Is The Good Place really that good?
By: Pearl Nanda
Tags: Media, Cultural Transmission, TV, Entertainment, The Good Place

Eleanor Shellstrop, a white female who did little to no good deeds on earth, mistakenly ends up in The Good Place, or heaven as some might call it. Throughout the episode we see as Eleanor lies her way into staying in The Good Place, creating potential danger for others living there. With the help of Chidi Anagonye, who was a moral professor on earth and tries to be a good, caring, and honest person, Eleanor keeps the secret from the creator of The Good Place, Micheal. To most viewers, it seems like Eleanor Shellstrop will be honest about her real identity and come clean about the fact that she is not supposed to be there, but instead she traps the people around her solely for her own advantage to stay in The Good Place. This piece of media sends the message that white, lower class females tend to be selfish, manipulative, and break the rules for their own benefit and to get what they want.

Since the beginning, Eleanor is portrayed as someone who is ignorant and rude. We get a snippet of her actions on earth, seeing how she litters, insults people, and lie for her own enjoyment. For example, Eleanor’s job on earth was selling fake medicine which she gladly went along with just so she could get money. “ You need me to lie to old people and scare them into buying fake medicine. I get it, man. Which ones my desk.” Not to mention, when someone simply asked her if she had a second to talk about the environment, she makes a crude remark back saying “do you have a second to eat my farts.” Her attitude on earth affects the audience by leading them to believe that white females are rude and ignorant.

The episode continues to build up a new stereotype that white lower class females are manipulative and selfish for their own benefit when Eleanor asks Chidi to lie for her. Before Eleanor tells Chidi her real identity she traps him by making him promise that he will stand by her side no matter what. When Chidi realizes there has been a mistake he wants to tell Micheal the truth but Eleanor forces him not to. She goes so far as to convince him that she is not a bad person, therefore putting Chidi’s spot in The Good Place at risk too for her own selfish reasons. Chidi tells Eleanor “I don’t think I can help you. I just don’t like being dishonest” and Eleanor asks him to break the rules “just a little bit” for her. This leaves the viewer feeling bad for Chidi and makes Eleanor look like the bad guy once again.

Eleanor Shelstrop also lies to get what she wants, which to her is staying in The Good Place. Micheal tells Eleanor about the incredibly selective system it is to get into The Good Place and the fact that she was a lawyer on earth who got people off of death row which is highly untrue. To the audience’s surprise, Eleanor just stood there and continued to let him believe that that’s who she was. Micheal even goes on to say “Your special Eleanor” but of course Eleanor does not tell him the truth. This only furthers the idea that white lower class females are selfish and willing to break the rules for their own benefit.

In the end, the show The Good Place is a quality piece of media by not only sending a cultural transmission that introduces new norms, one that the audience least expects, but by also being funny. It introduces the stereotype that white females, specifically lower class, tend to be mean, manipulative, and dishonest in order to get what they want. However, the audience sees a silver lining at the end of the episode. When the lives of others living in The Good Place is compromised because of her presence, Eleanor, with the help of Chidi, is willing to learn how to be a good person instead of just giving up. To Chidi, she says “Unless you could teach me…How to be good.” The Good Place introduces new social norms from a fun perspective which entertains the audience making a quality piece of media.