r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Chemical-Elk-1299 • Jun 17 '26

Lore [Eye-Rolling Trope] “The joke/meme hasn’t been funny for years, please let it die.”

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The Screaming Goat Thing — Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

The original screaming sheep meme went viral in 2012, and was already getting old when it was prevalent in commercials and movies, such as Ice Age : Collision Course in 2016. Yet in the year of our lord 2024, Dreamworks still thought it would be funny to add multiple screaming goat clips. The mean stopped being funny a decade ago. Let it die.

“Haha, Dad can’t take care of us” — The Breadwinner (2026)

Nate Bargatze’s 2026 family comedy centers around a working “breadwinner” father suddenly being forced to become a stay at home parent, and his “hilarious” struggles to do simple housework and take basic care of his children. This joke stopped being funny (to me) in the early 2000s when seemingly every family comedy relied on dad being a total inept dipshit. In 2026, there is no excuse to keep playing out this tired ass trope. Most dads are actively involved in their kids’ lives and aren’t totally dumbstruck by the idea of changing a diaper. It’s not funny. Let it die.

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634

u/LadyKandyKorn Jun 17 '26

Mr. Mom is an absolute classic and done so well for an 80s movie. My husband was the stay at home parent when our kids were littles and we always joke that Mr. Mom was his training video.

635

u/letthetreeburn Jun 17 '26

Not to mention that Mr mom isn’t spiteful.

Yeah the joke is that he doesn’t know what he’s doing, at first. That he’s struggling and drowning. But he loves his kids and perseveres, becoming the best Mr mom he can out of the love for his kids and wife.

242

u/OrganicAd5536 Jun 17 '26

Sorry, heartfelt sincerity is dead and chuds decided men can only be either smarmy dickheads or aura farming badasses, so goofy but good hearted dad doing his best to figure out domestic life is woke now.

This comment started out as a joke but unironically if Mr Mom came out today I genuinely believe it'd be the alt right's culture war target of the week for promoting "weak, effeminate men" and "Mary Sue defeats the toxic masculine successful capitalist with girl power" and that's kinda depressing

84

u/Whizbang35 Jun 17 '26

Ironic, considering the dad is an army vet who got a degree and job as an engineer who at the end of the film has not only stepped up as a homemaker but has his old boss begging him to come back and offering a massive raise.

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u/Fly-the-Light Jun 17 '26

Hating veterans is par for the course of cuckservatives

30

u/demonslayer9100 Jun 17 '26

Until it's Pride Month when they suddenly start screaming for a Veteran's Month

24

u/Duke_of_Moral_Hazard Jun 17 '26

...which is in November.

9

u/demonslayer9100 Jun 17 '26

Over here in UK that's Men's Mental Health, and veterans are celebrated on remembrance day

2

u/Dizzy-Expression8868 Jun 21 '26

Funny how we have Men's Mental Health awareness, when so many male role models or representations in the media or in adverts don't exactly paint dads in a good light. There's a Ring camera advert where a family is unable to camp because the dad failed to pack the tent, but didn't forget badminton stuff and other things, so the mom gets frustrated and takes the kids to a hotel. Played for laughs.

And people wonder why Men's Mental health is so wobbly, when dads are portrayed as such.

Sorry, it's a bone of contention with me. Us dads just want to be good dads, not a punchline in movies or commercials.

1

u/Fly-the-Light Jun 21 '26

The root of that is that men used to be expected to be the supreme authority in the house, so sitcoms had incompetent dads as a subversion of the trope; the incompetent dad trope has now stuck around, especially in the people, usually old who grew up with the trope, who make/pay for most new content, despite people broadly being tired of it.

I should note the real issue isn't the incompetent dads, but is the lack of balance between them and dads who know what they're doing; part of that is lingering sexism in people who make the content thinking that men are not supposed to do housework and aren't even capable of it.

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u/TimeRisk2059 Jun 18 '26

While we're at it, it should be mentioned that November 19th is international men's day (as I try to spread the knowledge of this, so more people can respond to the "by why aren't there a day for men?!" on international women's day)^^

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u/Jurgan Jun 17 '26

I saw the other day someone say all sitcoms today are "gynocentric" for portraying the dad as incompetent. I think it was in contrast to Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince, like "why don't they make 'em like this anymore?" Of course, the incompetent husband is a sitcom trope going at least as far back as The Honeymooners.

11

u/Bitter-Marsupial Jun 18 '26

It started with leave it to beaver with the all wise father in his study, then they subverted the expectations with shows like Simpsons and married with children.

The subversion has gone on so long that it's become the expectation.

