Dumb Sitcom Dads: Do fathers deserve better?

GuysItsGalxy · 2024-01-12T15:05:34+00:00

They definitely deserve better, and it's funny because most other communities besides the west view their fathers in much better capacities.

Of course we have horrible fathers, but just the same we have horrible mothers.

We should instead create the narrative that men CAN be great instead of constantly belittling them.

Hell just take a peak at multiple other animated shows and movies created outside the west. It's normal to show fathers sacrificing for their families, it's normal to show a loving father who would do anything for his children.

I truly think feminism has DESTROYED how we view men in every capacity, which doesn't help the fatherless crisis we face either. Constantly belittling men or putting them in horrible situations would of course lead them to want to be absent from that abuse.

Now not every father is leaving because of this as again there are just horrible fathers out there but that isn't the only reason.

Hopefully as awareness of mens issues continue to grow we can see better representation in western media and not the barbie/Velma hellscape we've been in as of late.

FH-7497 · 2024-01-12T15:47:13+00:00

Hank Hill should not be on that list

DaLordOfDarkness · 2024-01-12T15:02:00+00:00

I mean, fictions and literatures as a whole loves to shit on father characters almost all the damn time. They’re often depicted as either bad or unlikeable, or both. I won’t be surprised if that destroy families IRL because they will automatically disown their father figures out of fear or hatred of them.

paracog · 2024-01-12T15:47:48+00:00

Women make over 80% of the consumer purchase decisions in the U.S.. Husbands in the past had more authority, and would be the ones to tighten the purse strings. The hapless dad is a deliberate debasing of the vote of the person in the family most likely to be resistant to spending money. Who in the family is the hardest to buy for? It's dad. So anything that's not car, sports, or beer related is likely to show the dad as clueless and the mom and kids as the smart ones. - edited a lil bit

Nearby_Translator_55 · 2024-01-12T15:30:29+00:00

Television is a sales device. In most households, women control the spending. Sit down and watch a show where the husband is a fat moron with a hot wife who saves the day after the husband screws everything up yet again.

Watch what they are advertising during the commercial breaks. Think about who the target audience is and why they might enjoy seeing an idiot man being saved by his hot smart wife.

ButWhatOfGlen · 2024-01-12T15:45:59+00:00

You went soft on this one... add to this all the "GoGirl" crap and "Super female fantasy" saturating all television/film/Netflix etc, and it paints a much bleaker picture. Throw in a blanket of overarching "masculinity is toxic" hate speech, and it becomes quite obvious.

Whether it's toxic femist agenda or simping male obsequiousness, the war against maleness is in full swing.

mypreciousssssssss · 2024-01-12T16:10:02+00:00

Dads are not being let down by their sitcom counterparts. They are being let down by misandrist writers, producers, showrunners and "creatives" who enjoy pushing the trope because denigrating men makes them feel better about their shitty lives.

emperor42 · 2024-01-12T15:37:40+00:00

In terms of animated dads, Bob's Burgers really is something else, and it proves you can have a great funny show without having an idiot father-figure. It's also interesting to see the Simpsons since they went, through all these decades and Homer changed from angry to stupid as time progressed.

Fickle-Rutabaga-1695 · 2024-01-12T16:05:06+00:00

I’m 51 in a few months and I can’t tell you how weird (and annoying/frustrating) it is to see all of this after growing up my whole pre-teens, teens 20s and 30s and ALWAYS seeing men on TV, movies, and more as leaders, in charge, confident, brave and heroic. When the Simpsons debuted during my last years of high school in 1990-1991, things like Homer were funny because they were blatant departures from men in general for comedy. Just like other characters like the ones Don Knox played in movies and other comedic bumbling men or softee men in a very small handful of shows. I can’t express unless you’re my age how much you really would not realize the impact of grown women in their 20s or 30 years old having never seen anything but the emasculated men in most things for at least half of their lives. Anyone who thinks it’s just bitching and to just get over it doesn’t have the mental understanding to see how this impacts things and rolls over into real life in their behavior.

