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NosDarkly t1_j95egp4 wrote

Reply to comment by Verwirklichbar in It truly is super annoying how prevalent sexism is in nearly all of my favorite comedies from my upbringing. by [deleted]

You always knew NPH and Sheen's characters were supposed to be jerks, right?

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izzy-springbolt t1_j95fbyx wrote

I never bought this, because you're still supposed to Like them (in an "oh, what a cheeky scoundrel!" kind of way). They were entitled, conniving and manipulative but "it's all in good jest, right?"

Whereas if you watch it now it's just "why are any of these people friends with this horrible misogynist/PUA??"

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Verwirklichbar t1_j95ffsb wrote

Two and a half men was marketed as „My cool uncle Charlie“ in Austria, just saying

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barb_jellinsky t1_j96b6nu wrote

Horrible character being portrayed as somewhat sympathetic doesnt negate the point being explicitly made in the show that the character is horrible. Charlie himself is constantly self-deprecating, and not actually content with himself(which is why he constantly drinks, to escape that realisation) the point is constantly being made that his sleezy lifestyle while seeming rewarding at the moment is wasting and killing Charlie in the long run. Its pretty much the running gag that every aquantaince of his is counting days until it inevitably happens. Also while we're at it Charlies doesnt even have any friends(that was even the subject of some episodes) not to mention most major/recurring characters he interacts with, many of them women, are on the pair with him when it comes to being douchebag just in a different way than misogyny.

And no shit is his horrible behaviour mostly waved off, and not taken seriously -- its a fucking sitcom after all, riffled with dark humor and social satire. Lack of serious tone when you are approaching these topics is to be expected it's literally the point of that type of humor.

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Pillens_burknerkorv t1_j95frrm wrote

If it’s any consolation I hated the character because of all the douchiness and never watched it

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Verwirklichbar t1_j95ey2n wrote

Well I think you could argue that for Barney, but fr Charlie, I think it would really be a stretch to say he was framed as a jerk. That’s because Barney had quite the character arc in the second half of the show. Charlie on the other hand was always rewarded for being the worst and even more people around him who arguably behaved better were punished by the story. They only started to break Charlie character when he behaved like a pos in real life and that from a writing perspective felt more like a petty personal insult and less like a natural arc to make him regret his former ways.

Edit: also I can promise you that nobody I knew was actually understanding any one of those characters as satirical, most just found them pretty cool, because they slept with many women

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NosDarkly t1_j95fb8o wrote

Tbh after single camera sitcoms became common, I rarely watched the laugh track stuff any more.

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Downtown-Narwhal9429 t1_j95exci wrote

And in the case of HIMYM, the show takes a stance on the emptiness and shallowness of Barney's lifestyle, and Barney begins to find far more fulfillment in a respectful relationship where Robin doesnt tolerate any of his old antics.

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