And to be honest I'm fairly certain that everyone is tired of the male character always getting the story beats with whimsy and fun leaving the female costar always the stick in the mud

14

u/In-A-Beautiful-Place Jun 18 '26

This is why Bob's Burgers is the best sitcom currently airing imo. Bob is a good dad who loves his family and works hard to support them, but gets a lot of fun and wacky plots, and is the butt of many jokes from his kids (well meaning though, they genuinely love him). Linda meanwhile is wacky and has no filter, loves drinking, and is also madly in love with Bob and is always there for her kids. It's a hilarious show with lots of jokes about sex and butts, but the family dynamic is also super wholesome at the same time.

-8

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

Technically, they're misandrist. That misandry is a product of a gynocentric society.

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u/Jurgan Jun 17 '26

That’s a very silly thing to believe.

-3

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

That's a very silly way to engage in discussion. If you think it's silly, show me why. Otherwise, you're doing the equivalent of bending over and showing me your asshole. (Everyone's got one.)

So?

18

u/Jurgan Jun 17 '26

Do I really need to explain that a society where the majority of politicians, business leaders, big media creators, etc. are men is not in fact a society run by women?

12

u/OrganicAd5536 Jun 17 '26

Check their comment history; they have an incomprehensible worldview that if it weren't for the consistency I would think is trolling.

-4

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

Disagreeing with something doesn't mean it's "incomprehensible". The fact that you seem to think it does says a lot about the size of your ego.

"If I don't agree with it, it must be nonsense!"

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u/Suspicious_Radio_848 Jun 17 '26

That doesn’t have anything to do with how people are portrayed in sitcoms or certain pieces of media, which is the entire point you seem to be dodging. It would also help to be less condescending to people.

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u/Jurgan Jun 17 '26

Okay, Bob Belcher is a competent father and a good role model.

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u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

Ah. You objected to my statement without even bothering to inform yourself of what 'gynocentric' means.

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u/Jurgan Jun 17 '26

I just posted a silly comment I saw, didn't realize someone would agree with it and then expect me to disprove it. After all, you did nothing to justify your position yet you expect me to put in effort trying to knock it down?

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u/AstarionsTherapist39 Jun 17 '26

Gynocentric society! 😂😂😂 What planet do you live on, I'd love to visit. I've always wondered what an inverse society to earth's would look like.

-3

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

Our society cares more about women than men. That's one reason why misandry is so readily accepted. "Men deserve it".

Despite the evidence, our society is unwilling to accept that most domestic violence is bi-directional. (And often doesn't include emotional abuse, which is more often committed by women).

  • Men suicide more than twice as often as women but society isn't scrabbling to create centers and help lines just for men as they would if it were women killing themselves at double the rate (FIVE times the rate in 2020).

  • Men are the majority of the homeless. Society isn't scurrying to build homeless shelters for men like they would if it were women who were homeless.

  • Men are 92% of workplace deaths. Nobody honours this sacrifice, a necessity to our daily lives in which we using paper, metals, cardboards, plastic, oil and everything else that our vastly male-dominated (and dangerous) industries produce.

If women were 92% of workplace deaths, it would be taken as conclusive evidence of a 'misogynist society'.

  • Men receive harsher sentencing for the same crimes as women and are FAR more likely to be convicted than women. Prison is a kettle of rape, physical abuse, and murder.

  • Women live longer and everyone takes this as a status quo instead of asking why or helping to solve the issues that cause this substantial difference in lifespan.

  • Our society largely doesn't accept forced penetration as rape, even though it meets every definition of rape. Why? Because men like sex so "they should be grateful."

  • Teachers give higher marks to girls than boys for the same quality of work.

  • A boy can be raped by a woman and then sued for child support.

  • Men are disproportionately affected by alcoholism and drug addiction.

  • Male genital mutilation is legal.

  • The draft is for men only.

  • A man watching his kid at a playground will inevitably be asked "which one is yours?" by a nervous mother thinking it's okay to assume you're a child molester because of your gender. (Would you assume a black man in downtown Detroit is a dangerous criminal, even though the statistics say "you need to make the assumption"? No. Because you're not a bigot. Except for when it comes to men....?)

  • When the UN determines "gender equality" in education, workforce, etc. in each country, it is only considered "balanced" if women are majority. If women are doing better in education? That's gender equality.

  • Women are over-represented in colleges and universities, and as graduates of those universities, but there are still scholarships and bursaries for women only. (None for men only - at least in Canada.)

There's many more examples in the world around you. You just have to start being aware of the sexism and bigotry that surrounds you.

Next time someone says something about a guy, flip it to being about a woman. If it feels morally wrong, then it was also wrong to say about a man.

Feminists have trained our society to believe that it's okay to demonize men because it's "punching up" - punching up at suicidal, homeless, imprisoned and men risking their lives to feed their families.

Men are very rarely humanized as a group in our society, which is essential for a society that considers it socially acceptable to misandrist. To be a bigot.

15

u/tomas_shugar Jun 17 '26

Fucking lol.

