I JUST decided to stop watching the Big Bang Theory after this week's episode. I've hung in there for the past few seasons sustained by the occasional good episode in the vain hope it would get back to the relative heights of season 2, but I can't justify it any longer. I'm talking about the gender stuff because that's the lens I tend to watch things through. It's not just the women though - the depiction of the men is equally depressing. BBT has always been uncomfortable to watch from time to time because of the jokes about Raj being gay and relationships like the one between Howard and his mother, but this was the first episode in a long time where the entire plot revolved around gender stereotypes.
Women are stupid/only interested in stopping men from having fun Men are actual infants/unhygienic/don't give a shit about anyone else's feelings if it interferes with said fun Only men play video games Men who have feelings are 'girls' Not quite - men can express feelings in order to manipulate their girlfriends into having sex Adult women (with PhDs) don't own laptops and need their boyfriends to help them pick one out Said laptops for women only come in pink and flowery
If you'd like to sample BBT when it was actually funny/kind of sweet/fairly nuanced, I'd recommend getting hold of an episode like The Barbarian Simulation (which I think was the first one I liked) or the The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis
Adult women (with PhDs) don't own laptops and need their boyfriends to help them pick one out Said laptops for women only come in pink and flowery
I didn't know she had a PhD. That could have made more sense if she said she needed a new laptop to play [some modern game] at high resolution and 60FPS and wanted her boyfriends help picking that out. Versus just not having a laptop at all. In 2011, as a PhD.
Men are actual infants/unhygienic/don't give a shit about anyone else's feelings if it interferes with said fun
That did seem to be Sheldon's character. I've only seen two eps but in both he was being a dick to his girlfriend. Plus doesn't want a physical relationship with her. And only seems interested in her out of jealousy, like in an "I don't want you but no one else can have you" way. Maybe there's more nuance to that relationship, but I didn't like what I saw of it.
It is a very traditional sitcom so it will always eschew previous character development for the sake of a cheap laugh I guess but it crossed a line for me last week. I love Melissa Rauch who plays Bernadette, she's a really great comic actress and a big part of why I watch the show - thinking about it, the actors are probably the only reason because there's not much else I like about it. Yeah...that's it - my BBT watching is a symptom of a bad case of Roseanne/Cybill/Blossom nostalgia.
Anyway, it's been established that Bernadette is at least as smart as anyone on the show - with the exception of Sheldon perhaps who puts himself on a higher plane to the rest of humanity. And in the horrible value system of the show, it's a running theme that she's "too good" for Howard because he only has a Masters. She's also a "non-traditional female" because she hates kids and her and Howard have discussed that he'd have to be the one to stop working and stay at home if they do have a child. I don't think you'd have got any of that from last week's episode.
The Sheldon and Amy relationship is just annoying. It seems to be that she stays with him because she gets something out of it and he doesn't always have the upper hand, but the writers seem to want to keep Sheldon as stunted as possible. They kissed once and he seemed to enjoy it, maybe a year ago in show time - since then, nothing.
Women are stupid/only interested in stopping men from having fun
Men are actual infants/unhygienic/don't give a shit about anyone else's feelings if it interferes with said fun
Only men play video games
Men who have feelings are 'girls'
Not quite - men can express feelings in order to manipulate their girlfriends into having sex
Adult women (with PhDs) don't own laptops and need their boyfriends to help them pick one out
Said laptops for women only come in pink and flowery
If you'd like to sample BBT when it was actually funny/kind of sweet/fairly nuanced, I'd recommend getting hold of an episode like The Barbarian Simulation (which I think was the first one I liked) or the The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis
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Said laptops for women only come in pink and flowery
I didn't know she had a PhD. That could have made more sense if she said she needed a new laptop to play [some modern game] at high resolution and 60FPS and wanted her boyfriends help picking that out. Versus just not having a laptop at all. In 2011, as a PhD.
Men are actual infants/unhygienic/don't give a shit about anyone else's feelings if it interferes with said fun
That did seem to be Sheldon's character. I've only seen two eps but in both he was being a dick to his girlfriend. Plus doesn't want a physical relationship with her. And only seems interested in her out of jealousy, like in an "I don't want you but no one else can have you" way. Maybe there's more nuance to that relationship, but I didn't like what I saw of it.
Reply
Anyway, it's been established that Bernadette is at least as smart as anyone on the show - with the exception of Sheldon perhaps who puts himself on a higher plane to the rest of humanity. And in the horrible value system of the show, it's a running theme that she's "too good" for Howard because he only has a Masters. She's also a "non-traditional female" because she hates kids and her and Howard have discussed that he'd have to be the one to stop working and stay at home if they do have a child. I don't think you'd have got any of that from last week's episode.
The Sheldon and Amy relationship is just annoying. It seems to be that she stays with him because she gets something out of it and he doesn't always have the upper hand, but the writers seem to want to keep Sheldon as stunted as possible. They kissed once and he seemed to enjoy it, maybe a year ago in show time - since then, nothing.
Reply
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