Dumbing Down Dads

This past summer, I had an interesting conversation with my dad about how the media portrays father figures on television shows. He told me that popular culture really dumbs down father figures, making them seem incapable of anything without seeming like the stupid, irresponsible part of the family. My dad was surprisingly angry with this and he hated that his role in our family was pretty much a joke in the media. The more I thought about his argument, the more I started to realize how right he was. I always notice father figures on television and how they really just seem dumb. There is no better word to describe them. This is especially relevant to shows such as Modern Family, Full House, and The Simpsons, to name a few. I could not help but wonder what the media’s motives behind portraying men and fathers this way.

In class, I was excited to learn about how masculinity on television is portrayed in a negative way especially because I already had this discussion with my dad. I agree with every point made in lecture. I think that male caricatures are purposely dumbed down to where the female roles have little to no faith in men.  The media likes to attack men for being emotionally inept but at the same time, they get attacked for having emotion. It is a double edge sword to where no one can win.

Although I do not know why the media portrays men in such a negative way, I truly think that some shows should start making their male roles more realistic. Maybe if this would happen, our country would not see men in a way where too much emotion is weak and too little is dumb.