Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
And Starring in the Role of Idiot...Man!
There's a commercial on TV put out by Pizza Hut. The whole idea is that it's Dad's night to make dinner, and the kids and mom are all dreading it. Only, in the end, they're suprised and pleased to find that Dad didn't actually cook anything - he just ordered pizza. You see, he's too incompetent to cook anything - that's women's work.
What is it with men being portrayed as idiots on television these days? Or has it always been that way and for some reason, I'm just more attuned to it right now? But, let's see...there's the classic fat slobby guy with beautiful wife (According to Jim, King of Queens), the dumb father (Everybody loves Raymond), and the Neanderthal-esque grunting man who desperately needs woman for any rational thought (okay, I'm sure this one's still on TV, but I don't watch enough sitcoms to know their premise...but Home Improvement was a classic example). And...dare I say...The Simpsons. But, okay, Homer is animated and not really believable as a man. All of The Simpsons is exaggerated to make a point, so that one doesn't count.
Why is this okay, and where did this idea come from? Catherine and I were talking about this recently, and she's the one who actually pointed it out to me because she was so offended. Why wasn't I offended first?
It seems, though, that maybe this trend is passing. And maybe it's because of the writer's strike or the fact that there's really no good sitcoms on anymore (save NBC Thursday nights), but hopefully this ends soon. Men should be offended by this, don't you think?
Or do you think that maybe that's just what comedy is about? Something that every man can recognize in himself (certainly I see in myself Tim Taylor's need to fix and build everything myself or the laziness of those other guys) only taken to the extreme to be funny.
But, the point is, this doesn't happen with women as much, does it? Typically, the woman in these situations is competent, bright, and completely capable, whereas the man is utterly hopeless. I think that situation only serves to further stereotypes that men are emotionless, driven only by their appetites, and unthoughtful. That's gotta stop!
What is it with men being portrayed as idiots on television these days? Or has it always been that way and for some reason, I'm just more attuned to it right now? But, let's see...there's the classic fat slobby guy with beautiful wife (According to Jim, King of Queens), the dumb father (Everybody loves Raymond), and the Neanderthal-esque grunting man who desperately needs woman for any rational thought (okay, I'm sure this one's still on TV, but I don't watch enough sitcoms to know their premise...but Home Improvement was a classic example). And...dare I say...The Simpsons. But, okay, Homer is animated and not really believable as a man. All of The Simpsons is exaggerated to make a point, so that one doesn't count.
Why is this okay, and where did this idea come from? Catherine and I were talking about this recently, and she's the one who actually pointed it out to me because she was so offended. Why wasn't I offended first?
It seems, though, that maybe this trend is passing. And maybe it's because of the writer's strike or the fact that there's really no good sitcoms on anymore (save NBC Thursday nights), but hopefully this ends soon. Men should be offended by this, don't you think?
Or do you think that maybe that's just what comedy is about? Something that every man can recognize in himself (certainly I see in myself Tim Taylor's need to fix and build everything myself or the laziness of those other guys) only taken to the extreme to be funny.
But, the point is, this doesn't happen with women as much, does it? Typically, the woman in these situations is competent, bright, and completely capable, whereas the man is utterly hopeless. I think that situation only serves to further stereotypes that men are emotionless, driven only by their appetites, and unthoughtful. That's gotta stop!
Friday, March 7, 2008
In Effort to Remember
We had friends over last night and we were looking at our honeymoon pics.
SO I'm putting up some pictures...8 months later :)
Portland and then Seattle and some great places along the way.
Maybe Argentina this summer?
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