'Scream Queens' Pokes Fun At Black Friday

It's no secret that Chanel loves the holidays. Of course, her very favorite is Chanel-O-Ween, but Black Friday is a close second. Since Swiftmas got an amazing parody earlier this season, it was only fair that Scream Queens poked fun at Black Friday in a major way in the Dec. 1 episode which was appropriately titled "Black Friday." I have to admit, Chanel's enthusiasm for Black Friday initially left me feeling baffled. Money is no object for Chanel (as she reminds us at every available opportunity), so why in the world would she feel the need to camp out and fight hoards of people just to get a good deal?

Don't worry, we won't have to wait until next week's finale for the answer to this mystery. Chanel explains that the holiday is all about buying deliberately cheap and forgettable presents for friends. Why, you ask? "The obvious cheapness of the gift makes them question our friendship and makes them way easier to manipulate, as they try desperately to get back on my good side.” Chanel has a logical explanation for everything, guys. And, as she declares to Dean Munsch, "It's un-American to not celebrate Black Friday!"

Although Chanel's reasoning is probably a little different than everyone else's, the entire Black Friday plotline was a hilarious jab at society's obsession with consumerism. It's pretty ironic that less than 24 hours after Thanksgiving, the holiday that's all about gratitude for non-material blessings, people are pitching tents outside major chains and duking it out for that last flat-screen TV.

Although I love the Red Devil mystery and I can't wait for the killer to be unmasked next week, I think Scream Queens is at its best when the show is poking fun at society's obsession with conventional beauty and consumerism. When Chanel No. 5 was on the verge of tears because a saleswoman refused to sew size 0 tags onto her size 4 purchases, I couldn't help but sympathize with her. Sure, Kappa Kappa Tau is an exaggerated depiction of the pressure young women put on themselves and each other to attain often unrealistic, idealized standards of beauty, but it was still excruciatingly relatable. I doubt anyone would demand a store swap out size tags, but so many women struggle to recognize that beauty has nothing to do with the size of our clothes.

And, as we've seen time and time again on Scream Queens, having a designer wardrobe and being extremely thin doesn't automatically create happiness. As unlikable as Chanel can be, it's pretty clear that, deep down, she's one of the most insecure characters on this show. A skinny body and beautiful clothes can't fix that for Chanel, or anyone else in the world, and it's an important thing for all of us to remember.

Image: Patti Perret/FOX