Standard '50s Father, Bumbling Dad, and Subversion of Bumbling Dad

This is gonna be a doozy, and forgive me if my wordings are jumbled because I'm caffinated today. I have read this ATT thread about Standard '50s Father, and Bumbling Dads

I'm thinking about the current title regarding Standard '50s Father. As someone who is tired of the Bumbling Dad trope, I gotta say, it's a breath of fresh air when it comes to Chad from Clarence, Greg Universe, Richard Watterson, and Bandit Heeler to love and care for their children and not be idiotic bystanders. But I do wish there'd be more true Reconstructions for the Standard '50s Father, or at least a rename. It's as if, to me, once the 1950s ended, in came the Bumbling Dads

Credits to ~J Parra for the ATT thread.

See to me the examples you give are a separate trope to the Standard '50s Father. They may be way more responsible and caring than a Bumbling Dad but they often seem more fun loving and relaxed than the Standard '50s Father and much less needing to be the head of the family, more inclined to be coparent with his partner and less wrapped in 1950s Gender roles... and whilst not a Bumbling Dad or a Manchild more open to letting the viewer be aware of his own worries and foibles? Friendly Caring Dad maybe?

Edited by GracieLizzy on Dec 15th 2023 at 9:01:44 AM

My suggestion from the ATT was Moral Center Dad, but Friendly Caring Dad would also work

"Friendly Caring Dad" just sounds like Good Parents to me. Standard '50s Father definitely has a specific look typically tied to it (see the trope description), but the core of the trope is "sensible, reliable father figure who provides moral instruction to his family", which is why Moral Center Dad was suggested as a rename. Many of the examples you mentioned are Good Parents but not necessary competent ones, which is a crucial distinction.

Edited by jandn2014 on Dec 15th 2023 at 1:10:23 PM

Yeah, I had the same thought. There needs to be some sort of distinction that makes it different from a standard Good Parent. The stock 50's dad isn't just kind and friendly; they're intelligent, responsible, moral, competent, and in charge.

Moral Center Dad is what i suggested for the above reasons (especially ) and, also, for the reason that the standard '50s father isn't always presented in a positive light, mostly in deconstructions from later media that explore the Stepford Smiler and/or Parents as People angles of the trope. the Only Yesterday example in particular has the father depicted as a moral center, generally guiding his family along the path he believes to be right, yet he's also very aloof, detached, and traditionalist. he's stuck in his ways a bit, doesn't really say much, and while he loves his family it's very understated and he's quick to instruct or reprimand if he's saying anything at all. the "moral center" aspect is neutral and, while heavily associated with the standard '50s father, isn't strictly tied to the look and setting.

Edited by NoUsername on Dec 16th 2023 at 11:24:44 AM

OP of the ATT thread from earlier. Sorry for my lateness; been busy with work.

Anyways, to add to this whole discussion: It seems that in theory, based on the description of the Standard '50s Father on the main page and the laconic page, this trope played straight seems specifically like a 1950’s archetype, and one exclusively from sitcoms of The '50s at that. Yet based on the examples, it seems that any father who vaguely looks or acts like the archetype could qualify as one, or at least a Deconstruction or Reconstruction. Unironically, I think any of the examples that Alnair20aug 93 provided (apart from Richard and maybe Chad) could at least qualify as a reconstruction of this trope, given how loose the examples are.

The reason I’ve brought this trope up is mainly due to the fact that the Standard '50s Father is labeled as a Dead Horse Trope. And while the trope might be a Dead Horse if we're only going by how the main page and laconic page describes it. The fact it's used mainly as the opposite of the Bumbling Dad rather than as an archetype from a specific era that it's implied to be (combined with the many recent examples that could qualify as reconstructions), creates the implication that any remotely competent father figure is obsolete and outdated at best, and deeply problematic at worst. Perhaps I am being silly and even hyperbolic here, but it is a rather irritating implication, and one I hope has been noticed by other.