guy". Brooklyn Nine Nine took this idea to a whole new level.
One of the main characters in BNN, Captain Ray Holt is the epitome of Token Characters. He embodies FIVE token characteristics we discussed in class. First, as you can see from the image, Captain Holt is black, but making him black was not enough for these writers... so they made him gay too. Notice the prefix to his name: Captain. He is the highest-ranking officer regularly shown in the show, making him the authority minority as well. I'm not done.
As shown in the picture above, Holt is clearly frowning. Right? Wrong. The longest running joke of the show is that NOBODY can tell Holt's mood by his facial expression, thus, making his a mystical minority as well. Fox couldn't possibly make him anymore more of a Token character right? Wrong again. He is also always the best-dressed man, another aspect token characters usually embody. Holt is constantly yelling at the main character for not wearing a tie.
30 rock thought they were being obvious with Toofer, but Brooklyn Nine Nine just blew them out of the water. Captain Ray Holt, played by Andre Braugher, is the most obvious token character in any media I have ever seen. The only thing Fox could have done to make it anymore more obvious was to name him Captain Fiverfer Holt.
2 comments:
Pretty hilarious stuff, Nolo. But the "mystical minority" usually refers to a religious quality in the character. A bit of a stretch there. But you are right on the mark, otherwise.
It's too bad that FOX chooses to propagate these patterns instead of lampooning them.
Does it matter that this is a comedy and not a drama?
Nice post Noah! I think Brooklyn Nine Nine's blatant tokenism is unbelievable. A fivefer, that's got to be some kind of a record! It is sad to see that tokenism still seems to be very present in even the most highly acclaimed, award-winning shows. Unfortunately, I think the show would not have a chance at being a 2 globe winner if the fivefer character were the lead role. It really is a shame to see FOX continue these patterns.
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