English Professor Upset

Professor not laughing about 'Tommy' episode
BY MATTHEW HANSEN / Lincoln Journal Star

A penis joke made during Tuesday’s episode of “Tommy Lee Goes to College” didn’t amuse the University of Nebraska-Lincoln English professor who appears to compliment the controversial rocker’s private part during the scene.

Instead, Frances Kaye thinks the show’s producers lied to her about how they would use footage shot during her Native American literature class, purposefully making her, her students and the subject matter look silly in the process.

“Pissed off is the right word,” Kaye says describing her state of mind after she viewed the fourth episode of the UNL-based reality show Tuesday night.

The English professor’s anger stems from a scene in which her class is discussing Tommy Lee’s autobiography while he listens uncomfortably.

Kaye brings up the book’s opening — a pretend conversation between Tommy and his penis — and then appears to tell the class that this is a beautiful and enduring symbol.

Cut to Tommy, who’s grinning wryly. Cue the laugh track.

In reality, Kaye says, she made the comment about childbirth, another subject broached in Tommy’s autobiography.

That comment was spliced into the discussion about the first chapter, Kaye says, violating a handshake agreement she had with the show’s producers that they wouldn’t trivialize the class or make anyone but Tommy Lee the butt of jokes.

“I was saying something serious about Native American literature, and they made it into something trivial and stupid about Tommy Lee’s penis,” she said.

“I realized this was a stupid reality show, but I didn’t expect to be this grossly misrepresented.”

Kaye says she had qualms about serving as one of Lee’s teachers when Linda Pratt, then-chair of the English Department, approached her about doing it.

She eventually agreed to let Lee attend class because she thought it may be a way to let the public know more about Native literature, she said.

During the semester Kaye balked again when the show’s producers asked her to discuss the rocker’s autobiography during class.

Kaye relented after the producers practically begged her, telling her they were running out of time and needed the book discussion scene for the show, she said.

Wednesday, she voiced her displeasure to UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman, who made the decision to allow the NBC film crew on campus.

Kaye told the chancellor she’d like to write something explaining the misrepresentation to campus; Perlman told the professor he’d make sure that explanation reached UNL faculty and students.

“I think her concern about the representation of her class as not accurate is certainly legitimate,” Perlman said.

“I don’t think the overall impression of the show is in any way an insult to her or the rest of the faculty.”

Both Perlman and Dave Fitzgibbon, a UNL spokesman, said the feedback they’ve gotten from “Tommy Lee Goes to College” has been overwhelmingly positive.

They believe the fear the show would portray Nebraskans as yokels and UNL students as alcoholics has faded as episode after episode has dealt mostly with Tommy’s own academic struggles while making UNL’s campus, professors and students look good.

A scene in Tuesday’s episode did show students drinking out of plastic cups at a toga party.

Perlman said he wasn’t bothered by the scene, just as he wasn’t bothered when he saw several university students dressed in togas last weekend.

“My God, these are 17- to 22-year-olds that for the most part act responsibly,” he said. “I don’t think anything in the show has suggested otherwise.”

Fitzgibbon, who accompanied the film crew during shooting, said he did ask for and receive a disclaimer that runs with the credits at the end of every episode advising viewers that some scenes were editing for comedic effect.

Wednesday, he said he wished the classroom scenes had been edited more academically, but also said he understood the producers were trying to make the show funny.

The biggest shock hasn’t been the creative editing but the amount of positive publicity UNL has received, he said.

The university’s clipping report indicated 30 million newspaper subscribers nationwide read about the university and “Tommy Lee Goes to College” on the day of the first episode, Fitzgibbon said.

Until Kaye’s complaint, he’d only received two e-mails reacting negatively to the show.

“I am really sorry that it offended her,” he said. “We were on kind of a positive roll.”

Kaye hopes to turn her negative experience into a positive one, using the platform she will get from Tuesday’s episode to educate the campus about Native issues.

Just don’t expect her to laugh at “Tommy Lee Goes to College” anytime soon.

“I don’t lie a lot,” she said of the show’s producers.

“I guess I have an immature belief that people occasionally tell me the truth.”



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