The movie, Cars 2, is out and doing well at the box office. I have heard only good things about the movie and I am pleased. I know I sound like my dad or granddad, but shows and movies nowadays just aren't the same as they used to be. And as a male, I am getting really tired of being portrayed as being stupid, a wimp, or gay.
During the “Golden Age” of television, family shows were just that, and they portrayed the family as a stable honorable institution. While not discounting the revered position of mothers, TV dads were usually strong, gentle, wise, and good; they were the leaders in the home, providing for the family’s well-being, and teaching their kids how to be responsible. As a child I used to watch Andy Griffith, Happy Days, The Waltons, and Little House on the Prairie. All were examples of shows with strong families and strong dads. They may have been unreachable standards of perfection, but they gave men something to aspire to.
Now, think of contemporary TV dads, and the first names on the list have to be Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin. Shows like Married With Children, Two & a ½ Men, and most of the other junk passed off as “family viewing” does not even qualify to be shown at what used to be called “family time.” All the dads you see these days are bumbling idiots with no clue how to relate to the people living in their houses. Even Tim Allen, who at least brought some machismo back to the tube, was as clueless as the rest of the dads on TV.
TV also denigrates the role of women, although not in the same way. Many of the moms are hardworking; veritable saints who tolerate the endless foolishness of their husbands, the drudgery of childrearing, and the challenges of their careers, all while staving off wrinkles. There is a subtle message at work: that a woman is wasted on a family, or at least on a husband. Children are seen as either a drag on a woman’s career, or simply another challenge added to the pursuit of the career. Raising kids is seldom seen as an admirable goal in its own right; stay-at-home moms tend to be either pitied (Marge Simpson) or viewed as oddities (Kate Gosselin).
Family shows have fallen out of favor with the networks, in lieu of trashy “reality shows”, and comedies about well-to-do urban singles. These men are presented as slim, stylish metrosexuals, usually in their 30’s, whose paychecks fund their slick wardrobes, hair-care products, favorite coffee houses, and their endless pursuit of the "next" ex-girlfriend.
We know Hollywood can do better. The movie industry has finally started to learn its lesson after years of shoveling R-rated movies into the theatres and losing money. They have finally figured out that family films still sell well. Dreamworks, Disney, and Pixar have made fortunes by making films that parents can show their children, and raise the honor of the family.
It just goes to show that following good old-fashioned family values can bring success and may not be as out-of-date as Hollywood would have you believe.
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