Dinosaurs

You remember Dinosaurs. It was a sitcom. But with dinosaurs. However, no matter how far back it was, it still surprisingly shows many similarities with more modern sitcoms.

The show followed the same formulaic setup that many shows today use as well, with the overweight, lazy father, the responsible, doting mother, and the children, whose character traits are selected at random from some unseen dirty barrel wherever these things are produced.

Looking back on this has the same feel that looking back on other shows did. You get the jokes you didn't get as a kid, while at the same time, you wonder how they slipped some of that stuff in there. Except this is worse. Not only did it hint at subjects such as steroid use and sex, it went from abc to the Disney Channel. The same Disney Channel that's so child friendly it's depressing. And people want to throw a fit about today's television.

Gender, of course, is among many of the real life issues that finds its way into the show. In this episode, for example, the pressure to live up to the 'big and burly' image of a traditional man drive Robby to use "thornoids". Of course, the bicep-boosting mega-drug also raises his level of aggression, causing him to be violent and pushy to those around him.

Though this is the obvious example that shows itself in the episode, there's also another not-so-noticeable one that pops up all the time. Yes, it seems even the females of the classic Dinosaurs have the usual lack of romantic free will. After Robbie drugs himself into a meat pack, he goes and beats up his crush's boyfriend. Of course, as you could probably guess, she goes to the upcoming dance with him, as if she had no choice. In the events leading up to Robbie nearly physically abusing his date, she lets him know that she liked him before he grew muscles, and that she never went out with him before because he "never asked". How convenient. You've managed to work up to an "Aww" moment, while teaching children how exploitable and predictable women are. Thanks a lot.

No really, thanks a lot. Even with the gender slip-ups, this was a great show and should have lasted longer than it did.

Oh, and check 4:30 on the second video. Someone's got a dirty mouth.

Bad Economy: Nobody's favorite reality show

Well, of course, at the forefront of many people's minds is the state of the economy. Unemployment reaches record highs in what many call "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression." While hard times affect nearly everyone, many will respond differently than others. This is where many lines form, including gender lines.

I still remember reading in history books about the many men who went through psychological depression during the Great Depression, many to the point of suicide. They felt inadequate because they could not fulfill their societal role as the "provider" and "gatherer". Of course, like many things I've seen in history books, I thought those days had passed. Apparently I was wrong.

Watching the news in the past few days I think I've seen about three different stories on men dealing with the economy, and how they try to cope with the same feelings that plagued men of the Great Depression. An interesting story (which I couldn't get a hold of *sadface*) was a short cnn report on men who "got manicures" and lived a "relatively metrosexual lifestyle" who themselves could not even shake the feelings of inadequacy brought on by their inability to work and provide. Statistics are showing that many more men are getting laid off than women, since the jobs men traditionally do are getting more layoffs. Many men are unemployed as their wives continue to work. This forced gender role reversal has many men shaken up and confused.

I'm starting to see that these traditional genderical values are rooted deeper into our lifestyles than I thought. Maybe we can start to learn a lesson and rethink our values during these rough times. Maybe this thing will have a silver lining after all.

Snickers Are A Homosexual Catalyst! Beware!

Wow, during my usual drunken (no not really plz don't arrest me) stupor through the trash lined hallways of YouTube, I stumbled upon a cherished piece of my childhood memories. This commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl, was taken off the air soon after, after an outcry from the gay community. However, there is no time to discuss that, I have deadlines to meet and we're here to talk about mans and wimminz, remember?

Of course this is a perfect choice for a blog post, as in the commercial, the men even exclaim, "Quick, lets do something manly!" So, of course, they have to take their chest hair, a very masculine physical trait, and pull it out to cause pain to themselves, as men are expected to be able to handle physical pain. Further contrast is developed by the men being mechanics, an occupation that is very often generalized to be a "man's job." These portrayals are furthered in that the reason these men found themselves in this bannable predicament is that their "masculine" primitive desire to eat drives the second mechanic to try to take some of the bar no matter the consequences. This commercial used traditionally masculine characteristics to sell candy. And I think it worked.

Man, these are getting hard to do (no pun intended cause it would be dumb).

Um, I guess this means spring break nao? YAY!