Two and a Half Men - Movie Review Example

Cultural Analysis of the Sitcom Two and a Half Men and how it Relates to Gender and other form of stereotypes I. Two and a Half Men Two and a Half Men is a popular sitcom that has been on air since 2003. It has been premiered on CBS which starred Charlie Chaplin (as Charlie), Jon Cryer (as Alan) and Angus T. Jones (as Jake). The sitcom was about the main character Charlie Francis Harper, Alan Harper and his son who portrayed various images of masculinity in the sitcom. Charlie typified the hedonistic, free-wheeling and responsibility-averse bachelor while Alan, his brother was portrayed as his opposite. Allan life was complicated and often short of money due to the alimony he has to pay to his wife after their divorce. He is also charged with the raising of his son Jake. The interaction between the three makes an interesting study on how each character portrayed images of masculinity that ranges from the hedonistic Charlie to the effeminate Alan to the learning Jake. The sitcom is popular to young adults aged between 18-24 years old. II. Gender stereotypes in the sitcom Two and a Half Men The sitcom Two and a Half Men basically deals with gender stereotyping especially with how the three main protagonists Charlie, Alan and Jake interact with each other. The dialogues in their scripts were carefully written to portray certain images of masculinity in a manner that is entertaining to its viewers. The most active stereotyping in the sitcom is how the masculinity is portrayed. Masculinity has always been associated with a powerful social position that is based on class, race, and sexuality, wage structure and other parameters of manhood that spells dominance. This is reinforced through gender order within societies where men are usually ranked as more powerful and more prestigious than others. Although most of this stereotyping is structured through men’s dominance over women or the latter’s dependence on men, it can also be the case of male dominance over other males with other males also dependent to the dominant male. This structure is also present in the animal kingdom with the presence of the Alpha Male. This type of stereotyping about the purported dominance of the male has been present in almost all episode of the sitcom. The three characters in the television sitcom Two and a Half Men makes an interesting case about images of masculinity in contemporary American society. Each of the characters performs their role and acts them out in accordance with how such character relates to the world and how it perceives the world. Often, the expression of Two and a Half Men characters acts on how it is become a man in today’s society depending on each stereotype. The sitcom is also a pasive cultural articulation of the modern version of masculinity such as the “new man” or “soft man” (Hatfield 528) and also on how the role of man has transformed since the 1950s (Miller). Although media representation of men such as sitcoms Two and a Half Men generally illustrate myths about men that do not really exist in the real world (Hanke 191) they nevertheless mirror the changes in reality; of how family structures have evolved away from the traditional nuclear families that have already discarded some traditional behaviors and values. The sitcom also depicts the new stereotype about soft and effeminate men as played by Alan although the character was portrayed as less than the ideal because it is being subordinated to the hedonistic type of masculinity. These gender stereotypes were particularly portrayed in the characters of the sitcom. The most active stereotyping is in the character of Charlie who was portrayed as the most dominant figure in the Harper household; he made the most money, who has little or almost no domestic responsibility, who sleeps with the most women and full of bravado. Charlie’s character is almost the same archetype of male that was introduced by Hugh Hefner of Playboy that is free from familial obligations and a superior position to women and other groups of men (Hatfield 528). It can be construed that this new idea of Hefner about the new man may just be too seductive that it was reinterpreted in the sitcom which portrayed “the male patriarchal stereotype of the macho and the wimp, again situating alternative forms of masculinity” (Hatfield 528). On the other hand, the image of Alan Harper in two and a Half Men was stereotyped as effeminate male which has the characteristics that are assumed to be markers of a gay identity (Hatfield 533). As Carrigan et al elaborated on the role of Alan as an effeminate male ‘‘a subordinated masculinity can be produced collectively as a well-defined social group and a stable social identity. A now familiar case in point is the ‘making of the modern homosexual’’ (591). The identity of effeminate masculinity was articulated in the sitcom through identity of Alan only that it was subordinated to the role of Charlie in Two and a Half Men. This was stressed through the mockery of Charlie which was concretely done through the logic of his banters. The structure of the banter may have been humorous but the language conveys the subtle message that the effeminate masculinity is not the desired type of masculinity. In almost every subtle conflict Alan has with Charlie, it is always Charlie who wins. Also, Alan’s character was worsened by the character of his ex-wife Judith of whom his character is also subordinated to because he cannot handle his emotional attachment to her. In his relationship with his ex-wife, soft men as represented by Allan are also stereotyped to be emotionally weak and dependent. The stereotyping of Alan is not through his emotional weakness. He is also physically stereotyped as being uptight and has the bearing of a homosexual. This was evident with the observation of Lorren and Aronson that; “Alan accidentally pierces the ‘‘gay’’ ear or a wedding occurs on the show. Alan immediately snaps into his wedding planner mode—bringing out his file folder, sitting cross-legged at the kitchen table and holding conferences with the bride. Not only does he act as a wedding planner, a role typically filled by women and gay men in mainstream media (see, e.g., the movies Father of the Bride, The Wedding Planner, or 27 Dresses), but he clearly enjoys it (qtd in Hatfield 533). Alan’s disagreeable stereotype was validated by another character, Jake. Jake was the son of Alan Harper and Judith and its role in the sitcom Two and a Half Men in terms of masculine stereotyping may have been to validate which image of masculinity as idealized by the two main protagonists, Charlie and Alan Harper is more desirable. Jake may have been the son of Alan but Jake mirrors more the behavior of Charlie in the sitcom. This is a subconscious validation of what the sitcom conveys about the more desirable masculine image III. Conclusion The sitcom Two and a Half Men indeed projected the stereotyping of men as played by the three main characters, Charlie, Alan and Jake. Indeed the film depicted the myth of the idealized male in contemporary society while putting down the other type of masculinity that does not fit the idea of Charlie’s masculinity. It would have liberating for the sitcom to articulate the new type of masculinity which is soft and seeks egalitarian relationship with people around him. Had the sitcom projected Alan in a more positive light, Two and a Half Men would have broken the sexist stereotype of men (Mackinnon 13). Only that in the sitcom, Alan’s character was downplayed and projected with contempt, with the character of Charlie always putting down the character of Alan either by banter or sarcasm. The sitcom degrades this type of masculinity and refused to “legitimize effeminate heterosexuality as an appropriate form of masculinity” (Hatfield 545). This very bothering and can be troublesome because it purports a non-accepting culture which punishes masculinity which does not fit the popular stereotype. Works Cited Carrigan, T., Connell, B., & Lee, J.. Toward a new sociology of masculinity. Theory and Society, 14 (1985): 551–604. Hanke, R. (1992). Redesigning men: Hegemonic masculinity in transition. In S. Craig (Ed.), Men, Masculinity, and the Media. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Hatfield, Elizabeth Fish. ‘What it Means to Be a Man’’: Examining Hegemonic Masculinity in Two and a Half Men. Communication, Culture & Critique, 3 (2010) 526–548. MacKinnon, K. Sex and gender: Maleness and masculinity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Miller, Diana. MASCULINITY IN POPULAR SITCOMS, 1955-1960 AND 2000-2005. Culture, Society and Masculinities. http://readperiodicals.com/201110/2493441941.html [accessed April 28, 2012] Read More