Hump, Marry, Kill: Go Home, History, You’re Drunk

hmkPhotos: Courtesy of Adam Rose/FOX; Comedy Central; Richard Knapp/A&E.

Hump: Ready for some innovative dance awesomeness? Watch this. Dynamite choreography by Mark Kanemura. This week’s episode was pretty phenomenal in general, especially Mia Michael’s gothic S&M circus show opener and Travis Wall’s contemporary piece.

Marry: Casey Wilson as Dolly Parton and The Mighty Boosh’s Rich Fulcher as Porter Wagoner? Thank you, Drunk History, for actually helping me learn something from TV this week. Also for setting me up with unrealistic expectations for my own friends telling me fun historical stories when they’re drunk.

Kill: Now that A&E is a reality-show dynamo (although I still can’t get through an episode of its ratings juggernaut Duck Dynasty), they’re throwing more proverbial spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks. The latest piece o’ pasta (really glad I’m dragging out this metaphor) is Modern Dads, which chronicles a group of guys who are all the primary caretakers in their families. It would be totally fine if the show simply detailed their ongoing hijinks, like what happens when four bros try to throw a princess-themed birthday party. But nope, that’s not how it is.

Instead, the show describes itself in the following way: “A good day at the office for them is just keeping their kids, and their manhood, alive.” What does that mean? Newsflash: You can still be a dude and take care of children and domestic needs. It doesn’t need to be framed in the old-fashioned stereotype that men need to go to an “office” to do a job. And there’s no rule against talking about fantasy football or other things that maintain one’s “manhood” on the playground. There’s no need to act like you’re not having fun watching your children play while you have that conversation.

Probably one of the most emasculating events in the episode occurs when one dad decides he wants to build a full-scale stockade for the princess-themed birthday party they’re collectively planning. He’s clearly not adept with power tools or construction, so it’s amusing to watch him realize that he’s bitten off more than he can chew. What’s not necessary is having his girlfriend swoop in to complete the project while the camera angle suddenly changes to one usually reserved for making rugged men doing manly things in Diet Coke commercials look even larger and more muscle-y.

We get it; she’s the primary breadwinner and knows her way around a drill. If the situation were reversed, we’d simply be watching a 1950s sitcom where the dad heads out to work, and then comes home to save the day by doing things around the house that only a man can. How will recreating that exact same situation, but simply switching the male and female, help break down barriers and stereotypes that still exist surrounding stay-at-home dads?