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August 21, 2006
ISO Ridiculous Women
Is anyone getting sick of shows and comics that feature really stupid men? Why are men always depicted this way? I mean, it's funny, but come on. As soon as Homer Simpson becomes dull, we get Frye (another idiot, although the 1000-year difference might explain part of that), Peter Griffin (a big fat idiot), and then American Dad, a patridiot. Plus all family sitcoms since 1987. All. This is no accident. I am by no means saying that we should go back to the iron fist of the man on the house, type of thing, but why do you have to implictly show respect to women in comedy shows by casting them as slightly weird but rather quite sensible people that you might actually encounter in real life, but all of the men are the most riduculous people you can imagine. If they actually existed, they'd be lynched for their stupidity. This clearly has something to do with feminism. It's the same reason why you can openly mock white people for being "white", although I can't be bothered to actually articulate that reason here.
All this to say that this is why I like Scary go Round better than Theater Hopper. Both are good, but at least Scary Go Round will feature ridiculous women as well as ridiculous men while TH's Tom is just another male character that is annoying or stupid. Which I appreciate. What other popular shows, strips, etc. have ridiculous women that I can laugh at? (Porn doesn't count.)
Posted by JonasParker at August 21, 2006 11:02 AM
Comments
Off the top of my head shows that do not depict an idiot father: Cosby Show, My Wife & Kids, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Ties, Everybody Hates Chris. (Hmm, 4 out of 5 are black fathers.)
Posted by: Elizabeth at August 23, 2006 10:59 AM
The cultural angle is quite important, IMHO. One thing that struck me while living in the U.S. (Indiana and Massachusetts) is how clearly gender segregated the society still is. TV shows are obviously not a reflection of reality but they may serve for wishful thinking.
In Quebec, we probably get even more stupid men on TV than the U.S. (in talk shows, ads, etc.). But gender roles are much less divisive here than in the U.S., IMHO. Some non-Quebeckers even say that men in Quebec are too submissive and Quebec women are overly assertive. But shows and ads playing with images of dumb males still seem to work somehow. Possibly more to do with our love for self-deprecating humour than with wishful thinking.
In Mali and some other parts of West Africa, those roles are distributed more along social lines than gender lines.
Posted by: Alexandre at August 26, 2006 6:52 PM
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