10-07-2014, 02:38 PM
Am I the only one who feels like the humor is getting increasingly dark and this show's subject-matter is getting downright off-putting?
It's always been clear that this show's writers/makers have issues with women, especially mothers, but it now seems like "twisted family dynamics" are the show's central theme, even moreso than romcom.
There were always jokes about Howard's mother, Leonard's mother, etc, from the start, and this show seems to have a weird fixation on "older woman/younger man" scenarios, (there are at least four or five examples of this) but I feel like it's getting worse.
Sheldon is a child (or even a dog, or even an object), Howard is a child, Leonard & Penny are Sheldon's parents, Bernadette is Howard's mother, Amy is Sheldon's mother/grandmother, Stuart is both Howard's replacement and his stepfather (?!?!?) etc, etc.
Sorry to be blunt, but it's almost like the writers have a sadomasochistic kink for seeing certain characters (mainly male ones) be humiliated and infantilized. Again, sorry to be graphic, but this is like some type of incest/BDSM/age-play thing, now. Space's fic of Amy locking Sheldon away in a dungeon was not far off the mark, and it's probably only a matter of time until we watch B. try to stick a pacifier in Howard's mouth.
The Oedipal themes and the dysfunctional families were there from the start, but maybe it was less obvious in the early seasons or maybe it was handled with a lighter touch and this made it more palatable.
Personally, I find this type of thing squicky and upsetting in the extreme, and I'm genuinely surprised that the mainstream American audience is cool with it. (Or maybe it just escapes their notice.)
I have always found the H/B squicky, but they are getting very overt and blatant with these twisted themes, now, it's not just hinted-at.
Again, I think some of these themes were always present, but maybe they were more subtle and now they're more overt. It's like the writers are just spewing their personal neuroses all over the show, and it's almost like they take a kinky enjoyment in placing the characters in these disturbing scenarios. It's sadistic and very, very strange.
What was subtext is now *the* text. (or whatever the opposite of subtext is.)
I haven't watched any of the S8 eps, and I've only read one TR, so maybe I'm off-base, but I'm kind of gobsmacked that the #1 TV show in America is built on jokes about incest.
Somebody really, really, really hates their parents, and/or has dominatrix fantasies that I don't want to see.
It's always been clear that this show's writers/makers have issues with women, especially mothers, but it now seems like "twisted family dynamics" are the show's central theme, even moreso than romcom.
There were always jokes about Howard's mother, Leonard's mother, etc, from the start, and this show seems to have a weird fixation on "older woman/younger man" scenarios, (there are at least four or five examples of this) but I feel like it's getting worse.
Sheldon is a child (or even a dog, or even an object), Howard is a child, Leonard & Penny are Sheldon's parents, Bernadette is Howard's mother, Amy is Sheldon's mother/grandmother, Stuart is both Howard's replacement and his stepfather (?!?!?) etc, etc.
Sorry to be blunt, but it's almost like the writers have a sadomasochistic kink for seeing certain characters (mainly male ones) be humiliated and infantilized. Again, sorry to be graphic, but this is like some type of incest/BDSM/age-play thing, now. Space's fic of Amy locking Sheldon away in a dungeon was not far off the mark, and it's probably only a matter of time until we watch B. try to stick a pacifier in Howard's mouth.
The Oedipal themes and the dysfunctional families were there from the start, but maybe it was less obvious in the early seasons or maybe it was handled with a lighter touch and this made it more palatable.
Personally, I find this type of thing squicky and upsetting in the extreme, and I'm genuinely surprised that the mainstream American audience is cool with it. (Or maybe it just escapes their notice.)
I have always found the H/B squicky, but they are getting very overt and blatant with these twisted themes, now, it's not just hinted-at.
Again, I think some of these themes were always present, but maybe they were more subtle and now they're more overt. It's like the writers are just spewing their personal neuroses all over the show, and it's almost like they take a kinky enjoyment in placing the characters in these disturbing scenarios. It's sadistic and very, very strange.
What was subtext is now *the* text. (or whatever the opposite of subtext is.)
I haven't watched any of the S8 eps, and I've only read one TR, so maybe I'm off-base, but I'm kind of gobsmacked that the #1 TV show in America is built on jokes about incest.
Somebody really, really, really hates their parents, and/or has dominatrix fantasies that I don't want to see.