Race, Sex and Stereotypes a textual analysis of "Dad's"

Exodus Cardoza

TV Criticism

Textual Analysis of Fox’s Dads

Situational Comedies are often a staple in weekly lineups for television stations. This television season featured a vast amount of situational comedy series debuts.  Fox was one of the networks to debut a sitcom with their show Dads, making its presence known to the television viewing world on September 17, 2013. Dads, a Seth MacFarlane production, follows two successful male video game developers in their thirties. All is well for the two men until their lives take on an unexpected change when their father moves in with them. The show’s pilot episode managed to rake in 5.6 million viewers (1), a good solid outcome. Many viewers might not be aware of what they actually are viewing. Performing a textual analysis, it can be established that Dads encourages racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and homophobic material.

            The first episode (Pilot) introduces the audience to the two main characters, Warner and Eli, as we get a glimpse into the lives of two friends and business partners. The similarity between the two main characters is that they both struggle to cope with the presence of their fathers. Neither want their fathers around them and struggle within themselves to tell their fathers exactly that. Eli and Warner rely on overt jokes focusing on racism and ageism while their fathers use racist and homophobic material to ‘try’ to provide hints of comedy. Within the first thirty seconds of the pilot episode, one could understand what this show was all about. Warner tells Eli that his father wanted to come and help them with their work so he was waiting in his car with a briefcase. Eli then responds by saying, “Oh… he thinks he’s business people,” in an annoying and sarcastic tone, enforcing stereotypes that the older generation is more like children than adults. However, this was only the beginning of these antics. Only a minute further into the show Warner comes home to a mess in the kitchen. Warner’s wife then tells him that his father was “Attempting to make a PB and J sandwich and that I already deal with two kids. I can’t handle another one.” The overt use of racism, ageism and sexism within Dads builds with the introduction of each character.

              Half way into the half hour segment the audience meets Veronica, an Asian American woman, who works as Eli and Warner’s assistant at their video game business. The audience then learns that Eli and Warner will be in a meeting with top video game executives in an effort to sell them a game they designed (Kill Hitler 2). These very prominent business men are all from China.  Eli and Warner chose to dress up their assistant in “sexy Asian attire” and in their own words, in an effort to seduce the businessmen. And if that was not enough, the two main characters encourage Veronica to laugh at their jokes, in a stereotypical way.

       I stumbled upon something very interesting in relation to the portrayal of the Veronica character. I found that all the women in the show were of color and not white like the four main characters. Jeff Steadman stated that “What makes Dads so fundamentally racist is that the only cast member that are of color are women who exist to serve and service the spoiled little boys club at the shows core” (2).  The other two women shown in the pilot episode are Warner’s wife Camilla, who is Hispanic, and Eli’s maid Edna, who is also Hispanic. Dads pushes the boundaries even further in another scene. This scene takes place in Warner’s home where a surprise party is being thrown for Eli. Eli’s father then takes center stage, prepared to give a toast. He starts off by giving praise to Camilla for preparing the dinner, referring to her as the maid of the house. Fox obviously has no problems letting jokes such as these fly over the show. But do these jokes further reinforce stereotypes towards women and individuals of different ethnicity?

            After witnessing the pilot episode, I began researching and reading what critics thought of the show. After surfing the internet, I was able to find that most critics, if not all of them, had the same thoughts about Dads. Tim Molloy, a Hollywood film and television critic from The Wrap, said that “The men in Dads say racist, sexist things, but they’re so pathetic and helpless that it’s impossible to care. The women also only cater to the men’s needs” (3). Molloy’s comments suggest that this show in some aspects can be related to race and gender representation in television in the 50’s.  The women of color served the purpose on television of catering to the white man. Fox representative Kevin Reilly said that “The writers are going to test a lot of boundaries and they will be equally opportunity offenders. I understand the audience can perceive the messages from the show in various ways based on the circumstances. (4)” Reilly’s comments provoke the limited effects theory that the messages from the show have some effects on some viewers in some circumstances, there are different variables that go into the decisions and opinions that we make on television. In the case of Dads, the message is basically that this show is overtly racist and sexist.

            Los Angeles Times television writer Scott Collins calls Dads “A dog of a show. The only way I can see viewers tuning into this show is if they just mindlessly come across it and stick with it for reasons I cannot reprehend. This show teaches no moral values and does not do a good job of portraying a typical father son relationship. (5)” From Collins’ statement the assumption can be made that Dads allows for ironic viewing, that the show can suck viewers in even though a lot of individuals clearly believe they are above it. Based on the critic reviews it is very easy to tell that Dads is definitely not the most popular show on television.

            Critics believe Dads is grotesque and very vulgar in its comedic efforts. The show results in little to no humor and a lot of offensive substance. The relationship between men and women in the show is not comprehensive to a relationship in the real world. The show reinforces gender and racial stereotypes. Seth MacFarlane has tasted success with shows such as Family Guy and American Dad, but he did not take the gold with Dads. Fox producers should think about holding a meeting to reconstruct this show or cancel it.

Works cited

1.      "Seth MacFarlane's Offensive New TV Show 'Dads' Is Getting Ripped Apart By Critics." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013

2.      Steadman, Jeff "‘Dads’: Group Calls Sitcom ‘Racist’, Fox Won’t Reshoot.", Wall Street Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013

3.      Molloy, Tim "Dads' Review: Hitler, Jew Jokes and Asian Schoolgirls, but No Laughs - TheWrap." TheWrap. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

4.      Reilly, Kevin. “New TV Show 'Dads' ridiculed by critics." Business Insider. Fox Representative, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

5.      Collins, Scott. "Is Seth MacFarlane's 'Dads' Worst-reviewed Show of Fall TV Season?" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.