by Telemachus Gaffiganiakis
Aug. 12, 2007
OSHKOSH, WI-- Last night, noted Women’s Studies professor Jayne LaFontaine lectured on “Jessie Spano and the Cultivation of Generation Y’s Perspectives on Feminism” to a group of faculty, students, and citizens in Oshkosh as part of the university’s lecture series for incoming freshmen.
“Due to the influence of the Saturday morning television show, Saved by the Bell, on late Generation X and Generation Y, the character of Jessie Spano ultimately had an effect on the perception of these young individuals towards feminism. She was compared to Godzilla in her feminist views by Zack Morris, and seen as nothing more than the inappropriately named ‘Femi-Nazi’ by her cohorts,” stated LaFontaine.
"I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so...scared!"
Observers of the lecture had mixed feelings towards LaFontaine’s approach to the recent generation’s understanding of feminism. Dr. Don Fenster, an associate professor of psychology at the university, said, “For Dr. LaFontaine to claim that so many young people formed their opinions from a television show, and of all shows, Saved by the Bell, is idiotic. There was nothing logical, pertinent, or of depth on that program. I don’t see how people could form any sense of philosophical opinion from a show that introduced ‘timeouts’ to freeze people in place and allowed an awkward male nerd to win a female beauty contest.”
Students were equally perplexed by the lecture. “I saw a bunch of stuff about Jessie Spano and heard some rumors about something going on tonight,” stated junior Jeffrey Applebee. “To be quite honest, I thought they were doing a screening of Showgirls tonight. That’s the only reason I showed up.”
Applebee’s mentioning of Showgirls furthered another of LaFontaine’s points. According to LaFontaine, actress Elizabeth Berkley (who portrayed Jessie Spano) and her choices of roles after the conclusion of Saved by the Bell adversely affected the generation’s perception of her towards feminism.
Berkley appeared as a stripper in the aforementioned 1995 film, a general bimbo as a special guest on the forgettable ABC sitcom Step by Step, and a prostitute in 1999’s Any Given Sunday. “If she was how the generation engaged with feminism, then she not only was exaggerated on NBC Saturday mornings, but became a polar opposite of feminism in her career in the years following the show,” said Applebee.
“I think Dr. LaFontaine made some great points, but I am biased,” said Oshkosh resident Kathy Marquardt. “I don’t even know what Saved by the Bell is, but I already hate the show in large part because I loved Room 222 and assume this among others is a rip-off of that program.”
The lecture was not without its fair share of controversy as incoming freshman Diedrich Walsh stood up and shouted that he had no understanding of what was going on because he had watched Saved by the Bell: The New Class when growing up. Walsh was escorted out of the lecture hall, and asked never to reference that particular show again in his four (or more) years at the university.
LaFontaine identified Walsh’s claims as “a sign of the generational gap as he engages with the character of Screech as an assistant to Mr. Belding rather than as a student, which is highly confusing due to the strong character development of the one whose real name is Samuel Powers.”
Desmond Coriander, another incoming freshman, summed up the general consensus of the male population in the audience. “All feminism aside,” Coriander said, “I would have pounded Jessie Spano, Kelly Kapowski, and Lisa Turtle in a heartbeat. I still would.”
Lindsay Moreland, a sophomore communications major, tried to highlight how most young women feel about the lecture. “In an era in which Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and other glamorized ‘whores’ are succeeding, why wouldn’t the aftermath of Jessie Spano actually be a reflection of the current state of feminism?"
"Demoralize yourself and only continue to make equal rights impossible for us. Saved by the Bell didn’t encourage it. They just knew it was coming. Look at that forgettable character, Tori. She seemed to be a goody-good feminist despite her biker look. Then what happened? Jessie and Kelly magically returned, and she never graduated with them. Just goes to show you if you stand up for what you believe in, you’ll never go anywhere and will be written out of a show that already jumped the shark,” she added.