Humor has the capability of taking many forms and accomplishing many different goals. Depending on the type of humor, various messages can be presented. In the case of Welcome Back Kotter, we find many different uses for humor, primarily to represent different ethnic stereotypes. We see stereotypical statements being made not only about different ethnic groups but also about a few typical job positions. The students and the school staff shown in the series serve as the butt of the joke. However, Kotter isn’t the only one that plays on the stereotypes. The students are more than happy to show their ethnic pride.
We begin with Barbarino, since he clearly dominates the classroom, or so he says. Barbarino is portrayed as the typical Italian pretty boy with a pinch of criminal mixed in. He’s the head of the classroom. He is the first one to talk, speaks for others, and tells others when they’re allowed to talk. He is the Brooklyn champion of insults, or should we say he WAS until he was schooled by the teacher(Kotter). Barbarino is full of schemes and words. He tries to cheat on his test, he attempts to bribe the teacher so that Washington could pass the exam and remain on the basketball team, and he distracts Kotter and his wife while the rest of the class takes their television. Clearly the director used distinct jokes and somewhat exaggerated personalities to represent the stereotype of the Italian ethnic group.
Italians are not the only group that is made fun of. We have stereotypes of African Americans, Foreigners, and Hispanics demonstrated by Freddy Washington, Horseshack, and Epstein respectively. Washington is the typical Black basketball player that is highly conceited and loves to mess with the teacher. He allows his conceitedness to assure his position as a future college basketball player, although this position is not guaranteed at all, as we are shown during the course of the episode. With Washington the stereotypes become even more clear, especially when Kotter speaks to him about Joe Franklin. Kotter makes fun of Franklin by saying that he wanted easy classes like Hair Combing 101 and Advanced Toenail Clipping. In the second episode Washington makes an ironic joke by telling Kotter that he should lock his windows because there’s a lot of “ghetto trash” out there now a days, after he himself just climbed through the window.
Then we move on to Horseshack, the foreigner in the series. He is portrayed as being very slow and the major target of jokes. When the teacher tells him to distribute the exams, he walks outside of the classroom. When the teacher tells him that he meant in the classroom, he begins to explain how he thinks of the English language as being a precise tool and that he should be more specific. He has a ridiculous laugh and smile and likes to make a fool of himself (hunchback of Notre dam). The group constantly picks on him and Barbarino tells him when he is allowed to speak. He is obviously the odd one out, but perhaps the most stereotypical example for Horseshack was when the group was at Kotter’s apartment and they confessed to Kotter that they stole Horseshack’s father’s cab and tied him up. Epstein’s case is without a doubt the most stereotypical of them all. Barbarino explains that Epstein was voted most likely to take a life and Epstein laughs and says that his favorite subject is assault.(very negative stereotype of hispanics) Kotter finishes off by jokingly saying that Epstein is a menace to society and by telling the class that they must choose something to study even if it is how to look good in a line up or how to speak clearly with a stocking over their head.
** Evidently, Kotter plays the most important role in this parody because he makes fun of each of the students, the gym teacher and principal, the ghetto, and religious conflicts. By saying things such as “Any more notes… diseases, religious conficts”, he sets up the ethnic parodies that the show revolves around. The show, although very stereotypical, was interestingly humorous and enjoyable.
