From the 50's right up to the '80s, fatherhood was portrayed on TV as a sacred responsiblity. Fathers were shown as strong, wise, caring, responsible figures in their children's lives that complimented the motherly compassion and warmth of their wives. "Ozzie and Harriet", "Father Knows Best", "Leave it to Beaver", "The Andy Griffith Show"....on up through "The Brady Bunch", "Happy Days", even "All in the Family"...Archie Bunker might have been portrayed as a conservative nutcase, but he did have wisdom of his own kind, and he loved and cared strongly for his family. In the 80s, we had Bill Cosby as the perfect father, a man who supported his family not only financially, but with humor, wisdom and love. The same for the dads on "Family Ties" and "Full House".
In the 90s, though, we saw a decline in the portrayal of quality fatherhood.
It started, I'd think, with Homer Simpson. Dads were increasingly shown as out-of-touch morons, sefish, short-sighted clowns who were just there to further the gags, especially the ones at their expense, of which there are many. The kids are smartasses and the wives became the strong, wise ones. There was no more complimenting of each other's parental abilities. That's what we have today. Cosby tried his best to rescue the ideal of fatherhood with a show in the 90s, but he was one voice crying the in the wilderness. Today's TV fathers might care for their families, but they are fumbling, bumbling losers who, though they may have a job, have almost no connection with or understanding of their loved ones.
Why is this? Why are fathers today seen as unnecessary accessories, virtually useless after the inital sperm donation? Though one-parent families are not rare by any means, it is often difficult for products those families to succeed. Do we blame the liberal media? Do we blame radical feminism for the crusade to squash the notion that families actually do, in all truth, need two parents? Who is to blame?Perhaps liberal Hollywood? Who?
"I am woman, hear me roar"....kick the daddies out the door.... We need Ozzie Nelson and Howard Cunningham.