Are men stupid?

I know that isn’t a terribly nice or ladylike thing to ask but I believe it has some merit, despite it’s negative connotation. If you have ever watched television, the answer to that question is unfortunately a resounding, Yes! I came to this particular realization after a stomach bug had me 18 hours a day in front of a television. It started with Malcolm in the middle, a clever little show that showcases the uglier side of life, marriage, children, and all of the other messy things that go along with it. Hal, the lead male role in the show is played by Bryan Cranston, an exceptionally well trained and competent actor. In the show, he plays a dimwitted moron whose only attainable goals in life are to figure skate and be a good father to his four young boys. I noticed that no matter what happened in an episode the character Hal always needed to be saved from some demise of his own making, the one to save him time and time again from his stupid, self-imposed drama?

His wife, Lois.

That isn’t the only example, you can see it in almost every sitcom on television today. King of Queens is one particular show that follows this distinct pattern all the way down to the bumbling moron husband frought with childish issues and an attitude of helplessness. The male role always in need of being rescued by his well-off put-together business-woman-wife. A wife that makes more money than him, is of higher intellect, and is WAY out of his league in the hottness department. Everybody loves Raymond is the same, the smart and attractive wife counts herself lucky if her husband actually manages to put on pants by himself. How about According to Jim, the sitcom of backstabbing family members and a man too dumb to care for himself, all the while his wife is a charming, petite, ex model, who can cook, clean and change the flat tire without ever dropping the baby on her hip. I understand that sitcoms are television and that it’s all in jest, but realistically I seem to be finding a common thread among so many different mediums. Where has the alpha male gone, the sexy husband with the ability to cook a meal as well as tack up dry wall, and god willing, change a diaper from time to time? Why is television promoting the ignorance and laziness of men, while portraying them as idiots in need of constant assistance? So tell me, is this where we are going as a society? Have we become so comfortable in our roles of life as to allow the dumbing down of an entire section of people?
Is the dumbing down of the male role model something that was intentional on the parts of media moguls, or is it simply art imitating life? (art imitating life imitating art?)

© 2009, AntiSoccermom. All rights reserved to the original author unless stated otherwise.

Ten years ago I stormed out of the back door of Fort Collins High School and cried into the steering wheel of my car. A tiff (over a boy) between myself and an upperclass-biatch who decided to play a heartless joke and take my name off the call-back list for the one activity I enjoyed in school, proved to be the last straw in a string of uncomfortable and ruthless years of schooling. I tried out for and nailed the audition to our schools Improv team and rightfully earned a place on the roster. That boy, who ocassionally graces my facebook page still wearing that same adorable grin, was completely unawares of the drama that went on with me and his then-girlfriend. When the list for call-backs was posted with my name cleverly discarded, I left school in sobs and never went back. Until today. Enrolling in school was an afterthought of life. I don’t need schooling to live, in fact I live very comfortably with just the writing that I do. When it came to a conversation with a neighbor who had vowed to go back to school and wanted a study buddy, I thought to myself, Why not? Going through the nearly criminal amount of paperwork and talking to the staff at the local college, I figured out that it just might be where I want to be. Maybe. So long as I can stay as far away from Algebra as possible. So after several placement tests and a round of gut wrenching phone calls, I am off to school for the first time in ten years. I am no longer the bumbling theatre geek, though I am planning on taking several theatre arts classes. I no longer thrive on the attention of boys, even though Im sure there will be plenty of eye candy to make it worth my while. There is no experimentation with what type of clothing I wear, how to wear my hair, and when to lose my virginity. Im comfortable in who I am, and what I am doing. A stark contrast to life in the psychosis of high school. Wish me luck, while I pursue yet another avenue in life that I fully intend on dominating. You know how I do.
What are you doing this year to make next year better?

© 2009, AntiSoccermom. All rights reserved to the original author unless stated otherwise.