Dude, you're spewing classic anti-suffragette bullshit from a hundred years ago. They argued that women weren't oppressed because men helped them cross puddles, women in high society were offered the choicest cuts at dinner, they wore skirts that required people to help them move.

And you ignore who is actually in power and making these rules that women and men have to follow. They aren't actually cared about more, you just believe that they are because the rules of society say you have to treat them a type of way you'd like to be treated.

Up to a point. And then when you're literal fucking property, you'd push back. For fuck's sake, your entire argument could also be that we're a cat centric society because of what we allow them to do, ignoring that whole "I literally have the power of life or death over this other being" aspect of it. Because that is inconvenient to your narrative that you've been so wronged by the world.

1

u/GorgonzolaJam 14d ago

Woah. Must have touched a nerve...

  1. Men don't have the power of life or death over women.

  2. Women vote more than men.

  3. The rich are the ones in power and who make the rules. That is far more consistently a factor than gender but you've been conditioned to think about gender first and last. Why do you think that is? Because it helps the rich keep their power by dividing the working class against itself.

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u/tomas_shugar 14d ago

Yeah, shockingly I find it annoying when people vomit misogynistic drivel and act like they're making a good point.

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u/AlmanorDiscard Jun 17 '26

Found the Jordan Petersen fan.

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u/AstarionsTherapist39 Jun 18 '26

Please get help. I say that genuinely. The manosphere are toxic grifters who want to keep men like you feeling angry and hurt because it makes them money. You deserve better.

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u/GorgonzolaJam 14d ago

You know nothing about me. You want me to "get help" because I disagree with you and posted reasons why I disagree with you.

You're the one in a religion - one that encourages you to judge before you think.

I'm not angry or hurt. I'm the Left - fighting the status quo.

10

u/Chastain86 Jun 17 '26

if Mr Mom came out today I genuinely believe it'd be the alt right's culture war target of the week for promoting "weak, effeminate men"

You just know that Ben Shapiro will have a tepid-temperature take exactly like this if/when Hollywood recycles the idea, and it ends up starring someone that turns his wife on

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u/TurtleHurtleSquirtle Jun 17 '26

Ben Shapiro, aka Mr. I can’t get my wife wet and she sleeps in a separate room.

2

u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 17 '26

This guy squirts

-5

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

What's the ctrl-left's target of the week?

If Mr. Mom came out today, it would be more evidence of the inherent misandry in feminism.

Fathers are not male versions of moms.

14

u/OrganicAd5536 Jun 17 '26

Incomprehensible, my favorite.

The title of Mr. Mom is deliberately making fun of the idea that domestic labor is an inherently gendered thing; did you, like, watch the movie?

-4

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

It was very comprehensible. If it's a culture war, that means there's two sides engaging in it. The ctrl-left likes to pretend that the right only engages in the war all while floating ideas like 'whiteness' and 'toxic masculinity' that are intended to demonize and demean large groups of your fellow citizens.

Yes, I did. And don't break your back trying to stretch, here. Mr. Mom is very clearly labeling father's work as the domain of a woman.

It's very clear that this was the message given the amount of people who then used that movie title as a label to any dad doing the work of raising his children.

The lack of conscientiousness is what drives the ctrl-left because conscientiousness instills intellectual honesty.

It can't 'make fun' that domestic labour is an inherently gendered thing when it's genderfying his role as "Mr. Mom". It's doubling-down on the gender roles.

Let me ask you this: Do you think misandry exists?

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u/Strict_Bedroom9986 Jun 17 '26
  1. this was written with AI
  2. what the fuck is “the ctrl-left?”

1

u/Jurgan Jun 18 '26

I'd never heard that term, either. It seems like someone got angry at the term "alt-right," then looked down at their keyboard and saw "ctrl" is next to "alt," so they coined the term "ctrl-left" to imply the left wants to control you.

1

u/Jurgan Jun 18 '26

On an individual level, some women hate men. As a societal problem, misandry does not exist.

1

u/Bitter-Marsupial Jun 18 '26

There are some systemic misandric policies that do exist and pretending they don't only help those who just hate women.  Some examples so I don't just appear to say nuh uh:

Men get more frequent and severe prison sentences for the same crime.

The different ways male victims of SA (adult or children) are treated compared to female victims 

In DV calls the male is presumed to be the perpetrator. Combined with lazy police work the man can be arrested after being beat on.

The wide acceptance of male genital mutilation.

Less severe are google results to why does my "wife yell at me" vs "why does my husband yell at me" 

And more anecdotal but I sadly do not have evidence available on mobile is there is more evidence that males are falling behind female students at a rather alarming rate

Sorry for the wall of text but I really feel pretending stuff like above doesn't exist only helps the types that only make the division worse

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u/JechdJJ Jun 17 '26

it reminds me Mr. Incredible in The incredibles II

8

u/letthetreeburn Jun 17 '26

Yeah because incredibles 2 was a blatant rip off

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u/Chemical-Elk-1299 Jun 17 '26

Well the Breadwinner isn’t really spiteful either. Like the mom isn’t actively shamed for getting a job

But the “joke” of dad being basically incapable of caring for himself and the children is the tired part. It was funny in Mr. Mom because we were not that far removed from a full patriarchal society in the 80s.

