As long as there have been sitcoms there have been dumb dad characters, from Homer Simpson to Ray Romano, they’re a very common trope. But, the University of Massachusetts researchers say it’s getting worse!
The researchers examined TV dad’s interactions with their kids in 34 sitcoms that aired between 1980 and 2017 and found that the more recent the show, the less likely it was to feature fathers doing much actual parenting. In addition, when the dads did take on parenting duties they were more likely to be depicted as foolish—“showing poor judgement, being incompetent, or acting childishly.”
Researcher Erica Scharrer says the audiences of these shows are encouraged to laugh at these bumbling dads, but it’s not harmless, as “fictional entertainment can shape our views of ourselves and others. Sitcom writers can do better by dads by moving on from the “increasingly outdated foolish father trope.”
