Janelle Conti

CAS 254
Professor Smit
16 May 2016

Modeled For: Refinery29: Entertainment Section (http://www.corporate.r29.com/about) - A website

that aims to be the #1 new-media brand for smart, creative and stylish women everywhere. Though not
explicitly stated, this online platform exhibits cultural values such as feminism & womens
empowerment.

A Womans Place is in a Fuller House

With all the buzz and chatter about 90s spinoffs, I couldnt help but indulge myself in all of the
hype. Shows like Girl Meets World and The X Files have recently been coming back to life, but
what I was most excited to see was Fuller House, the reboot of the classic sitcom, Full House.

As I hit the play button, that old, familiar theme song blasts through the computer screen.
Whatever happened to predictability? it asked, and within ten minutes of watching the pilot, I
could tell you. Predictability ran through the shows tired plot lines like blood through veins.
And like most 90s reboots, Fuller House stays stuck in the past as it reprises stereotypical sexist
roles that send a demeaning message to women.

What Fuller House lacks in creativity and imagination, only worsens as it adapts to the 21st
century. New cultural issues arise as it tries to transform into a modern-day sitcom. The quality
and depth that it could have had is completely undermined by the shows perpetuation of
stereotypical roles and perspectives.

Originally, the 90s sitcom family was centered around Danny Tanner and his three little girls: DJ
(Candace Cameron Bure) the responsible one, Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) the sarcastic one,
and Michelle the center of attention. With a little help from his brother-in-law Jesse and his
best friend Joey, Danny and his girls were trying to figure out how to take on the world with their
constantly growing family.

The roles are completely reversed in this all-new Netflix Original spin-off. Instead of focusing
on the lives of Danny, Jesse, and Joey as parents, the focus shifts to DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy
(Andrea Barber) DJs quirky best friend who also happened to be the Tanners next door
neighbor.
With the show taking place several years later, DJ is now a full-fledged adult with grown-up
responsibilities. Candace Cameron-Bure reprises her role as the responsible oldest daughter, but
now her character has problems of her own. DJ recently lost her husband, a valiant firefighter
who saved numerous lives. Since then, she has had to deal with her three sons: Jackson (Michael
Campion) the moody teenager, Max (Elias Harger) the nerdy teeny-bopper, and Tommy
(Dashiell/Fox Messit) the adorable baby. This time around, we find DJ in the same position as
her father was years ago: a newly single parent with three kids and no idea how to raise them
alone.

DJ accepts help from her younger sister, Stephanie, the world-renowned disc jockey who usually
spends her time traveling and partying. She, along with the bizarre Kimmy Gibbler, move into
that famous San Francisco Victorian home. Together, the three women will raise the three boys,
as well as Kimmys daughter, Ramona (Soni Bringas).

The show exhibits a complete gender reversal, which may seem like a representation of female
power and camaraderie. But in a sense, the gender reversal promotes specific gendered
stereotypes that are common in todays media industry. At first, the show seems like it is
celebrating the fact that three women can raise a family of boys without the help of men.
However, in doing so, the show perpetuates the concept of female domesticity in todays society.
Daniel Fienberg, a movie critic for The Hollywood Reporter, argues that Fuller House dedicates
episode after episode to teaching female characters who have or had careers and outside lives to
re-concentrate on domesticity and motherhood (Fienberg). This show is intrinsically regressive
in the way that it confines women to the roles that have been imposed on them for years.

Take Stephanie as an example. Shes the spontaneous, wild middle child that doesnt like to stay
in one place. She bounces from country to country, living a life of no strings and no
responsibilities. Despite her carefree nature, Stephanie drops everything to help her sister and
her friend raise their children at a time of distress. Essentially, Stephanie learns her place as a
nurturing mother-figure to DJ and Kimmys children, despite not having any previous plans to
settle down. Though the shows gender reversal was implemented in a place of nostalgia, it
unintentionally perpetuates a context that limits women to the domestic sphere.

On top of that, the shows dialogue is infused with highly sexualized jokes that shock and puzzle
the audience. These jokes are not only uncomfortable the fans did watch these women grow
up on National Television but they are also highly derogatory to women. In the pilot,
Stephanie is portrayed as the sultry Aunt, whos boobs are often exposed not only through her
low, tight dresses, but also by being the punchline of every cheesy, inappropriate joke the script
offers. Kimmy, on the other hand, used to be seen as the girl next door. But now, shes the
mystical enchantress that knows the long lost secrets of the Kama Sutra Quips like these
arent a praise of Kimmys independent sexuality; its a joke that disempowers her character with
intentions of making her look even more foolish.

These jokes are more than just uncomfortable; they objectify women by perpetuate a hyper-focus
on their appearance and sexuality. Despite the shows focus on family values, the female
characters are portrayed as sexualized objects that cater to the male gaze. Its highly unsettling
if not for the shows family-friendly facade, but for the demeaning messages concerning
womens bodies.

This show had so much potential to be an influential modern take on the new family sitcom, but
instead failed on many levels. In an age where the media industry severely lacks
three-dimensional women characters, Fuller House could have been the show that promoted
female empowerment with the help of the shows gender reversal. Instead, the reversal served to
promote underlying misogynistic messages that undermine the shows theme of female
empowerment.

With the amount of people that follow this show, DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy could have been the
unsung female heroes of todays generation, but instead their characters fall flat. It had so much
potential to communicate messages about the various roles of women. Instead, it perpetuated
typical female tropes that limit the progression of women in todays media industry, and thats
just something I cant look past.

Despite the comfort of nostalgia that it brings, this show is not something that Id be willing to
keep on my Netflix queue. Like hair scrunchies and spandex, Fuller House is just another
nostalgic trend that should have stayed in the 90s.

Works Cited

Fienberg, Daniel. "'Fuller House': TV Review." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 22 Feb. 2016.
Web. 16 May 2016.