Is nothing sacred? Beck connects Homer Simpson to the Weather Underground
July 29, 2010 6:22 pm ET
From the July 29 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:
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Somebody has to say this: "Eat my shorts."
I might add that the current definition of the "nuclear" family is a fiction of the last 60 years . . .
The shows that he was referencing were part of the plan to get women out of the workplace in order to give jobs to the returning soldiers.
This man is such a jerk.
"Ward, I'm worried about the Beaver."
What else is there to say about this man that hasn't been said already?
Sigh..
And "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" are FOX shows.
So FOX is responsible for the denegration of the father's role in the family.
FOX is the Weather Underground.
Case closed. Glen Beck style.
Actually, the first father like this that springs to my mind is Archie Bunker. He was a lovable clod, who was wrong about quite a few things and thus the butt of many a joke. For all that, his heart was in the right place, which is more than you can often say about Beck.
The next one that really sticks out is the ineffectual dad from Family Ties, with Alex P. Keaton as the TV embodiment of a Young Republican (which still makes me shudder).
I never let my education go to my head.
First, the most useful lesson to come from "The Simpsons" is that the family loves each other and sticks together no matter what.
Sure, they comically abuse each other and they have to work their ways through contrived comedy situations (Homer's co-worker Mindy wanting to have an affair with him, or Marge being jealous of "Colonel Homer's" relationship with singer Lurleen Lumpkin, or high school classmate turned rich businessman Artie Ziff making a play for Marge), but Marge and Homer always stay together in the end.
Second, there are plenty of shows which contain strong father figures. As just one example, to stay with the cartoon theme, what about "King of the Hill", where Hank is the solid, common sense, middle class glue that holds his whole neighborhood together, in addition to his workplace and family?
Nostradumbass needs a little Pop Culture History lesson here. The Weather Underground Manifesto was written in 1969. Now, he says that the portrayal of the "bumbling father" came from that manifesto, right?
Pay attention, Mr. Dumbass.
1964
1964
1964
1961
Thanks for playing, Nostradumbass. You putz.
1964
1955
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Well done, Nerzog.
Particularly since the two of you seem to give your business to the same Lenscrafters.
Soprano,a fictional character...but my comment wasn't nearly as funny as yours!
One possible explanation is that Glenn Beck is psychotic.
Remember, IRONY -- these people think Jack Bauer is an actual person . . .
People like to compare Homer Simpson to Fred Flintstone for obvious reasons, but I think he has much more in common with Fred Gwyn's portrayal of a big hearted Frankenstein's monster on The Munsters. Herman routinely messed up everything for everybody (like Homer), but in the end, his warm heart and love of his family would save the day(like Homer). Also he didn't seem to know his own strength (like homer) and got angry and would break things and inflict pain upon himself in hilarious ways(like Homer).
Oddly enough, Al Bundy (Ed O'Neil)from Married with Children was not the bumbling idiot of the family, but rather the perpetual victim of their selfish schemes and just plain old Murphy's Law in general.
Tim Taylor(Tim Allen) from Home Improvement wasn't technically a bumbling father either, he just had this one single tendency to over "fix" and destroy anything electrical or mechanical.
Hank Hill (as mentioned above) is probably the ultimate opposite of the bumbling father. Often he is the only voice of reason in his whole community.
Bumbling dads are funny because as Americans we still see the father father figure as an authority, provider, and often times the glue that holds the family together. It's this JUXTAPOSITION of the father as the goof that makes us laugh. So Glenn Beck has once again driven off the cliff of anything "ironic" and into the territory of full blown tinfoil hat conspiracy malevolence.
Which means Beck won't understand any of this.