re: TV Shows That Predicted What Would Happen To Men?

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Jason Seaver

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It was Tim Allen’s role as Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor of the 1990s series “Home Improvement” that inspired my initial interest in sitcom dads. Tim was goofy and childish, whereas Jill, his wife, was always ready – with a disapproving scowl, a snappy remark and seemingly endless stores of patience – to bring him back in line.

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“It used to be that father knew best, and then we started to wonder if he knew anything at all.”

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When sitcoms stereotype fathers, they seem to suggest that men are somehow inherently ill-suited for parenting. That sells actual fathers short and, in heterosexual, two-parent contexts, it reinforces the idea that mothers should take on the lion’s share of parenting responsibilities.

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The Standard '50s Father was born in a small town in the US Mid-West (or, as in the case of the quote above, the English Home Counties). His parents were farmers of some sort, or perhaps his father was a druggist. A veteran, he put himself through college (possibly through the G.I. Bill) and is now a white-collar professional... unless he is the proprietor of some small local business (pharmacy, shoe store, grocery, etc.).

The Standard '50s Father is solid, dependable, and responsible. He's Happily Married to his wife, whom he met when they were both teenagers. And if the love he gives his children is slightly distant, it is no less heartfelt for being so. He's an upstanding citizen who rarely swears or drinks to excess, if he smokes he smokes a pipe, and attends a regular "bowling night" with his friends ("darts" if British). If he plays cards it will be bridge, probably in partnership with his wife, not poker in a dingy room full of cigar smoke. He wears a shirt and tie with dress pants and a cardigan during the day (even while he cuts the lawn on Saturday morning) and sleeps in sensible cotton pajamas. He usually wears glasses. He's buttoned-down, calm, wise, and thoughtful. None but a few things can rattle him: 1.) His daughter getting a boyfriend, 2.) His wife revealing that she's going to have a baby (and her later going into labor), 3.) His wife deciding that she wants a job (assuming that it's her idea and not his), or 4.) The threat of losing his job (combining 3 and 4 could send him into open hysterics). If the Red Scare is in effect, he'll go berserk at the thought of someone close to him being a communist.

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Ohhh the poor middle aged white man…

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It's a metaphor, Drax.

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I bring this up because I am currently out of town and staying in a hotel and that's pretty much the only time I ever just flip channels.

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It's a metaphor, Drax.

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He's what women say (sometimes actually think) they want when the reality is even though they hate Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen of course) that's who they truly want. Someone who is truly a man.

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