Peppa Pig is one of Granddaughter’s favourite animations. Peppa’s
family are Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig, little brother George and Peppa herself. I’m
not an avid viewer, but for me the most noticeable aspect is that poor Daddy Pig is a
buffoon. Kind, jolly and quick to laugh at himself, but essentially a buffoon. Mummy Pig is never a buffoon.
One assumes these things are harmless enough but I also wonder if Peppa's little fans notice, if it
adjusts their view of their own fathers. Everything they see must adjust their view of something.
Just to muddy the waters, Daddy Pig is an architect as well as a buffoon, so draw your own conclusions.
Just to muddy the waters, Daddy Pig is an architect as well as a buffoon, so draw your own conclusions.
8 comments:
When will someone tell her about where sausages come from?
I know the series well. Your supposition is certainly borne out in my family. If I attempt some foolhardy physical feat which leads to humiliating failure (attempting to jump up and touch a parapet in a street in Arundel, leading to me sprawling in the gutter; crossing a deep muddy ditch by means of an unstable fallen tree which pitches me into the mire) my children delightedly chorus "Oh, Daddy Pig!". In fact, my wife joins in.
I always looked to 'Weed' as the sensible one, Bill & Ben were just buffoons.
Oh, for the likes of Major Clanger and Mr Pogle - the mechanically competent, benevolent and wise paterfamilias!
Mr Pig's role appears to be duplicated in countless adverts, TV programmes and children's books, exposing children to a constant drip-feed of amusement at the expense of the hapless adult male. I don't know whether it's part of a conscious (and insulting) attempt to neutralise a perceived threat from ubiquitous male aggression or simply a manifestation of the prevailing Zeitgeist, but you're definitely right to worry about its effect on impressionable young minds.
Demetrius - they won't have to explain the large truck because it just took Peppa and George for a nice ride.
Sam - my foolhardy physical feats are easier to sidle away from, such as taking Granddaughter on the play centre slide only to find she is quite capable of running round and doing it again for hours.
Derek - was Weed supposed to be female?
Macheath - yes you are right, it is much wider than Peppa Pig and has been going on for some time.
As MacHeath points out, advertising has been pushing the useless male image for a long time now. I wonder, sometimes, how I ever managed to rebuild so many motorcycles, plumb in a kitchen and wire parts of the house.
AKH:
'Weed' was spoken of as 'she' in the narration for 'Bill & Ben the Flowerpot Men'.
Longrider - good point. I wonder how I managed a similar range of DIY jobs without bungling them. Dirty jobs too such as unblocking drains.
Derek - yes I remember now. Blimey - that was a long time ago.
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