TV shows are probably the primary source of entertainment for the average American. Most
of them run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with reruns starting at 5 p.m. We watch them because
they give us something to do, a way to relax, something to help pass the time. We all
watch different shows, some people like "Married...with Children", some are repulsed with
it, but like to watch "Home Improvement", what draws particular crowds to certain shows?
How do these shows portray the average American, or do they portray average Americans at
all? These are questions many writers have attempted to answer, at least one column in
almost every newspaper is dedicated to this topic. I think the people like to see shows
that portray them, or what they'd like to be.
"Married...with Children" runs on Fox 29 on Mondays at 8:30 p.m., it has been on air for
a long time, and has passed its 200th episode last season. The main characters of the
show is women's shoe salesman Al Bundy, his wife Peg, dorky son Bud, and slutty daughter
Kelly. Al loves to watch TV, bowl with his buddies, drink and go to the "nudy bar".
Marcie and Jefferson, are the Bundy's neighbors and also take an active part in the show.
Most shows consist of Al going somewhere or doing something and everyone else making fun
of him when he fails miserably. Al is someone you can hardly call a father to his kids,
he's doesn't take care of them and he does absolutely nothing father-like for them or
with them. Al is constantly complaining about his marriage, he says that if he was sober
that night, none of this would have happened. He calls his children accidents and the
only good memory he has, is of him being a great high school football player, which he
would take to the next level had all his dreams not been crushed by Peg. The only living
thing Al really likes on the show is his dog, Buck, to which he can relate as they are
both dirty and nasty. Every show it is the same kind of thing, over and over again. Peg
is trying to convince Al to have sex, Al blames Peg for his failure in life, Kelly is
screwing some guy in the back seat of a car, and Bud is looking at "nudy magazines".
Last Monday, the 27, Al decided to join the Army Reserve in order to escape his family.
John Ozersky writes in his article entitled "TV's Anti-Families: Married...With Malaise",
"These shows portray a downfall of Dad, but no rise of Mom. By presenting unhappy
families to viewers, the viewers tend to feel better about themselves, on the contrary,
the viewer's expectations in their own lives decrease as a result of this. By making our
problems "all right by comparison", the series trivializes them, rather than taking them
seriously. The dysfunctional TV family aids advertisers in their perennial quest for
credibility by creating a supersaturated atmosphere of irony, which atrophies our ability
to believe in anything" (Ozersky 215). But the reason people watch the show is simple,
it portrays our worst fears in a way we can laugh at them, and who wouldn't want to laugh
at their fear, an "in your face, I'm not as bad as you" kind of laugh. My dad wouldn't
let me watch this show until I was 14 years-old, because he thought it would give me the
wrong idea about real family life.
Another show about family life is "Home Improvement". It portrays a traditional family,
Tim and Jill are a married couple and they have three kids of different ages. Tim and
Jill always argue about something, if it isn't about what Tim did, or about what Jill
did, it's about what their kids did. The kids are also constantly fighting, the two
bigger brothers always picking on the smaller one. It is a funny and entertaining
version of the upper-middle class family. The role of the father in this show is clear,
he is manly, he grunts, he works with power tools, and he can't stand when someone
besides him has the power. This is shown in the episode when Jill opens her own checking
account, Tim is upset, he can't control where the money goes any more, even though it
isn't his money, he'd like to have control over it. So by the end of the episode, Jill
gives in, a portrayal of female weakness and man's superiority, and the account is
joined. The episode is filled with funny jokes, one-line comebacks and other funny stuff
which keeps the show on top of the rating charts. No one notices the subtle messages the
show is sending, "men have the power", "women have to do what they are told". Of course
no one notices these messages unless you take the show apart piece by piece and compare
different episodes, but they are there. People watch this show because it brings up
common everyday issues that we, ourselves have to deal with, and settles them in ways
that are funny.
"Married...with Children" and "Home Improvement" may seem to have nothing in common on
first glance, but if examined closer we find that they are in fact alike. Both shows
joke around about family life, portray the father and mother as each having their own
roles in the house that never cross, and both shows deal with common everyday issues.
"Married...with Children" is a caricature of an everyday family. They make fun of not
only themselves, but of normal families as well, when such are mentioned on the show.
"Home Improvement" although being the more realistic of the two shows, also makes fun of
family life as I know it. We always see Tim working on his Hot Rod, or else installing a
new gadget in the house and Jill cooking or cleaning the house. That is not how life is
in my family, or for that matter any family that I know. My mom cooks most of the time,
just because she's better at it than my dad, but my dad is always cleaning the house,
their roles aren't as divided as Tim and Jill's seem to be. And the kids on either of
the shows never clean anything, or do anything around the house, when in every family I
know, the kids always help with the cleaning, and I am not talking about cleaning their
own rooms, I mean actual dusting and vacuuming of the house, doing the dishes, mowing the
lawn as well as performing other household chores. The one thing that both shows portray
very well is the problems that each of the families face, this is one thing that almost
everyone can relate to. The Bundy's constant lack of money, their focus on the division
of female and male roles, and the problems of the kids always disrespecting their
parents. The Taylor's also focus on the division of female and male roles, as well a the
division of power between Tim and Jill, but the money problem and the kids disrespecting
their parents are issues that rarely come up on this show as the Taylors are higher in
class, manners and standards than the Bundys.
Personally, I like both these shows and watch them whenever I have the time, that is why
I chose to examine them. The apparent division in power and gender roles on both these
shows was something new even to me, I never noticed it before, or may be just didn't give
it much thought. The thing that amazed me the most is how alike these shows are. When I
watch TV I never think to compare any two shows, especially not these two, I just try to
have a pleasant viewing experience and may be get a couple of good laughs. Taking the
shows apart and examining them like this has only cleared up my mind, now whenever I
watch TV, I tend to think, "What is this show really trying to say?"
MATERIALS READ
Brubach, Holly. "Rock and Roll Vaudeville".
St. Martin's Press, Signs of Life, 1994.
Faludi, Susan. "Teen Angels and Tart-Tongued Witches".
St. Martin's Press, Signs of Life, 1994.
Kirn, Walter. "Twentysomethings".
St. Martin's Press, Signs of Life, 1994.
Ozersky, John. "TV's Anti-Families: Married...with Malaise"
St. Martin's Press, Signs of Life, 1994.
SHOWS VIEWED
Six "Tool Time" episodes viewed for paper. Two of them in class. Others on own time,
including one new episode and five reruns.
Four episodes of "Married...with Children". Saw one new episode, and three reruns.
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