You Gotta See This

Posted on 01. Mar, 2007 by Brian Reid in General

No real time to post today, but you absolutely need to know that the Austin at-home dad group was featured on the Colbert Report last night.

Video is still available at Comedy Central.

Brilliant stuff.

No Responses to “You Gotta See This”

  1. Greg Barbera

    01. Mar, 2007

    i concurr: the wet swiffer is the shit!

  2. PCHQ

    02. Mar, 2007

    I love the Report and I get that Colbert’s bit is purposefully done, and it surely was funny… but he should actually TRY being a stay at home dad for a while. It’s not as easy as he might think. Now THAT would make for great television.

  3. CC

    02. Mar, 2007

    That link didn’t work for me. Try
    http://www.ifilm.com/video/2828004

    - CC – ASAHD

  4. Rebel Dad

    02. Mar, 2007

    Fixed the link …

  5. Jeremy Adam Smith

    02. Mar, 2007

    Rebel Dad, that was…amazing. Thank you. I nearly spat out my coffee when the camera close-uped the teddy bear face.

  6. HoorayForSaturday

    02. Mar, 2007

    I have to say the first time I watched it, I was pissed.
    I know the show and I find it funny. I just sort of saw the segment as another way of fueling the fire of the average, middle-American Joe Dumbass that I have to constantly defend myself to.
    Perhaps after watching again I’ll find it funny, but I think the people that would find the segment as a fuel piece, far out number the people that ‘get it’ and know that this is not a problem.
    Maybe I’m a little sensitive right now after moving to suburbia from the big city, but I am sick of having to defend the fact that I (a man) am the primary caretaker of our children.
    I do however applaud The Colbert Report for the press of stay at home dads.
    I agree with the other man’s comment he should try hanging out with a few of us for the day without the funny and choppy edits, it makes for enough comedy or drama without them.

  7. Dadventure

    03. Mar, 2007

    I think I’m with HorrayForSaturday on this one. Colbert generally makes me howl, but I didn’t find the piece funny at all. I get that the satire of the bit is established by framing it in an over the top way (“these guys are dangerous and ruining America”), but on the whole I found the execution quite condescending and patronizing. In the end I think it made stay at home dads look silly. Can’t imagine many single, 25 year old guys watching that and going “hey, that staying at home with the kids looks good. maybe I’ll give it a shot someday.”

  8. KC

    03. Mar, 2007

    I’m with Hooray as well.

    We’re the butt of jokes, and who could stand up for guys like us?

  9. BrianC - GratefulDad

    04. Mar, 2007

    Here’s my .02

    I thought the piece was funny. I’m not really worried about what impact Stephen Colbert’s report will have on me as an at-home dad. I’m not worried if it will sway 25 year olds watching the Colbert Report to be at-home dads.

    So what if we’re the butt of jokes. Who isn’t? Who’ll take a stand for us? We will as individuals and as the at-home dad community as a whole, our wives will, our kids will, more people than you may think will.

    If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

    Dadventure points out the formula to a T that they use on every subject to make it look silly, not just us at-home dads. We can just as easily say “Stephen Colbert is dangerous and ruining America!”, but I won’t.

    C’mon guys, lighten’ up! It’s just the Colbert Report! Fake news! Hello!

    Have a great day and keep it fun!

  10. AtHomeDaddy

    04. Mar, 2007

    Well said, BrianC

  11. Dadventure

    05. Mar, 2007

    Hi Brian,
    It may be fake news, but it is still a media portrait of SAHD’s. According the the PEW Institute, 1 in 5 people under 30 count comedy programs like The Daily Show, SNL and Colbert as sources of news. So as light-hearted as this stuff is supposed to be, it is shocking how blurred the line between entertainment and news is for many people. I wish I could do a little study to see what people’s opinions of stay at home dads is before and after watching this clip. I suspect most people (especially those not involved in our world) would come away with their stereotypical view of what a stay at home dad is reinforced.

  12. BrianC - GratefulDad

    06. Mar, 2007

    Dadventure,

    Again, my .02…Don’t let it affect who YOU are or what you are doing. You still have the greatest job of your life and nobody can tell you different! People will think what they think no matter what.

    What about the 4 out of 5 people of the PEW report that don’t count comedy shows as sources of news? 80% know better.

    So, are you saying they should poke fun at everybody except for us at-home dads because you don’t want them to think any less of us at-home dads? To me, that sounds crazy!

    What people think of me is none of my business. That story won’t change my life. I don’t feel the need to run a research group to find that out. I am just going to continue to be the best at-home dad I can be and quietly prove all the nay-sayers wrong.

    I still believe that if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? I still think the story was funny too!

    But, I thank you for sharing your opinion with me!

    Keep it fun and don’t the the media get you down!

    Brian

  13. Jeremy Adam Smith

    07. Mar, 2007

    What’s tricky about the Colbert report is that it is satire, but the object of the satire is Colbert himself — or rather, the character he plays on TV: an obnoxious, self-absorbed, ignorant, right-wing news anchor. Colbert’s fans understand this, and so understand that when he runs a bit on stay-at-home dads, it is not the dads who are being satirized. Instead it is smug right-wing know-it-alls, as represented by the character Colbert plays. Yes, it will fly over the heads of some people–that’s a mark of smart comedy–but most of Colbert’s regular viewers will get it.

  14. Dadventure

    07. Mar, 2007

    Hi Brian,

    I do worry about how the media portrays ANY subject, not just SAHD’s.

    One of the reasons I like reading Rebel Dad is that this site realizes that how media portrays SAHD’s IS important, just like how the media portrays ANY group is important. And Colbert, Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Jay Leno, SNL, et al are the media. Funny media, yes, but still the media. A lot of people form their opinions about issues by what these people/shows say.

  15. BrianC - GratefulDad

    07. Mar, 2007

    I understand your point, but remain unaffected by the media as it pertains to my job as SAHD.

    A lot of people do form their OPINIONS by it, and you have to remember that they are just opinions and not reality.

    In other words, are you are a loser or incapable of being a primary caregiver because Jay Leno or Stephen Colbert or Letterman, ect formed the opinions of his audience to think you are? Of course not.

    I like coming to RebelDad for the same reasons you do. Here you can find both sides of the coin. He will highlight places where people are saying bad things about the SAHD community and places where people are saying good things. But RebelDad offers so much more than a barometer of the media portrayal of SAHD’s which is where the real content is for me. Add to that his even keeled writing and keen sense of humor. Plus, he’s a really nice guy!

    If it [the media] worries you that much, perhaps you could be more proactive to change it? I don’t know you, obviously, so maybe you already are. (I mean this in the nicest, non-sarcastic way too)

    I stand strong. Don’t let the media get you down! Keep on keepin on and keep it fun!

    I really have nothing more to say on this.
    Thanks for the debate!
    : )

  16. Dadventure

    08. Mar, 2007

    Ditto back to you Brian. Good debate. Let’s close it on down, head down to the pub and slam some Shirley Temples :)

  17. BrianC - GratefulDad

    08. Mar, 2007

    Dadventure, you’re on! First round’s on me!

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