SurrenderFreeman0079 · 2024-01-12T15:58:18+00:00

American Dad is.....different. Stan can be dumb, but he has moments of baddassery every now and again. Francine is an idiot in that show which is a pleasant surprise.

wx_rebel · 2024-01-12T15:27:05+00:00

Couple of thoughts:

I think the popularity of the Simpsons is a part of this. Many writers, whether live action or animated, have copied the family dynamics of the Simpsons to try to cash in on their successful formula.
I'm not sure that I agree with all of the good-parent bad parents pictured in the photos, but that's probably missing the forest for the trees.
There were definitely some iconic father figures in the 90s, Boy Meets World certainly comes to mind. However, aside from the Girl Meets World continuation of that and Bluey, I can't think of examples where the father character is reliably good.

Sinfultitan_001 · 2024-01-12T16:38:47+00:00

I have watched almost all the sitcoms mentioned here, and I would not consider Al, Hal, Hank, Tim, or Bob to be stereotypical dumb//Oaf dads. They do have some minor character flaws but are no where near as bad as the rest of the bad dad's talked about here. Infact they represent some fairly good aspects of what being a good father is about.

ETF-The-Token · 2024-01-12T17:43:33+00:00

This is a sad but interesting topic. I grew up with a father who fit this stereotype PERFECTLY. Just constantly confused, unaware, dumb, naive, etc. On the other hand, my mother was sharp, mean, critical, judgmental, and above all, abusive. Then, one day in high school, I went to my fathers place of work to volunteer, and I was SHOCKED at how competent and well put together he was. He spoke in a way that was clear and concise, logical, and just a lot faster. It was almost like he was intentionally dumbing himself down at home, because he WAS.

But why? Why would a father want his wife and kids to think he’s an incompetent doofus? Well, it’s because that was and still is my fathers best defense mechanism against my mothers toxicity. If he just pretends to be confused, she can’t really criticize anything other than his stupidity, which isn’t nearly as bad as when he tries to actually express himself and contribute to any conversation. One time my dad made a comment about how expensive everything has gotten, tennis balls specifically, and my mom started SHRIEKING “WHY ARE YOU SAYINg that TO MY KIDS WHY DO YOU WANT THEM TO THINK THE WORLD IS A TERRIBLE PLACE WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO MY KIDS WHATS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!!!”

That was from pointing out how expensive tennis balls are these days. That’s a thought he shared, and her response. I was 28 at the time too, and we were going out for my dads birthday. So it makes sense that he would refrain from doing anything other than pretending to have no idea what’s going on. I’m guessing a lot of married men have to do this

PossibilityNo8765 · 2024-01-12T16:55:31+00:00

Hank Hill was a great role model and one heck of a father. He shouldn't be on this list. He embodies what men use to represent

LongDongSamspon · 2024-01-12T15:43:43+00:00

I think slapstick moron men are fine - the problem is the lack of much else. Also that given the power to feminist women will whine and be offended until everything that portrays women in any similar way will be removed. So what your left with is portrayals of idiot men which aren’t balanced out with any of similar women as the butt of the joke, or by much positivity around men.

But I didn’t think we makes should stop enjoying dumb humour at these characters expense - that would be sinking to the level of the kill joy feminists.

Cro_politics · 2024-01-12T17:12:42+00:00

I think Malcolm in the Middle balanced it very well. Every single character had its own flaws and strengths. From the husband and wife, to children. The only thing that I resent them is making Reese waaay too dumb, when earlier on he wasn’t a complete idiot, but just foolish and a little slow. I think everyone was equally treated for most part and they felt as somewhat believable people. It’s a satire about everyday struggles of working families. Some things are pretty, but a lot of them aren’t. A lot of people feel a connection to it because it’s very believable.

