The King of Queens

The discussion of the working class and their portayal in sitcoms in both the readings and in documentary bring up a large number of television shows from the past and today. One of my favorite shows that falls into this category is the King of Queens. It is about a working class couple Doug ( a package delivery man) and Carrie ( a secretary). They have the same lifestyles as many other working class couples in television today but the most evident trait is the women being the smarter more dominating figure. Carrie plays the role of the level headed decision maker of the relationship and makes it very clear that Doug is not capable of doing what she does. He is not smart enough to make investments, not capable of making his own meal, can not make decisions on his own and so on. It is furthering the stereotype of the working class male being incompetent and dumb. Carrie constantly undermines him in front of friends and makes it known that she is the boss. It contradicts gender roles but follows the typical storyline of the wife helping the not so smart male worker. To me Doug is the epitemy of the televisions dipiction of the working class male. He does not take his job very seriously as he is mostly seen joking around and telling stories as well as eating in his work place and when he is shown on his route making deliveries he is also shown stopping to get some fast food along the way which is seemingly more important than his job. He can not save money properly or invests it in terrible ways such as well he bought an ice cream truck or bought a new car when his company went on strike. These comical situations are stabs at what the working class is "supposed" to be. If there is a bad decision Doug seems to make it just so we can have a laugh at the working class male.