Football, Feminism and You

"Football, Feminism and You" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on October 22, 2009. The episode centers on Troy (Donald Glover) and his career playing football at Greendale Community College, while the B storyline concerns Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and her difficulty befriending other women. Pierce (Chevy Chase) works with Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) to create the school's mascot.

Plot

Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) is trying to boost interest in Greendale's football team, which have recently been renamed the "Greendale Human Beings." Aware that Troy (Donald Glover) was a star football player in high school but suffered an injury preventing him from going further, he attempts to convince Troy to join the team, but Annie (Alison Brie) objects, believing Troy has a better future. Pierce (Chevy Chase) offers to help Dean Pelton to redesign the school mascot to reflect the name change. Through many attempts, Pierce and the dean realize that the only acceptable mascot is one free of race, gender, or other identification, and end up creating a vaguely human-shaped mascot, wrapped entirely in white gauze to disguise any discernibly human characteristics.

Jeff (Joel McHale) later discovers posters and flyers for Greendale with his photogenic face front and center. Worried that should these flyers would damage his professional reputation, he confronts Dean Pelton. The dean blackmails Jeff, promising not to send out the flyers if he can convince Troy to join the football team. Jeff succeeds in doing so behind Annie's back. Annie later observes Troy slipping back into his pre-college, jock ways such as being late for class and being lax on homework. She discovers he had rejoined the football team and realizes that Jeff convinced him to do so. Jeff counters that Annie is trying to direct Troy on the path that she wants him to be on; Annie takes the comment too hard, but later is cheered up in the bathroom by Britta (Gillian Jacobs). At a pep rally before his first game, Troy tells Jeff that the accident that ended his first football career and cost him his scholarship was not an accident: Troy could not take the pressure of being the star player, and injured himself on purpose. Since there is no pressure to succeed at Greendale, Troy now genuinely enjoys playing football. Jeff and Annie later make up for interfering in each other's lives.

Meanwhile, Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) is upset when Britta doesn't join her in a bathroom break, and later insulted when Britta does join her but ridicules Shirley's desire to take her mother to get a makeover on feminist grounds. Shirley insists that the time women share in the bathroom together is to support each other, and that from now on, Britta can "pee alone." Britta realizes that she has never had support in such bathroom meetings, and is there to support Annie in a bathroom meeting after Jeff's accusation. Shirley walks in and praises Britta for her success.

Reception

Around 5.18 million Americans watched "Football, Feminism and You".^[1]

Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club rated the episode B-, complaining that the episode is confusing due to having been broadcast outside of its original production order, and opining that it's not "as funny as some of the other episodes of this show".^[2]

References

External links

• "Football, Feminism and You" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Football, Feminism and You" at TV.com
• "Football, Feminism and You" at TV Tropes