I hate shit like Family guy where everything is over the top and it’s just throwing dreck at the screen. I think some stereotypes are okay if they’re not in maliciously, if everyone is treated equally, and if it’s tastefully done. Malcolm in the Middle is intelligent enough that I can forgive them their stereotypes in some situations.

FartOnACat · 2024-01-13T04:25:11+00:00

I hate how OK with it so many dads are too.

I read daddit sometimes, and whenever someone raises complaint about the incompetent father trope, posters there trip over each other to say "Well ackchewally you see it's based on how incompetent way too many dads are!" while the mommy lurkers nod their heads in approval.

Like, fucking stop. It's not OK to reinforce stereotypes.

HiveMindKing · 2024-01-12T16:08:58+00:00

I fully agree except for American dad, both Stan and Fran have some good qualities.

SpamFriedMice · 2024-01-12T17:03:00+00:00

I remember remember discussing this issue th the early 2000s with someone and asking if they could come up with one strong intelligent father figure, even it it was a stepfather.

The only thing they could come up with was Tony Soprano and Dexter. Even then there wasn't a figure of a decent man.

tacobellbandit · 2024-01-12T15:35:32+00:00

I think some are okay. I honestly like Hank Hill because he reminds me a lot of myself and the struggle of adjusting to modernity and his challenges through life. It’s the one dad on sitcoms that seems to go into situations on the show as slightly bigoted but not in an over the top comical type of way, but ends up learning something and growing as a person by the end of most episodes, and that’s what life is about. Some of the other ones depicted like Homer Simpson being totally inept, lazy, bad parent etc, I think are a little problematic depending on how they’re presented

nacho-chonky · 2024-01-12T16:59:26+00:00

Why is hank hill in those pictures? He was far from incompetent

Lolocraft1 · 2024-01-12T18:10:49+00:00

Homer is more or less that. Yes he’s a dumbass who literally sniffed a crayon in his brain, but there’s many scene where he is seen as a determinated father figure ready to sacrifice everything for his family. The best example is the episode about Maggie’s birth, where he gave up on his dream job at the bowling to go back to his office job at the nuclear central because he wasn’t paid enough for Maggie

Same for Peter (Way less, but he had his moment), The guy from American Dad, Hank Hill, honestly only Randy Marsh is more of a moron, but he’s not the only father figure of the serie, although they’re all awful parents in South Park

Zircon_72 · 2024-01-12T21:27:20+00:00

Bob Belcher and Hank Hill should not be in that image

LifekindaSuxbutidc · 2024-01-13T02:00:24+00:00

In fairness though, in the South park universe, everyone is inept.

TheTinMenBlog · 2024-01-12T14:53:22+00:00

We all need positive role models, and perhaps none more so than our boys today.

One in four boys in America is living without a father. Only one in five teachers in primary school is male.

In fact, as a share of the profession, there are twice as many women flying fighter jets in U.S. military planes than there are men teaching in Kindergarten.

And the dearth of good men in the lives of boys is not just at home, or in schools… but in the media, and online too.

Look to your social media feeds and you’ll see Andrew and his army of Tatertots, hear the bombastic low IQ rhetoric of Fresh and Fit, and the grifts and whines of an unruly mob of equally poor male role models.

What is spat out of our TV sets are no better.Gone are the days of Mr Rogers and his wholesome world views.No more are we blessed with Bob Ross and his meaningful advice for life.

And Uncle Phil’s stern, yet consistently fair style of fatherhood abandoned our screens long ago.

Today, we live in the era of inept TV dads, and incompetent fathers; Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, Hal Wilkerson, Phil Dunphy, and even Daddy Pig. Each another poor reflection of fatherhood; lazier, and more incompetent than the last.

Again and again, it’s the same tired tropes, wheeled out to the same deflated boys.Whilst within the context of modern parenthood, such archetypes make increasingly less sense, as fathers are actually doing more and more than ever before, and this is how we represent them.

More childcare, more house keeping, and more solo parenting; the dads of the real world are short changed and betrayed for knee-slapping laughs and other cheap comedy schtick.Have you seen it too?

