It wasn't that long ago when it was a given that the man in the TV relationship was the buffoon and comedy spewed from how badly he performed in life. Cue Married With Children, King of Queens, Homer on Simpsons, The Flintstones, maybe even that 70's Show. Funny and long running shows in which the woman was a fountain of knowledge and the man was usually the butt of the joke. Oh, King Of Queens bothered me because the hot chick never even convinced me she liked Kevin James that much. Every episode was her demeaning him, and ended with him going out of his way to prove his love and loyalty to the megalomaniac.
Homer is a cartoon, but it is also a show that has been on TV for more than 25 years. I haven't seen every episode, but most every episode I see has him bumbling his way out of a bad situation. Fred Flintstone was very much the same way. I loved that cartoon growing up though.
Maybe Married With Children was the start of this wave, they did have to be different to get people's attention and it did work, as I have read that the show was primarily responsible for launching and keeping FOX going in the beginning. That 70's Show had an awesome dad in Red Foreman, watch out, he'll put a foot in your ass. He acted like a tough guy, and complained like a champion, but he did love those kids and Kitty always got the best of him.
The point of this blog is that now we are noticing the mom character being treated like she has flaws, which was impossible a few years ago. We've noticed it on The Middle, The Goldbergs, Modern Family, and this newest one Fresh Off The Boat which put it all together for me.
The Middle is a good show, but the mom borders on being slow. She got left behind from a train in the last episode, constantly surprised her kids have school activities which require effort at home, and the husband usually just stands around looking at her scurry about. Modern Family does the same thing but starts with the mom knowing everything and trying to explain to the camera how much she keeps the family going, but then goes too far, and things fall apart because she tries too hard.
The Goldbergs is a new show, but instantly became one of my favorites, it has Wendi Mclendon-Covey who was great on Reno 911 as a sexy/slutty cop. She has toned down the cleavage but goes after protecting her kiddos like a crazed gorilla. She has had no problem playing the butt of the joke while the husband looks for his comfortable chair to sit on.
Fresh Off The Boat might be from the same people who do Goldbergs, Mom again is over the top crazy. She goes as far as hunting down some kids who dined and dashed on husband's restaurant so they go back and pay, proving that people are good, like hubby thinks and not evil like she assumes the world is. She holds her kids captive in her efforts to make them better than the competition. She is playing the "Tiger Mom" before the tiger mom was defined, since the show is based in the 90's.
I find this refreshing. It bothered me that the man who in many of these shows goes out and competes in America for his job and salary, then goes home and can't be trusted to boil water. This is just the pendulum swinging, at some point, some women's group will complain at how women are portrayed and the butt will again be placed on the man.
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