The Jabberwock

Frasier is a 1993 sitcom about two rich, badly balding, white brothers getting tasked with taking in their old, blue collared, crotchety father. 

This dichotomy is hilarious from the start, the father speaks his mind, gets messy and takes on a “manly” role within the household. The brothers are portrayed as smart but needlessly organized, obsessed with high end art and dry puns. Somehow while being very successful model men, the show isn’t influencing you to  be anything like the Crane brothers. On the contrary their richness is only a breeding ground for their snobbish attitudes and their almost “effeminate” take on life. Only after eleven seasons and a spinoff do we ever see the Crane brothers learn to be grateful and less absorbed in living the high life. Rich snobs aren’t a new concept at all in media or television but it leads me to wonder “why are rich men represented so effete and camp in sitcoms”.

1. SUIT UP!

How I met your mother has very, very little to do about anything. It stars a friend group composed around a kind romantic, Ted Mosby, his married friends, on and off girlfriend and his depraved, wealthy, always suited friend Barney Stinton. The plot revolves around Ted’s antics in love and Barney’s antics in general. He is sort of a foolishly ladies man with very little redeeming qualities but what gets me most about Barney is his inherent flamboyant rituals. He cares strongly about his appearance, is showcased as whiny, organized and out of touch. Though a prominent part of his character is his love for women, he also loves a long running skit, his artsy all grey apartment and singing. Barney, especially in the later seasons is “camp” aka over the top and colorful. He is an embarrassing performance of richness and decadence just like Fraiser, you don’t want to be him. 

2. Technically rich

New Girl is an odd example because the whole show follows 4 to 5 people living in a Los Angeles apartment together going to their downstairs bar and struggling with getting rent in on time.  Schimdt almost seems absolved from these issues that all the other roommates often face. Perhaps that makes sense seeing his friends are teachers, bartenders and basketball players overseas. Schimdt much like Barney is a moronic yet a dedicated ladies man who goes out of his way to charm those he finds attractive. Something different about Schimdt is his constant state of sensitive, he is clearly insecure, easily hurt and thinned skinned. Along with these traits he is a clean freak, enjoys fancy foreign clothes and is an extremely good cook. There is no doubting that Schimdt portrays these rich, ritzish qualities even without living in a lavish situation. He comes from money and spends it constantly. Though at the end of the day it doesn’t come of as impressive or luxurious, instead it’s a clear representation of his need to be manlier and cooler than he seems.

3. Nepo-magician

When I think of rich people in sitcoms, I think of Arrested Development. The whole show surrounds the Bluth family making an absolute fool of themselves and needing to be pulled back down to earth by their somewhat responsible family member, Michel Bluth. Though everyone in this family is rich, my favorite and most relevant example of these well off weirdos is Gob Bluth.  Gob is a magician, self absorbed and prone to mistakes and whiny. Much like the other examples he is a senseless ladies man who doesn’t seem to be in the pursuit of true love. He is very clearly a mockery of rich men who can ride through scott free in life, facing little consequence and grouching when he does. He also loves extravagant clothes and events, ventriloquism and moving through town on a Segway. At this point, most of these men seem to emulate each other not only in class but in personality. While being technically “ideal” in lifestyle, they falter in interest. 

4. New money

When you think of rich men, do you think of good talkers in suit jackets or bumbling fools in powdered wigs? That distinction of character is barely prevalent in new age sitcoms. Though it seems like these men would be idolized and seen as impressive, all of them miss the mark of what sitcom writers think is a real “man”. I think this shift in looking at a rich man is very situational, so many of these writers were struggling artists themselves facing wealthy directors everyday and getting their work diminished by those who have it easier. Being rich doesn’t seem like a destiny for hard working artists anymore it seems more like a dream. I’m inclined to think that there are better ways to show that a rich person isn’t hard working than making them more feminine, femininity isn’t a lazy or unrighteous trait and nor is a flamboyant nature. Though these concepts are taken from rich men of the past that didn’ t work and partied on the ritz with colorful tuxes and a foreign flair.  At the end of the day the most unrealistic thing about rich men in sitcoms is their ability to adapt to help others and understand their misdoings at the end of each 30 minute episode.