Imagine a world where everyone around you is a complete jerk and every racial and gender stereotype is exploited for the sake of prime time comedy. Luckily, you don’t have to imagine this world, because it airs every Thursday at eight o’clock on CBS. That’s right folks, I’m talking about The Big Bang Theory; one of the saddest and most degrading shows to have ever aired on TV. I may be prejudiced since I would qualify myself as a nerd and find the inaccurate television portrayal insulting, but there are many more triggers that this show hits inciting my anger. It’s racist, it’s sexist and most of all its insulting to anyone with a high enough IQ to read a book with a font smaller than 24pt. The show perpetuates stereotypes for the sakes of viewers and further hurdles “high school mentality,” into the world. The Big Bang Theory isn’t a comedy, it’s a way for the inner jerk in us to make fun of people from the comfort of our own home.

“LOL that Jewish guy is so horny and he still lives with his mom who complains a lot. Way to be a Jew!”,”Hahah that indian guy can’t talk to girls, always smells like curry, and has a funny accent! Lets laugh at his inabilities and cultural identity”, “Let’s make fun of that guy with asperger's because he can’t pick up on social cues!” Since most people are somewhat decent human beings, you would never hear them utter these words because they understand how damaging they can be. That doesn’t mean the same people aren’t watching a TV show that bases its humor off of the same stereotypes and degradation.  The Big Bang Theory has many repeating jokes which involve the exploitation of mental disorders and race. Sheldon, one of the main characters, has asperger’s syndrome. Instead of his friends excepting his disabilities, they often try to create awkward situations for him then poke fun at his failure when he is confused with how to handle his problems. The Big Bang Theory uses mental illness as a comical bit, nothing is funnier than making fun of the socially inept on television. The show relates to the audience by saying,”Hey you are a racist and insensitive jerk like us, lets laugh together about their differences during our standard weekly time slot.”

The Big Bang Theory also hates women and loves to reinforce cliches about gender. The show only had one major female character until season three, her name is Penny, a sweet blonde girl from down the hall who is an object of lust for the nerds. She’s of average intelligence and acts as the audiences liaison-- she thinks like the viewers at home and is able to make humor out of the nerdy situations. Despite her being the “normal” one of the clan, the nerds treat her as if she is inferior to their superior minds. She’s blonde, how could she possibly understand the ornate complexities turning on the TV. Eventually the writers of the show realized that they were running out of plots for their characters so they added two more women to drive the show. One of these characters, Amy, is a Harvard Graduate with a doctorate in neuroscience. Finally, a dynamic female character to represent the struggles of being a woman in a STEM field! Not quite, Amy’s sexuallity is exploited for humor. The main joke about her is that she is extremely awkward, sexually inexperienced and hornier than a tomcat. She is supposed to serve a juxtaposition; she is a genius who went to Harvard and kicks butt, but she can’t get any butt. Respect is the last word that has probably ever come to Chuck Lorre's mind when writing female characters, exploit them and use their gender as a joke.

Despite all of this, what ticks me off the most about The Big Bang Theory is that it continues to promote high school mentality. The viewers at home are the jock and preps who get to shove the cast of the show in their lockers whenever the show airs. We conveniently get to watch the nerds squirm and fail on our TV and it gives us a sense of comfort. These geniuses, who are successful with degrees in neuroscience and theoretical physics, are less than you because they enjoy going to comic stores and sometimes can’t get laid. You, the quarterback of the football team have won in the game of life, because you aren’t pathetic enough to go to the midnight premiere of the next Star-Trek movie. In high school being a nerd was the worst thing a human could possibly be, and now that you’re 30 years old watching the show alone on your couch, this still holds true. The Big Bang Theory is popular, because most viewers when they watch have that same feeling; I’m not a nerd, therefore my life is better, now I will laugh at the mild shortcomings of others.

The Big Bang Theory and its reception with audiences serves as a magnum opus of popular culture as a whole; we don’t really care what stereotypes our media perpetuates or who it effects, as long as its entertaining. The Big Bang Theory is hurtful to our society in how we conceive women, race, mental illness and nerds-- in the end this is all okay because it makes us laugh.