What He/She Thinks… is a new weekly column on CraveOnline in which He (Paul Tamburro) and She (Melissa Stetten) will be giving their opinions on a whole bunch of topics that usually divides the opinions of the two sexes. This week they discuss comedian Louis CK and sexism.
Comedian Louis CK has made a career out of being incredibly honest about his worldview, from the trials and tribulations of parenthood, through to sex and his relationships with women. However, this honesty has landed both the comedian and his hit show Louie in hot water with some critics, who have said that both the titular character and the dialogue penned by Louis portray women in a negative light.
In this installment of What He/She Thinks, Paul and Melissa reveal their thoughts on the show and its alleged misogyny.
Paul Tamburro
A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from my girlfriend. She was on her lunch break during a day of training at a volunteer company which helps stroke survivors. While she was on the phone, she told me that she was being hassled by a group of young men across the street from her. What started off as an obligatory chorus of wolf whistles eventually devolved into them taking off their t-shirts and beckoning her over towards them. In summary, these men were shit-heads and, being a man, I’m allowed to confidently confirm that the vast majority of men are shit-heads, too.
In the latest series of Louie, the semi-fictitious version of himself that Louis CK plays is one of these shit-heads. He doesn’t take off his shirt and accost women from the other side of the street, but he does exhibit many more sexist qualities. The show’s become much more focused upon Louie’s relationships with women in its fourth season, and the majority of these relationships are unhealthy ones. In one instance, he’s brutally informed by one of the female workers of the comedy club he performs at that he “can’t ask everyone out.” Louie is a lonely character, and this loneliness leads to him perceiving every woman as a potential date or, to put it more bluntly, a potential fuck.
I think a lot of guys do stupid things when attempting to pursue a sexual relationship due to them not being able to place themselves in the female’s shoes. The ones who are more predatory in their approach are startlingly oblivious of their actions, unaware of the fact that the majority of women aren’t as turned on by their sexual harassment as they would be if they were pursued with similar vigor. If a woman was to stand opposite one of the guys who hassled my girlfriend, take off her shirt and start whistling at them, they’d likely respond like a cartoon wolf from an old Warner Bros. cartoon, their hearts visibly beating outside of their chests and their eyes popping out of their heads. I can only imagine that they believe they will have the same effect on a woman when they go all Magic Mike.
It’s not a sexist show… it’s a show about a sexist.
Sexism and all other prejudices are rooted in a lack of empathy. When a guy harasses a woman, it’s basically them not understanding that what they are doing is making the woman feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. Or, in some of the more reprehensible cases, the guy understands how he’s making the woman feel, but doesn’t really give a shit and continues what he’s doing anyway.
In the show, what Louie displays is a lack of self-awareness and tact. In the scene in which the overweight Vanessa gives Louie a lecture on how him telling her that she’s not fat is more damaging than him being honest with her, she speaks of how men like Louie, who are uncomfortable in their own skin, can’t bring themselves to date a fat girl. “What do you think is going to happen? Do you think your dick is going to fall off if you hold hands with a fat girl?” she says, before stating that the handsome men have no problem flirting with a fat girl, because they have more confidence.
Louie isn’t the likable sad sack that he was in the first three seasons of the show. I think it’s unfair to brand the character misogynistic, because that suggests that he has a contempt for women, but I do think that his viewpoint that women are little more than beacons of hope walking throughout his life, ready to transport him from his lonely world into one filled with sex and love, is sexist. That doesn’t make the show sexist, though. It makes it a show about a sexist.
Not every main character on TV needs to be relatable, especially in comedy. While I find it cathartic to watch Larry David arguing with absolutely everybody in Curb Your Enthusiasm, there are no parallels between his and my life, and I’m fine with that. Yes, Louis CK has made Louie a more divisive figure whose actions will make viewers squirm rather than applaud, but Louis’ “shtick” has always been to expose the minutiae and harsh realities of everyday life, and there’s nothing more prevalent in our society than a man’s irresistible urge to shag every woman he comes into contact with.
Melissa Stetten
Ever since I heard Louis CK explaining the origin of the “N-word” to Patrice O’Neal, I’ve been a huge fan. He also asked Donald Rumsfeld if he was indeed a “lizard man” on the Opie & Anthony show. Oh, and Louis told Sarah Palin she has a “retard making c**t” on twitter. He speaks his mind and does not give a crap what anyone thinks. I respect him for that. I’ve also watched every episode of Louie from the start. The show is brilliant and hilarious. This season is definitely not like the others, though. I don’t know if Louis spent his yearlong hiatus reading twitter comments, but this season addresses misogyny in just about every episode.
In real life, a guy [like Louie] gets a pretty woman because he’s rich, funny, and has a giant dick.
There is, of course, the famous 5-minute scene with a fat girl talking about not being good enough to date Louie, the chubby 40-something year old dad. I’m pretty sure Louis wrote this episode to compensate for the episode where he sleeps with a model. It’s so widely accepted for the schlubby guy to hook up with the attractive woman. Leah Remini and Kevin James in King of Queens are the classic example. In real life, a guy like that gets a pretty woman because he’s rich, funny, and has a giant dick. I don’t know about Louie’s dick but he definitely has the money and humor.
I think the problem that men have with heavier women is that they don’t like how other guys judge them. They feel ashamed. Louis addresses that this season, and I think he does a decently good job at it. His insight is very honest and raw, which is what I like most about this show. He shows how men are pressured into not being attracted to heavier women because that’s not how it’s depicted in television and movies.
This season Louie has turned himself into a horrible man. He has put himself in situations where he comes off as a creep, and even has sex with a woman who initially says no. I don’t want to hate him, but the way he plays these characters makes it hard to not. He represents the majority of gross men that get away with being awful. He pursues a model because he’s physically attracted to her. He puts in a lot of effort to try to sleep with this model, because he’s a man, and men think about sex, a lot.
Normally, characters in TV shows develop and change. Louie has changed, and, in fact, he’s become worse. It’s similar to Lena Dunham on GIRLS. The last season was so infuriating. Everyone turned into a monster and it almost felt like I was hate-watching it. If that was the point, then good job Lena?
The reason Louie gets away with his commentary on touchy subjects is because he is smart about it. It’s the same way he gets away with telling offensive jokes. If some open mic comic in Los Angeles told some of the jokes Louie does, he would be attacked and disliked. I dare you to tell this joke and not have a ton of people calling you insensitive and gross: “You can tell how bad a person you are by how long after 9/11 you waited to masturbate. For me, it was between the first and second tower falling down.”
Because Louis has his own television show and is considered brilliant, this joke is hilarious. When Louis writes a 5-minute scene where an overweight girl complains about being treated unfairly, it’s brilliant. And you know what – it is. I don’t think Louis is trying to offend anyone or be misogynistic. He’s addressing male stereotypes in a very blunt way, and nobody else on television has the balls to do it.
Follow Melissa on Twitter: @MelissaStetten
Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulTamburro
