Dumb Dads and Political Correctness at Disney World

delray · Post by **delray** » Oct Mon 23, 2006 7:32 pm

Hello. All!
My daughter loves the Carousel of Progress! She insists on dragging me on it every time we visit and usually more than once. I've seen the earlier version voiced by Andrew Duggan and can't stand the actor who is voicing the current version. But that's not what really irks me. It's the fact that the father is now responsible for all the screw ups that happen! Now it's his idea to use the kitchen mixer for stirring paint which goes badly, although in previous versions it was the wife's idea. Further not only does he burn the turkey in the final sequence, but they let us know during the course of the narration that he did the same last year! Give me a break! I also find it interesting how responsibility for the burning log cabin on the riverboat ride has changed over the years. We started out with Indians being responsible, than the blame was but on river pirates, than I believe it was a careless whiskey seller, and finally a careless settler-probably a white anglo saxon male-although not specifically mentioned. I guess the next step would be spontaneous combustion, than nobody would be to blame.
My rant is over! Any comments would be appreciated.

Regards,
Delray
"Properly warned ye be, says I"

Post by **rdeacon** » Oct Mon 23, 2006 8:30 pm

hahah..... bitch moan complain..

don't think you are going to get any white guy sympathy...

Rich

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Oct Tue 24, 2006 5:47 am

I'm not a fan of PC, but I've never thought of COP as PC.

knedeau · Post by **knedeau** » Oct Tue 24, 2006 7:54 am

Neither did I.......Especially with the way he calls his wife "Mother". As least the guy gets a name. Isn't it "John"?

kronk's angel · Post by **kronk's angel** » Oct Tue 24, 2006 8:05 am

I noticed that COP has a running commentary on women's societal roles changing, and getting chattier, as it progresses which seems dated but may have been really pointed humor in the 1960s.

The only PC changes I have noticed was with Pirates, which again I attribute to the 60s. It's just not very funny anymore.

Post by **spaulo** » Oct Tue 24, 2006 10:46 am

knedeau wrote:Neither did I.......Especially with the way he calls his wife "Mother". As least the guy gets a name. Isn't it "John"?

And her name is Sarah. And married couples from about the 50s back called each other "Mother" and "Father" around the children, to reinforce those roles.

I'm down with Delray, and it's not a white thing, it's a male thing. Take a close look at your comedic television and movie offerings... how many males are portrayed as morons (or at least good-natured, but goofy, bumblers) while their wives/girlfriends/female friends/coworkers are around to help the silly guy out of his self-inflicted predicament?

There are a helluva lot more Ray Barones in our entertainment these days than Dan Connors (or, god forbid, Ward Cleavers)...

And yeah, I'm looking at you, too, Mr. Incredible.

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Oct Tue 24, 2006 9:03 pm

Just thought I'd point out that Homer Simpson wasn't the first victim of Stupid Husband Syndrome.

Ralph Kramden, Archie Bunker, Basil Fawlty, etc.

It's not so much PCing as a classic comedy archetype.

On the other hand, changes are typically made for a reason...

The old show did portray the changing nature of male/female relations, so I suppose they are making some kind of statement. Would be interesting to know if they were responding to specific complaints or, after decades of blaming the wife, they thought it might just be time for a change.

Post by **rdeacon** » Oct Wed 25, 2006 11:08 am

The intresting question is why they made the changes. Did they change it due to complaints, to make the ride freah, or to jump on the PC bandwagon?

Rich

kronk's angel · Post by **kronk's angel** » Oct Wed 25, 2006 11:16 am

rdeacon wrote:The intresting question is why they made the changes. Did they change it due to complaints, to make the ride freah, or to jump on the PC bandwagon?

Rich

That is the question, alright.

Usually I suspect it's to make it fresh, due to cost (except for the pirates PC thing).

Humor is so "of the moment" it seems inevitably it would become dated. (Like some of the Genie's jokes in Aladdin; my kids are like, Arsenio who?)

Do the imagineers have a blog or something? It would be fun to get some input into what the heck they are thinking sometimes.

I had a distant relative who worked for an outsourcer imagineering firm in Glendale and the whole place was locked down like the NSA when they were, like, designing Thunder Mountain... obviously top secret stuff.

Blackie Pueblo · Post by **Blackie Pueblo** » Oct Thu 26, 2006 5:13 am

I have to agree with spaulo. While it is true there have been some dumb fathers in entertainment, it seems to be running rampant now. Almost like men have become the backstep. Dare I say, ever since some of the women groups move ahead it seems like they feel the only way to do so is to stomp on the males.

My wife and I argue about this. I am not a sexist by any means. I believe woman SHOULD have equal rights. But at the cost of the rights of men? I too am angered by the family comedies now. So many of them have stupid men. Look at the Cosby show. Both the wife AND the husband were smart and funny.

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csquare77 · Post by **csquare77** » Oct Thu 26, 2006 9:02 am

But on the family comedies who watches them more men or women? I would like to see some numbers, maybe they have "dumb" fathers because there audience is more female.

laurie5658 · Post by **laurie5658** » Oct Thu 26, 2006 9:08 am

Keep it just as it is! I love it.

Post by **spaulo** » Oct Thu 26, 2006 10:22 am

csquare77 wrote:But on the family comedies who watches them more men or women? I would like to see some numbers, maybe they have "dumb" fathers because there audience is more female.

If that's true, what does it say about American women? Would they be threatened by a good, upstanding father figure/husband on a sitcom? Would they turn off the TV if they couldn't laugh at Jim Belushi's ridiculous nonsense?

I like the example of the Cosby Show, but others exist where the parents were equals... not always as bright and good as the Cosbys, but equals to themselves... like Family Ties, Growing Pains, Roseanne, even Married With Children (at least BOTH parents were jerks)...

Why does it seem now that the Everybody Loves Raymond/According to Jim/Still Standing/Yes Dear paradigm of "dumb (or uncaring or bumbling) male and smart female" is all that "works" in situation comedy?

kronk's angel · Post by **kronk's angel** » Oct Thu 26, 2006 10:32 am

spaulo wrote:
csquare77 wrote:Why does it seem now that the Everybody Loves Raymond/According to Jim/Still Standing/Yes Dear paradigm of "dumb (or uncaring or bumbling) male and smart female" is all that "works" in situation comedy?

Sitcoms are so dead. And I'm sick of cop shows. With reality on the wane, I'm just waiting for variety shows to come back... oh wait, they already have.

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Oct Thu 26, 2006 8:13 pm

I don't think it has anything to do with a secret feminist agenda, the networks are copying a basic formula that they know is profitable.

It also has to do with the way these sitcoms are built. They are usually wrapped around some stand-up comedian who is now trying to work his self-deprecating material into a "Dad" role. The rest of the cast is disposable, so while the Dad may be an idiot, he is at least the star.

I'm not saying this is the path to quality to entertainment, just that it's not a conspiracy.

I do agree that the Cosby show was the result of a conscious effort to portray positive role models, although I'm not sure if the follow-ups were doing so on purpose or just aping the success of the Huxtables.

Anyway, these boring cookie cutter shows will always exist to appease the masses, who will consume almost anything that feels safe.

At least stuff like The Office breaks through from time to time.