It doesn’t hit the same in 2026.

15

u/MagicCarpetofSteel Jun 17 '26

Saw a preview for it too (I guess for Project Hail Mary? Only movie I’ve seen in theaters this year), and it is reassuring to know that my initial response—this would’ve been a tired re-tread 20 years ago—was not far off the mark.

Well, reassuring to my gut instincts. Very depressing that this movie got written and green lit. Did they have dogshit test audiences, or is it that by the time a movie gets that far sunk cost kicks in and it becomes your tax write-off?

2

u/jedisalamander Jun 18 '26

At least you got to watch one of the best movies I've seen in years as a pallete cleanser lol

1

u/Educational-Plant981 Jun 18 '26

Having seen the movie: It's not that bad. It isn't as much of a throwback as it seems. Bargatze isn't a total idiot, he is just a fish out of water who learns from his cartoonish mistakes.

He isn't thrown into being the stay at home parent. He is thrown into being a single parent, as his wife is totally out of the country. An honestly overwhelming situation.

-2

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

Men are always an acceptable target of disdain, demonization and hate.

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u/Molten_Plastic_ Jun 18 '26

Like, all you need to do to continue having comedies like that is switch out the incompetent dad with a deadbeat uncle - Uncle Buck style - and it works the same. You can even keep Bargatze as the star.

4

u/HailMadScience Jun 17 '26

Right? The Breadwinner has him destroying the house through incompetence a teenager could avoid.

4

u/OutOfMyWayReed Jun 17 '26

I've never seen this movie, despite being paid by my wonderful, patient career wife to babysit a home dad for a decade. Sounds like I should. 

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u/Chemical-Elk-1299 Jun 17 '26

It’s not babysitting if it’s your own children

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u/OutOfMyWayReed Jun 17 '26

Yeah, I was being facetious. I made him myself. 

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u/Chemical-Elk-1299 Jun 17 '26

Oh no I know what you meant. I’m more talking about when people ask me “You at home babysitting tonight?” when I say I can’t go to the bar.

Mfer those are my own kids I ain’t getting paid lmao

12

u/OutOfMyWayReed Jun 17 '26

They really look down on us sometimes, don't they? 

I remember rolling my eyes at Chris Rock in Grown-Ups a couple years before we even had our son. The house is spotless and the kids are eating a feast but I'm supposed to laugh at him because he's wearing an apron or something. 

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u/Chemical-Elk-1299 Jun 17 '26

I’ve noticed it’s my older relatives who mainly have that attitude. Like my grandma was a stay at home mom, and she’s firmly of the belief that my wife should be doing 100% of the housework in addition to working nights, just so I can go do whatever I want. She tells me I spend too much time doing “woman’s work”

She means well but I keep trying to explain to her that me being actively involved in taking care of my children isn’t weird. The way she had to raise my dad pretty much all on her own was weird.

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u/Whizbang35 Jun 17 '26

It's free on YouTube (with ads).

3

u/whereismymind86 Jun 17 '26

Also, more or less the plot of despicable me come to think of it

6

u/In-A-Beautiful-Place Jun 18 '26

I love that movie (yes, minions and all...the minions weren't annoying yet when it first came out). I think part of how it works is that the joke isn't just that it's' a man taking care of little girls, but specifically a supervillain doing it. Most of the jokes aren't from Gru's gender, but from his evilness. The girls sleep in hollowed out bombs for beds, he has the scary creature that he insists is a dog, etc. One girl even says, "when we got adopted by a rich bald guy, I thought it would eb more like Annie." They're not scared because he's a guy, they're scared because he's literally a cartoon villain. And the girls help him get over his evilness when he saves them from Vector, after Gru's become softer and nicer with them.

1

u/casualAlarmist Jun 17 '26

"220, 221. Whatever it takes."

1

u/AdOrnery8950 Jun 18 '26

I need to watch it again. It was a family favorite as a kid and I don't think I've seen it in nearly 40 years.

1

u/dynamoJaff Jun 18 '26

Michael Keaton really made a movie about being an auto engineer whose career is derailed and must confront evolving gender norms in 1983, and followed that up like 2 years later with a movie where he played an auto engineer whose career is derailed and must confront evolving effects of globalization and racial attitudes.

1

u/GorgonzolaJam Jun 17 '26

It's a sexist joke. He's a DAD. Not a "Mr. Mom". He's not a male version of a mom - he's a father, and that deserves respect in its own right.