Television And Masculinity: Where Have All The Men Gone
September 23, 2013
Television and Masculinity: Where have all the “men” gone
Remember those times when intimidating, protective men took over the televisions? Remember those old TV Westerns where the men were nothing but equipped with swords, guns and horses? A majority of the population surely does. Television has been around for over a century, and it certainly is no mystery that it has changed drastically over time. The traditional American family has been portrayed in television for decades, and in many different ways. However, the view of the standard family has been altered significantly through the media within the last twenty years or so. One main type of role in television in particular that has evolved into something different …show more content…
Mothers were responsible for cooking and cleaning and staying at home while the fathers were in charge of the household. While this is still the case today, it has been modernized. As opposed to the 50s, men are less polite and tend to have a more crude style humor. Back then, men were more strict and uptight, making their rules clear in the household. Today, men are more flexible and portrayed as “.” For example, “men are constantly shown in a negative light. You can’t expect boys to participate in domestic life if they are not made welcome” (Kean). This is quite true, and a stellar example of a man being portrayed as crude would be Peter Griffin from Family Guy. Some other examples that Kean states are “…from the character of the feckless father Frank in Shameless to Ben, the plain stupid dentist dad in My Family and even Pete Brockman, the ineffectual man of the house in Outnumbered” (Kean). Men used to be displayed onscreen as strong, independent, and responsible. Today it seems that they are portrayed the exact opposite …show more content…
“Homer Simpson (Doh!) was more often seen drinking, belching and tripping up rather than doing any real parenting” (Goudreau, Forbes). In comedies like the Simpsons, men are exaggeratedly portrayed- even more so in cartoons. But comedies in the 1950s even had more masculine males onscreen, despite the fact that life was overemphasized. Of course, there are still television shows in this century that have a myriad of male characters that portray the masculine features that we know and love. Typically, they are found in more serious shows such as dramas or mysteries. And yes, in the 50s there were even men who were displayed as idiots like they are today in most cases- a great example of this being The Three
Television and Masculinity: Where have all the “men” gone
Remember those times when intimidating, protective men took over the televisions? Remember those old TV Westerns where the men were nothing but equipped with swords, guns and horses? A majority of the population surely does. Television has been around for over a century, and it certainly is no mystery that it has changed drastically over time. The traditional American family has been portrayed in television for decades, and in many different ways. However, the view of the standard family has been altered significantly through the media within the last twenty years or so. One main type of role in television in particular that has evolved into something different …show more content…
Mothers were responsible for cooking and cleaning and staying at home while the fathers were in charge of the household. While this is still the case today, it has been modernized. As opposed to the 50s, men are less polite and tend to have a more crude style humor. Back then, men were more strict and uptight, making their rules clear in the household. Today, men are more flexible and portrayed as “.” For example, “men are constantly shown in a negative light. You can’t expect boys to participate in domestic life if they are not made welcome” (Kean). This is quite true, and a stellar example of a man being portrayed as crude would be Peter Griffin from Family Guy. Some other examples that Kean states are “…from the character of the feckless father Frank in Shameless to Ben, the plain stupid dentist dad in My Family and even Pete Brockman, the ineffectual man of the house in Outnumbered” (Kean). Men used to be displayed onscreen as strong, independent, and responsible. Today it seems that they are portrayed the exact opposite …show more content…
“Homer Simpson (Doh!) was more often seen drinking, belching and tripping up rather than doing any real parenting” (Goudreau, Forbes). In comedies like the Simpsons, men are exaggeratedly portrayed- even more so in cartoons. But comedies in the 1950s even had more masculine males onscreen, despite the fact that life was overemphasized. Of course, there are still television shows in this century that have a myriad of male characters that portray the masculine features that we know and love. Typically, they are found in more serious shows such as dramas or mysteries. And yes, in the 50s there were even men who were displayed as idiots like they are today in most cases- a great example of this being The Three