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Comment by cmelbye | Hacker News Reader

In older stories, sure. But the "action hero" died a while ago. Have you not noticed the rise of the weak male lead in movies/TV/commercials? It's hugely prevalent in romantic comedies, but even TV shows like Modern Family (bumbling Phil and razor-sharp Claire) depict archetypes that are becoming quite common.

The formula is a charming yet incompetent male lead who's mainly driven by sex, paired with a strong, capable female lead who's always two steps ahead of him.

If I had children, I certainly wouldn't want them watching TV/movies that depict their gender as incapable or unintelligent. And that's equally true for girls and boys.

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BumblingDad

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ParentingTheHusba...

I recall an article on exactly this suggesting that this is the only stereotype that TV can screen now which won't offend.

For example, switch around the person who embodies the bumbling figure and in most cases it would be frowned upon or not effective.

It's possibly a power thing. Maybe it's ok and fun (not right) to poke fun at those perceived with the most social power. In most other situations, it's like kicking someone when they're down. I didn't say I agreed with this, just that it might explain why it is more "acceptable" at the moment.

Above everything though, I do find this set up incredibly boring. It was funny the first couple of times but it's been done ad nauseum now. Ad agencies and comedy writers, please up your game.

> But the "action hero" died a while ago.

As a 30-something guy the main issue I had with Avengers 2 (just to pick the latest mainstream action movie example) was the blatant product placement which had no logic (like driving an Audi convertible in the midst of a gunfight scene). Plus, there was too much talking, I almost felt asleep mid-way through the movie. I'm not a comic-books aficionado, so I didn't particularly care about any of the characters, I just wanted some good action.

Compare that with "Predator" or the "Rocky" or "Rambo" series. Lots of good action, lots of "this is damn cool!" feeling without much thinking or non-sense talking. And "Last Action Hero", the movie, was indeed genius, like its director, John McTiernan.

You're just going to the wrong movies. There are action-no-talking films. Basically anything made by Michael Bay, for example. John Wick or The Raid 2 if you're not into CGI action. Anything made by Stallone in the last decade. There are plenty of Asian imports as well.

The other great product placement scene was when Bruce Banner was listening to classical music on his Beats headphones.

Beats headphones are overpriced, over-bassed crap with a gross form factor and uncomfortable cups to boot. This is said by anyone with any kind of taste for finer audio.

This isn't really a new thing. I presume it was already a cliche when The Flintstones came along.

Exactly, the sitcom approach has also generally been fat dude + thin woman for just as long a time

Why do you prefer seeing men only as action hero? In fact, many boys will grow up to be goofy dads.

That's quite the false dichotomy. Why would the opposite of "bumbling moron father" be "action hero", rather than "competent father"?

The John McClanes of this world, if in fact they exist at all, are exceptionally few and far between. Good competent fathers though? Those are hardly Hollywood inventions.

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