A Look at the Changing Role of the Sitcom Dad

My research paper will examine the way sitcom fathers have been portrayed in recent television shows. There has been a shift from wise television fathers to foolish and silly fathers. It seems that the shift took place in the 1970's. I want to compare older sitcom fathers (before 1970) to newer sitcom fathers (1970 on to the present). I want to research the causes of this change. My research will provide several examples of television shows and what category they fall into.

Specific Range Of Phenomena Examined In My Paper

My paper will only look at father figures in situation comedy. It will not look at the relationships of wives or children. It will compare the portrayal of the sitcom father from the past, which is defined in this study as television from before 1970. The television of the present is defined as 1970 on to the present date.

The Sitcom Fathers of The Past (Before 1970's)

In television before the 1970's, the sitcom father was presented as wise. The entire family sought him out to ask him advice and he was the family problem solver. The sitcom father of the past was wise and intelligent. He was revered and honored by the whole family. He was respected. There were very few jokes poking fun at the sitcom father of the past. Usually, he was the one cracking jokes about other family members. Some examples of these shows with wise sitcom fathers of the past are, "Happy Days", "Leave It to Beaver", "I Love Lucy", "Father Knows Best" etc (Scharrer).

The Sitcom Fathers of the Present (1970's to Today)

The sitcom fathers of today are often presented as the butt of jokes. They are made fun of by the family. They are often treated like one of the children and the wife has to look after them, even though they are adults (Scharrer). The rest of the family does not seek them out for advice; instead they seek out the mother. The sitcom father is sometimes portrayed as so incompetent that he can't even complete simple household chores or look after the children. Some examples of these sitcom fathers are "Rodney", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "The Simpson", "Yes Dear, etc."

The Causes of the Change

There are many factors that can be attributed to the change in the portrayal of the sitcom father. I want to examine three of those changes. The first reason for the change in sitcom fathers could be due to the gender of the executive producer. The second reason could be related to the gender of the father on the show. The third shift in society that has allowed men and women to be more equal. There could be many more than three, but from my research I have found that these three are the largest reasons.

Gender of the Executive Producer & Writers

The gender of the executive producer of the show and the writers has a great deal to do with how the characters of the show are played out (Skill)(Olsen). In one study that I came across in my research, they said that shows that the gender of the producer directly relates to the way the sitcom father is portrayed (Douglas). Perhaps since more women are involved in higher positions in the television, the shows are portraying women in powerful roles. Or perhaps men producers and writers are trying to portray fathers as silly and attract women viewers (Queenan).

Class of the Father

My research has shown that the class of the father in the television show directly relates to the way the father is portrayed. I found some studies that examined class among a variety of sitcom shows during the 1980's (Frazer). The study found that, the lower the fathers' class and job, the more foolish he is portrayed. The higher the fathers' class, the more intelligent he is. Some examples of this would be Homer Simpson who has a low paying job and is portrayed as very unintelligent. Another example would be Doug from "King of Queens" who is a UPS driver and is also portrayed as goofy. On the show "Rodney", the father is unemployed and incompetent of being a good husband. If the sitcom father has a high class, he will act differently. If you look at shows like the "Cosby show", the father was a doctor and his family thought he was very intelligent (Frazer). The same can be found for shows like "Growing Pains" or "The Nanny".

Shift in Society

Another reason for the way the fathers are portrayed in the show could be because of the shift in society. Is it really fair to compare shows from the 1950's, 1960's and so on to the shows of today? The shows that were created back then were created in a time when men and women were not as equal. Perhaps today's shows are trying to distribute the power to women. The shows with foolish men could be targeted towards women. In one of my research materials a study was conducted where viewers had to rate if a show was sexist or not. They had to rate if the couple of the sitcom had equal power and who the kids went to with problems. The study was trying to prove that sitcom family life had deteriorated over time, but the study could not prove that (Douglas). It did however; provide me with some interesting ideas about how society has changed. My research shows that the shift in society does relate to the change in the sitcom father.

Further Research

If I had the ability to conduct further research I would also like to look at the portrayal of sitcom mothers from the past to present. If there has been a huge shift in the portrayal of the father, one could expect the same for the sitcom mother. I would guess that the sitcom mother's role has changed greatly. Some sitcom moms are portrayed as working women and they have a larger share in the decisions of the household. I was guess that they are portrayed very differently from the past. That would be something I would want to research in the future if I had more time. I also think I would want to research if the roles of the children have changed, specifically male and female children in sitcoms. I think that all of those things tie together and directly relate.

Conclusion

To conclude my paper, I can say there has been a shift in the way the sitcom father has been portrayed. There has been a shift from wise television fathers to foolish and silly fathers. This can be attributed to three main reasons. The first reason for the change in sitcom fathers could be due to the gender of the executive producer. The second reason could be related to the gender of the father on the show. The third shift in society that has allowed men and women to be more equal.

Sources

From wise to foolish: The portrayal of the sitcom father, 1950s-1990sErica Scharrer. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Washington: Winter 2001.Vol.45, Iss. 1; pg. 23, 18 pgs

The family on television: Evaluation of gender roles in situation comedyBeth Olson, William Douglas. Sex Roles. New York: Mar 1997.Vol.36, Iss. 5/6; pg. 409, 19 pgs

Beyond family structure: The family in domestic comedyDouglas, William, Olson, Beth M. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Washington: Spring 1995.Vol.39, Iss. 2; pg. 236, 26 pgs

Family Interactions on Primetime Television: A Descriptive Analysis of Assertive Power Interactions Skill, Thomas, Wallace, Sam. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Washington: Summer 1990. Vol. 34, Iss. 3; p. 243 (20 pages)

Television Sitcom Factbook
Bob Duckett. Reference Reviews. Harlow: 2001. Vol. 15, Iss. 2; p. 46 (2 pages)

"Father Knows Best" and "The Cosby Show": Nostalgia and the sitcom tradition
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"To Boldly Go Where No Other Has Gone Before: The Construction of Race and Gender in Star Trek"
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Unapologetic women, "comic men" and feminine spectatorship in David E. Kelley's Ally McBeal
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Gender roles on prime-time network television: Demographics and behaviors
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Television's world of work in the nineties
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Poll: What TV dad is like yours?
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Boobs on the tube
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Modern movie spin gives dads bad name
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Make room for daddy
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Prime-time paternity
Mark Schone. Harper's Bazaar. New York: Sep 1997. p. 364 (1 page)