My Name is Earl

My Name is Earl is a television series about a man named Earl who was a criminal for most of his life but decided to turn his life around by attempting to fix all of the trouble he had caused in the past. He wrote down a list of everyone that he hurt, usually he stole something from them, and every episode is him struggling to check people off of his list. It is a very funny show based in a small western town that shows the lower class life. Earl and his brother, Randy, live in a motel while his ex-wife lives in a trailer down the road. This show uses the classic stereotypes of the lower class combined with humor in order to teach a moral lesson each episode. The theme of the show proves that stealing is wrong and brings hardship to the victims. When Earl tries to fix all of the wrongs he committed, there is always a new lesson to learn.

The show has a very stereotypical cast. First of all, the main character, Earl, is an all out red neck. Earl’s brother, Randy, is an extremely unintelligent and gullible who does anything anyone tells him to, no matter the consequences. There is a Spanish cleaning lady that is also an exotic dancer at night. There is the blonde bombshell that is very materialistic, rude and manipulative. The blonde is married to the token black guy in the show, who has a criminal record and plays stupid for the most part, but always has random information about everything. They are all friends with Earl and Randy and help Earl cross people off this list. The show does a good job in showing everyone’s differences but brings them together as friends. I think proving that we all can get along despite the gender and race differences.

The show also addresses social issues and political problems with humor. One episode Earl was taught about global warming, in the process of trying to help someone he stole an air conditioner from. He was shown a simplified theory of global warming with graphs and cartoon pictures. Earl took this very seriously and tried to spread the word. When explaining the effects of global warming to his friends he could only refer to the presentation of the Earth with a sad face on it. He had to take extreme measures to prevent the earth from “sweating with a sad face!” He cut everyone’s power in the trailer park to prove his point. This example demonstrates how although the show addresses political issues, it also shows how our culture assumes that the lower class is very simple minded.

Using humor and classic stereotypes, this show exploits the lower class while teaching simple moral lessons. The goofy comedy glosses over the underlying issues of class discrimination and prejudices that our society encourages.