Where have the good TV fathers gone?

And how many more doofus dads do we have to rack up and project into the hearts and minds of our boys, before the canned laughter stops?

What do you think?

~

Study

Children without dads

Teachers by sex

Dads and child care

Images by Francisco Andrilotti

Lord_of_Entropy · 2024-01-12T17:01:26+00:00

I've noticed this trend ever since the Simpsons first aired. Prior to then, the sitcom dad was only inept in certain situations (making his kids lunch, for example). Afterwards, the sitcom dad became inept in all aspects of his life. This is one of the reasons I don't watch TV (especially sitcoms) anymore. I'll watch my re-runs.

Hithereeveyone · 2024-01-12T17:30:55+00:00

It’s by design. Show men to be weak morons. Just remember this is the propaganda men face. Raise above

jamrev · 2024-01-12T21:07:11+00:00

What about commercials? They, too, seem to follow this model.

Nobleone11 · 2024-01-13T00:34:54+00:00

Not simply sit-com dads but father figures in ANY genre.

I long for the days when the male patriarch in media was driven, passionate, ambitious, determined yet also flawed, made mistakes but was willing to grow as any fictional character.

terrorist_giraffe · 2024-01-13T07:46:39+00:00

I agree that this is a problem, but several of the characters shown on that list don't really belong in the same category as Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin. Bob Belcher, Stan Smith, Hank Hill, and Phil Dunphy are all shown as being very capable people, both professionally and (with the exception of Stan Smith) as parents. Phil's strong relationship with his son was one of Modern Family's most touching aspects.

willdill039 · 2024-01-13T08:13:25+00:00

Al Bundy, Hank Hill, Tim Allen?! are you kidding me?

MadBlackGreek · 2024-01-13T14:35:15+00:00

I want to see Western Media reverse this whole fucking anti-man ideology altogether!

They brought back Capt. Picard and the 10th Doctor Who JUST so the women in the stories could berate them for being men?! And the Doctor was previously a woman!

MikiSayaka33 · 2024-01-12T16:15:00+00:00

I never liked that stereotype, but I didn't know that it got so bad that the big guys had to step in.

BurnAfterEating420 · 2024-01-12T17:16:11+00:00

The second graphic is a random collection of "Sitcom dads" without any consideration for whether they fit this contexts or not.

Bob Belcher is literally the "voice of reason" on the show.

As is Hank Hill, he's a long way from a buffoon character.

and I'll go to my grave defending Jerry Smith. it's been shown time and again that when he's out from under Rick's influence, he excels.

yadayadayadaetc · 2024-01-12T15:21:14+00:00

Funny is about exaggerations, and contrast. Fun dumb dad creats problems and wife has to take social responsibility, dad does something to make up for his mistakes and the unviltering magic family love keeps everyone together.

Are there other male tropes in comedy through out the years? Other dad tropes?

Seems to me that the sitcom family tropes are well defined and almost obligatory? What sitcoms play with the roles in an interesting way?

xxx_gamerkore_xxx · 2024-01-12T23:03:05+00:00

All these comments pointing out how their favorite character shouldn't be on the list are missing the point by a mile. Do better.

walterwallcarpet · 2024-01-12T16:15:30+00:00

Does art imitate life, or life imitate art? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky4uYnsF3kc

R1msom · 2024-01-12T20:19:07+00:00

You fuckers really can’t take a joke can you?

Intrepid_Performer52 · 2024-01-13T03:29:24+00:00

My childhood was in the '90s. I had a pretty stable childhood: actually eating dinner together, having family nights where we watched tv together, etc.

I remember watching 'Everybody Loves' Raymond', 'Married with Children' and the countless other family sitcoms and thinking how unappealing fatherhood and being family man seemed. Then there was Seinfeld. The men were still idiots and jerks, but they lived life on their own terms, weren't henpecked by some nagging wife, dated pretty women, had cool apartments in a big city, etc. etc. Obviously, TV isn't reality, but if those are the two opposing versions of adulthood you're presented with, the latter looks a lot more appealing. I think the influence of that must have played some part (among a lot of other factors) on why I never got married or had children. I have regrets about that now that I'm in my early '40s.

