Malcolm Gladwell

Because you're going to wake up one day and you're going to have a lot of Ebo shouting at loud voices running around your campus. And that's unthinkable.

Because you're going to wake up one day and you're going to have a lot of Ebo shouting at loud voices running around your campus. And that's unthinkable.

So the Willem Groves, that was very interesting. So- there's a really brilliant woman whose work I read and I love by the name of Bonnie Dow, who does this kind of meta-analysis of television shows and their importance. And she looked at the way, including in Ellen, the way that television had described and discussed gay relationships.

So the Willem Groves, that was very interesting. So- there's a really brilliant woman whose work I read and I love by the name of Bonnie Dow, who does this kind of meta-analysis of television shows and their importance. And she looked at the way, including in Ellen, the way that television had described and discussed gay relationships.

And she said that up until Will & Grace, every time gay people were talked about, even if they were talked about on television in a positive way, a series of rules were in place. The emphasis on the show was always about how straight people reacted to the gay person, not on the gay person themselves. The second thing was that the gay person's gayness was always a problem that had to be solved.

And she said that up until Will & Grace, every time gay people were talked about, even if they were talked about on television in a positive way, a series of rules were in place. The emphasis on the show was always about how straight people reacted to the gay person, not on the gay person themselves. The second thing was that the gay person's gayness was always a problem that had to be solved.

And the third thing was that the gay person was always in isolation. So she looks at Ellen and she says, Ellen, yes, had a gay character, first openly gay character on network television. But those three rules were still in effect. When Ellen comes out in that pivotal sitcom show from whenever it was, all the rules are in effect. Her gayness is a problem her friends have to solve.

And the third thing was that the gay person was always in isolation. So she looks at Ellen and she says, Ellen, yes, had a gay character, first openly gay character on network television. But those three rules were still in effect. When Ellen comes out in that pivotal sitcom show from whenever it was, all the rules are in effect. Her gayness is a problem her friends have to solve.

The whole show is about her straight friends dealing with the fact that Ellen is like complicated their lives. And she has no gay community on those shows. It's just her. Will and Grace comes along and breaks all three rules for the first time on television. Will's got a community. He's got Jack, right? And that whole, like, his gayness is not a problem to be solved. It's never even a problem.

The whole show is about her straight friends dealing with the fact that Ellen is like complicated their lives. And she has no gay community on those shows. It's just her. Will and Grace comes along and breaks all three rules for the first time on television. Will's got a community. He's got Jack, right? And that whole, like, his gayness is not a problem to be solved. It's never even a problem.

It's just a fact, right? And the show is not about... straight people reacting to Will. It's about Will and Grace together reacting normally to, and that makes that show revolutionary. And that argument to me is so, and if all you do is watch Will and Grace without the benefit of that kind of analysis, you miss it. And there's an incredible book that was written about

It's just a fact, right? And the show is not about... straight people reacting to Will. It's about Will and Grace together reacting normally to, and that makes that show revolutionary. And that argument to me is so, and if all you do is watch Will and Grace without the benefit of that kind of analysis, you miss it. And there's an incredible book that was written about

The way Hollywood treated homosexuality, pointing out that... Look at all the movies in which gay people appear from the 60s through the end of the 90s. And this guy just counts up what happens to the character, the gay character. And, like, in 60% of the cases, the gay character dies. In 10%, they commit suicide. In 10%, they die of a drug overdose. Like... Hollywood just killed them off. Right.

The way Hollywood treated homosexuality, pointing out that... Look at all the movies in which gay people appear from the 60s through the end of the 90s. And this guy just counts up what happens to the character, the gay character. And, like, in 60% of the cases, the gay character dies. In 10%, they commit suicide. In 10%, they die of a drug overdose. Like... Hollywood just killed them off. Right.

Like that's what they did. And you were allowed to feel sympathy for, because, but they were always, it was always this dreadful burden. Right. And Will and Grace, it's not a burden. It's just like, he's just. It just happens to be part of their lives. It's just part of their lives. And that is so like, I feel like it is no coincidence.

Like that's what they did. And you were allowed to feel sympathy for, because, but they were always, it was always this dreadful burden. Right. And Will and Grace, it's not a burden. It's just like, he's just. It just happens to be part of their lives. It's just part of their lives. And that is so like, I feel like it is no coincidence.

That's right around the time when the country wakes up one day. after flipping out about gay marriage, wakes up one day and just doesn't even say, I love gay marriage, just shrugs and says, are we really going to fight about this? And it just goes away.

That's right around the time when the country wakes up one day. after flipping out about gay marriage, wakes up one day and just doesn't even say, I love gay marriage, just shrugs and says, are we really going to fight about this? And it just goes away.

And the show is interesting because it puts a finger on, the issue fundamentally was not that by the early 21st century, most Americans thought that there was something pathological about being gay or that they had some revulsion at, No, it was quite specific. It was, they did not believe that gay people were capable of the same kind of relationships as straight people. It was that specific.

And the show is interesting because it puts a finger on, the issue fundamentally was not that by the early 21st century, most Americans thought that there was something pathological about being gay or that they had some revulsion at, No, it was quite specific. It was, they did not believe that gay people were capable of the same kind of relationships as straight people. It was that specific.