NBC's 'Community': Are Community Colleges In on the Joke?

Just when community colleges thought they could breathe a sigh of relief -- thanks to some much-needed moral and financial support from the commander in chief -- advocates are raising an eyebrow and possibly readying themselves for another P.R. battle. This time, NBC, with the help of Joel McHale ("The Soup") and Chevy Chase (who needs no introduction), might be pushing some buttons.

In "Community," a comedy slated to roll out this fall, McHale plays Jeff Winger, a student at the fictional Greendale Community College, who is attempting to wheel and deal his way through the school as a fallen lawyer with a "less-than-legitimate" college degree. (His friend Ian Duncan, who is a professor of psychology at the college, played by "The Daily Show's" brilliant John Oliver, says to him, "I thought you had a bachelor's from Columbia," to which Jeff replies, "Well, now I have to get one from America.") Yes, Jeff thinks he can sweet-talk or filibuster his way through just about anything, including community college, as evidenced in what must have been a cringe-inducing scene for those at the American Association at Community Colleges: Professor Duncan asks Jeff if he's familiar with the adage "cheaters never prosper." Jeff is not, and besides, he says, "If I wanted to learn something, I wouldn't have come to community college." Ouch. It seems as though community colleges just can't catch a break.

Or have they? In a recent Inside Higher Ed article, Betty K. Young, the president of Houston Community College's Coleman College for Health Sciences, said that "imitation [is] the sincerest form of flattery" and that she was in fact looking forward to a comedic and mainstream take on what she calls "the community college story." "It could be a great statement about the role that community colleges play in society. . . A few years ago, people pretended that we didn't exist. Now, we're going to become a prime-time television show. That's amazing, and it's recognition that community colleges are a uniquely American institution."

My friend and fellow community college alumnus Brandon Bennett (a film major who attended Los Angeles Community College, where the exterior shots of "Community" are filmed) agrees with Young. He thinks that the unconventionality and nuance that help define the community college experience are exactly what makes it appealing: "As community college students, we're confronted with the realities of the world. Yeah, that means some of us made poor life choices, or some of us are just broke. But we're still as motivated and as passionate. It makes for a great classroom dynamic . . . and potentially a good comedy, too."

From what one can glean from the pilot and the various marketing material, "Community" focuses on Jeff and a group of other (so-called) stereotypical community college students he has inadvertently gathered to join his bogus Spanish group study session, which he originally only fakes so that he can get closer to Britta, a fellow student in his Spanish class who is worried about flunking the exam.

Among the modern-day "Breakfast Club" group is a middle-aged African-American woman who self-admittedly has "made poor life decisions," a cutesy young gal who apparently recently dropped out of high school because she was "hooked on pills," and Chevy Chase's character, Pierce, who believes he is equipped with the infinite wisdom only bestowed upon a "world traveler, a Toastmaster, magician, [and] pianist" and considers himself "a quality of life person." These characters, Brandon Bennett admits, "are completely archetypal of the people who go to community college." Sure, he says, there are plenty of other people who attend community college who aren't like these characters. "But it's just the pilot of a half-hour sitcom -- what do you expect? As the show goes on, they'll be fleshed out and not be so one-dimensional."

NBC is marketing the new show to the younger Facebook generation; instead of putting the pilot on Hulu.com and the NBC Web site as it has done with its 2008 shows, the first episode of "Community" is streaming only on its Facebook fan page. Facebook users must first become a fan of show before they can view the pilot; NBC can then access friends of the fans to advertise the show. In another clever Web marketing campaign, NBC created a phony Web site for Greendale Community College, complete with the school's admissions information ("You're already accepted!"), library hours, and "Campus Connections," i.e. background on the characters of "Community." The Web site, like the show's pilot, makes sure to make some comedic jabs at the expense of community college institutions: Under the "About GCC" page, the site proclaims: "To aid with your transition away from Greendale, we have developed the 'Six Degrees of Preparation' plan to make sure you have skills in the following areas: PHYSICAL, MENTAL, PUBLIC, SWIMMING, BRAIN, and COMPUTER. Greendale is committed to helping you prepare for success."

Those jabs are a bit hard to take, though any community college student or professor is unfortunately used to them by now. I'm sure that NBC assumes those who will watch the show will "get the joke." I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they had to use these stereotypical student archetypes to get the ball rolling on the show's larger narrative. Yes, during my days at Sacramento City College, I knew these students. But I also knew plenty of others who were at community college simply because it was the more affordable option for pre-major studies.

I knew students who wanted to stay closer to home so that they could help their parents run a small business; students who were, first and foremost, interested in a quality education and trusted that a community college education would serve them just as well as any other institution of higher learning. These aren't students who made "bad life decisions" -- community college wasn't their "fallback" and, in fact, it quite possibly it was their first choice. And they were all proud of that choice.

Watching the pilot for "Community," I worried that these voices will be drowned out. We'll see where the writers and producers of the show decide to take these characters, but I remain hopeful that the students at Greendale Community College develop the same appreciation for the unique experience of community college life that so many others and I have. Naive? Perhaps. But otherwise, I can't imagine that everyone else will be in on the joke, as NBC hopes.