So yeah, deadbeat dads still suck, but if fatherhood is being sold as such a soulless and debasing existence, it's no wonder a lot of guys opt out of it.

i_foni_tis_logikis · 2024-01-12T15:42:31+00:00

Tbh it's just comedy shown here. Shows like the Simpsons or Rick and Morty use fathers like the protagonists of each show, hence why they make their weaknesses so visible. It would be boring to make them act like actual everyday fathers.

And to make things more clear. I understand the point of this post. But maybe we should just have a laugh and keep rolling with our lives. Because analyzing every single thing we see, especially when the whole points is producing humour, and trying to find the black spots is something depressed no lifers like the feminists would do.

With that being said, paternity is indeed getting attacked on. But shows like these shown are not the main problem.

WhereProgressIsMade · 2024-01-12T19:34:45+00:00

It's a trope that needs to become taboo the same way some others have:

It is interesting watching some old shows and instantly recognizing things that are not ok anymore.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is the earliest example I know of where a white actor is playing the role of an Asian. Tropic Thunder (2008) is the most recent one I can think of (white actor playing a black character). It was done as part of the script though, but still I'm not sure you could make that today.

I was watching the first season of Friends a few years ago and all the homophobic jokes wouldn't fly today.

halalnikkiminaj · 2024-01-13T00:04:43+00:00

No because it’s an accurate representation of the shit and incompetent fathers that we have in reality

AllGearedUp · 2024-01-13T05:29:25+00:00

I don't actually see a problem here. Its a sitcom trope. Why does it matter? If people are making generalizations about the world based on sitcoms, well, I'm willing to call them hopeless.

Achack · 2024-01-12T18:28:41+00:00

My examples are kind of all over the place but the point is you need dumb characters unless you have a really impressive script.

All the way back to the pink panther movies and Mr. Bean you had a doofus man as the main character. Then today when is Will Ferrell ever playing a genius?

I saw it happen in Parks and Rec with Ann Perkins, she was the straight one early on but then they needed to push a funny plot so she needed to be dumb.

The shows are made for men and boys so men are the main character, if they didn't get into stupid situations what the hell are they supposed to write about?

Then you take a classic comedy like My Cousin Vinny and everyone shows their own levels of intelligence but because it's a movie they have space for an arc so that the main character can save the day. But these are TV shows, they can't deliver hundreds of episodes if the characters don't get themselves into silly situations.

d3gu · 2024-01-12T19:04:36+00:00

I don't think Homer is a bad dad... He's dedicated to his wife, has a full-time stable job, he supports his children's hobbies. He's unintelligent and kind of dopey but he's hardly a bad father. He may be incompetent at many areas of life but he's a good dad at least.

ArsonDub · 2024-01-12T20:14:01+00:00

This is from thetinmen on instagram if anyone is wondering. It's nice to see something on there that isn't anti-male for once.

Kvothezy · 2024-01-12T20:23:09+00:00

Well for me Randy is the best character in South Park, if it weren’t for him I would have stop watching it, ages ago.

JackHoff13 · 2024-01-12T21:12:59+00:00

First off Randy in South Park is a legend

OldEgalitarianMRA · 2024-01-13T01:18:55+00:00

Desi Arnez refused to have Ricky Ricardo portrayed as a dufus in "I Love Lucy". It goes back to the 1950's tv.

SkGuarnieri · 2024-01-13T01:26:26+00:00

WOAH THERE, MATE.

Why is Frank Hill in that list?

