I’ve been living in Portland this summer, so I felt like that was a good enough reason to catch up on some episodes of the quirky sketch show Portlandia. As more time passes, it’s been exciting to witness the weird, hipster qualities of the city that the show perpetuates, even if it’s of course a bit hyperbolized at times. It turns out there are feminist bookstores here, unique street fairs just about every week, an abundance of craft beer, and an intense devotion in locals to "keep Portland weird."
In the show, the two leads, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, are each charming in their odd roles that represent unconventional qualities of Portland, where “the dream of the ’90s is alive” and where “young people go to retire.” They each effectively make fun of Portland while also establishing a love for Portlanders and their progressive and often strange ways of life. Portlandia’s sketches from the past five seasons are often hilarious, but a more critical analysis of Portland is left off the screen. Even if it’s easy to enjoy Fred and Carrie’s likable chemistry and ridiculous dialogue, I am beginning to wonder if the show has a duty to be more than just entertaining, but actually thoughtful and conscious regarding relevant, important topics concerning race, gender, sexuality, and inequality.
Many don’t know this, but Portland does have a dark and difficult past when race is involved. Like many Pacific Northwest cities, Portland is predominantly white, and has a long history of racism and discrimination. Just last year, Portland was ranked as the “most racist” city in the United States by the Oklahoma Symposium of Racial Studies. Gentrification is getting worse. In many neighborhoods, more and more people of color are being forced to move to the outskirts of the city. Likewise, over the past few years police have been responsible for harming and killing many unarmed black men and woman, further revealing the appalling rampant racial profiling and police brutality in the City of Roses.
Ultimately, these race issues are completely absent from Portlandia. As a viewer, Portland appears as a liberal oasis full of community gardens and alternative youth. And, to me, it seems wrong for Portlandia to completely erase Portland’s racist background for the sake of lighthearted sketch comedy. In doing so, the show leaves out more diverse stories and thoughtful critiques on what the city should and could be. By eliminating Portland’s racist undertones, the show perpetuates Portland’s idyllic qualities. Instead of allowing for more nuanced sketches that question Portland’s issues, Portlandia continues to remain an entertaining but one-note show about the city’s eccentricities.
While combining comedy and more serious issues may sound far-fetched, other sketch comedies are doing so on television right now. Amy Schumer’s uses her show Inside Amy Schumer to discuss sexism and beauty standards in Hollywood. Likewise, Key and Peele continue to create comedic commentary on issues of race, sexuality, and gender inequality on their show as well. Ultimately, Schumer, Key, and Peele allow their sketches to be more than just laughs. Their jokes leave the audience laughing but also thinking well after the show is over. In the end, just as Schumer feels it is her job to discuss feminism and gender inequality, Key and Peele think it is part of their responsibility to criticize racism in America, then shouldn’t it also be Portlandia’s mission to also question Portland’s deeper institutional issues rather than just lingering on the quirkiness?
