On TV, men are the new weaker sex

Boston Globe ^ | November 15, 2007 | Joanna Weiss

[stuartcr]

Big deal...off tv in real life, they aren’t. On tv, inanimate objects talk and fly around.

[Hacksaw]

Except when they were getting in trouble with their wives. On Cosby the running gag was his giant sandwiches filled with unhealthy stuff that he had to sneak in, most episodes Cosby screwed things up by trying too hard and it was Claire’s even tempered approach that fixed the problem.

There was a funny one where Cosby had hidden his bag of potato chips in the chimney.

[N3WBI3]

The cosby show was very balanced for every time Cliff snuck off for a sandwich his wife would get burned for something.

most episodes Cosby screwed things up by trying too hard and it was Claire’s even tempered approach that fixed the problem.

My wife and I watch the show with some regularity and thats not really true. His wife seldom contradicts him and her plans go awry almost as often as his.

Remember when the oldest daughter got proposed to and Claire decided to act like she hated him because she might manipulate cliff into liking him. Cliff overheard it and played the whole family like a fiddle at dinner.

In real life even a mans man is not always right, but Cliff is always respected, and act in a manner to accord such respect. Hes not stupid, lazy, or disinterested maybe not prefect but a pretty good father and husband.

Then in the spin-off college show all the guys were dumb.

Yea the spinoff was awful but I was not addressing that show.

[discostu]

Yup, and of course the ultimate “insult” was that his office was at home and hers wasn’t and yet he always had a hard time sneaking in his greasy food. If your wife is a lawyer doing 12 hour days away from home and you’re a doctor with an office in the basement you’d have to be a real idiot to not be able to sneak plenty of greasy food... of course there’s no comedy in the guy eating whatever he wants and never getting in trouble for it, hiding chips in the chimney though is comedy gold (or at least comedy copper plate).

[napscoordinator]

That is true.

[VeniVidiVici]

The Brinks home alarm system commercials are the worst. Every time a man is in the commercial, he’s basically HIDING BEHIND HIS WIFE while she talks to the Brinks security alarm center.

Thanks for reminding me! There is another commercial out there - I think for a minivan. So the commercial centers on the wife who is extolling the virtues of this minivan. Just as she finishing her list of what is good about the van the camera switches fast to the husband sitting at the table and he says two words, "And safe".

It's just so goofy to watch that putting it into words doesn't do it justice.

And then there is the show 'Life'. I was looking forward to it as the male star, Damian Lewis, did such a good job in Band of Brothers.

So anyhow the show pairs him up with his *Latina* partner who basically has him in leathers, cuffs and a nose ring the entire show leading him around on a leash.

I barely made it thru the first episode and have never watched it since.

[discostu]

I saw pretty much every episode of the Cosby Show, I’m a second generation big Cosby fan, and really the balance of power in the show, like the balance of power in almost every family sitcom in the history of television, favors the woman. Sure Claire comes up on the downside periodically, you need to break the formula periodically to keep a show fresh, but probably 17 episodes out of 22 for a season if there was a parent doing dumb stuff it was Cliff. Like I said in another post, tearing down the person in charge is one of the basic building blocks of western humor, you can see it all the way back to at least Shakespeare and really it’s even visible in Greek plays (Zeus is a complete horndog idiot), it’s in our movies back to the silent era (if you see a cigar chomping corporate leader in the beginning of the movie his cigar will be smashed and his face covered in coal), and our TV from the live days forward (again Ralph and Ed, two of the stupidest characters to ever grace American TV). Men, specifically white men, are the target of humor because we’re in charge, and westerners like seeing the guys in charge taken town a peg. Monty Python didn’t do a sketch making fun of impoverished minorities, they did Upper Class Twit Of The Year. Some of the first circulated comics were political cartoons knocking presidents, premiers and corrupt local leaders. We take down the guys on top, this is western humor, this has always been western humor, and more than likely it’s always going to be western humor.

[jack_napier]

If I hear one more girl in a bar talk about Gray’s Anatomy, I swear I will kudgel her! Sycophantic garbage!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

"Big Shots," ABC's mostly-comedic take on male bonding, is a man's idea of a woman's idea of men. The show's heroes - each the head of a corporation - are adorable, sensitive, flawed, and yearning for love. And they're eager to talk about it...

Dollars to donut holes the (striking union) writers are gay.

[Hyzenthlay]

Actually, what few TV shows and movies I watch aren’t that way - well, I prefer sci-fi or action movies and such, so what I watch is largely aimed at men who want to watch fictional male characters fighting and blowing things up. However, the commercials and most drama/chick-flick/family entertainment is not so great in that respect.

[Badeye]

And then there is the show ‘Life’. I was looking forward to it as the male star, Damian Lewis, did such a good job in Band of Brothers.

So anyhow the show pairs him up with his *Latina* partner who basically has him in leathers, cuffs and a nose ring the entire show leading him around on a leash.

I barely made it thru the first episode and have never watched it since.

Exactly the same reaction to that show in my house. Like you, I gave it a shot because he was so very good in Band of Brothers (I own the DVD set, played them all over Veterans Day weekend actually).

Its disappointing to say the least, and I haven’t watched it again either.

[Shanda]

Those WaMu commercials are so clearly racist that I can't believe it. You would think they would include maybe one token Black bad guy or even a token female, but no, every single bad guy in every single commercial are White males.

Of course the only Black person is the good guy.

[RockinRight]

Good episode. I love House!

[trimom]

When we had kids I started to notice the way men/dads were portrayed on TV and I found it appalling. Bumbling, stupid and inept. A few were different, like Bill Cosby, but conventional TV sure didn’t represent the majority of the dads we knew.

[goldstategop]

Women despise men who can't say "no" to them. They may want the guy but not if he's a wimp.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Señor Zorro]

But don’t forget that every falsely accused victim will be black, a Muslim, a woman, or some other “persecuted minority” that Perry always saves from those evil, white, Bible-flinging, gun toting men.

[Eva]

A caller is talking about the chickification of society on Rush right now.

[DustyMoment]

Thank you, feminazis!

[yarddog]

Those Washington Mutual ads are so obvious that it is astounding. You would think someone would have said, “maybe we should include one minority as an idiot.”

[GnuHere]

So are the Capital One ads where it’s acceptable to put the “small businessman” white guy under the table to balance it, or kick a field goal with him, then close him in the cigar box! Drives me nuts to watch that. There is absolutely no way they would put those ads on with a minority in that role....