Edit: And Bob. Wtf

usernot_found · 2024-01-13T02:22:27+00:00

So it is just western problem then

shoetreemoon · 2024-01-13T02:59:40+00:00

I have been raising this as an issue for over a decade. Men portrayed in mainstream TV are, if comedies, one or more of the following: 1) Wrong; 2) stupid or inept; 3) incompetent; 4) emotionally unevolved in some way; 5) insecure; or, 6) a himbo. If they are in a non-comedy, they are portrayed in one or more of the following: 1) Corrupt; 2) violent / evil; 3) Misogynistic; 4) Emotionally damaged; 5) unevolved; 6) Ignorant/stupid; 7) Lesser; and, 8) Weak.

What's more, if you look at the content that has been released over the last 10 years, no matter what the genre, there seems to be a woman who is always a little bit smarter (or a lot), a little bit stronger, a little more capable of the man. This is even in commercials. What's more, all the strong male characters have been slowly killed off in practically EVERY major story line.

I have pretty much given up newer movies/TV, a hobby I've enjoyed my entire life. I have huge collection of older content that makes me happy.

Untimely_manners · 2024-01-13T04:18:46+00:00

I wonder if they checked on who the bread winner was this whole time? With all the examples of dads previously and now. Even if they were inept oafs, they still were the breadwinner working all day or night for their family. Are women just incapable of sharing the bread winner role after all these years on shows?

Redman338 · 2024-01-13T04:33:39+00:00

Hank Hill shouldn’t be there though.

green-Vegan-desire · 2024-01-13T08:08:18+00:00

Let down by whom…?

rocker12341234 · 2024-01-13T11:36:24+00:00

I gotta say, even tho I've never been super big on King of the hill, hank was a pretty good representation of a dad. Dude was always out to spend time with bobby and teach him stuff especially life advise, kept his temper mostly in check, has strong morals and was protective of his family. Sure stuff didn't always go to plan but not much does irl either. Hell most of the stuff that went wrong didn't even seem to be his fault. Plus they weren't afraid to touch on tough subjects. Hell thier pilot episode was him being accused of domestic violence and him fighting to keep bobby. That's the typa fathership you very very rarely get in stuff anymore.

Asamiya1978 · 2024-01-13T14:27:24+00:00

And I don't see actual male heroes either. I miss the male heroes of my childhood in the 80's who inspired me.

darthtater24648 · 2024-01-13T14:33:51+00:00

Hank Hill is not an inept father!!

Nurse-Cat-356 · 2024-01-13T15:06:34+00:00

Hanks amazing

Foxkit21 · 2024-01-13T19:05:12+00:00

Yes, what happened to Uncle Will in the fresh prince or Uncle Iroh from Avatar the last Airbender? They got rid of people who step up to the plate too! Just like those examples. My Dad volentarilly left us (Spelling sucks after lobotomies I’m sorry!) He left on Father’s day 2011 in a biege 2001 Camry with an orange/gray stripe and I remember the wheels kicking up dust and gravel and turning to my mother with my little sister and younger twin brother asking when my Dad was gonna come home only to see my Mom start crying into her hands on the couch. I sat with her for 12 hours while she got lost in thought and remember her carrying me for the first time in years and laying me down next to my brother and then going to bed. I haven’t seen him in person in 3 years but my old teacher, uncle and friends took place of him. This is the type of father modern media assumes the word “Dad” to mean.

Academic-Ad6236 · 2024-01-13T19:53:11+00:00

I’ve been saying this for years

RevolutionaryCry7230 · 2024-01-13T23:34:52+00:00

The Simpsons was born 35 years ago. So many things have changed in the writing to accommodate the changing social mores.

One thing has remained the same: Homer - the father - the provider - is incompetent and the main figure of fun.

Misandry is all around us.

Title	Dumb Sitcom Dads: Do fathers deserve better?
Author	TheTinMenBlog
Upvotes	776
Comments	100
Date	January 12, 2024 2:53 PM UTC (2 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/194wwh4/dumb_sitcom_dads_do_fathers_deserve_better/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/dumb-sitcom-dads-do-fathers-deserve-better.1242821 https://theredarchive.com/post/1242821

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