Rules of Engagement is a television series that has been on since 2007. It shows different people in different stages of relationship: one couple is married, the other couple is engaged, and there is two men who are single. It has typical representations of men and women in modern relationships.
Television has a way of making stereotypes more acceptable and reinforces peoples' thinking to these types of stereotypes. Media makes it seem like working class men are dumb and that they need to depend on their wives a lot in order for the women to keep the men in check. This has been good for women because they are seen as more independent and important but makes the men look not as smart because they are working class.
Jeff is a financial manager so he is pretty responsible when it comes to money but still slips up a few times. He is just like the stereotypical man who avoids sensitivity as much as he can and does not like or feel uncomfortable with sharing his feelings and fears. He's the biggest man there is, he likes sports, TV, money, and cars. All the other guys look up to him and none of them will mess with him when he is serious. He is married to Audrey.
Audrey is married to Jeff. She works at a magazine but ending up quitting to be a stay at home wife. She is considered the typical stay at home wife. She spends money on things that they don't need and does not like putting a price tags on items, unlike Jeff. She is very strong willed and has proven many times before how strong and stubborn she can be. She likes trying to prove a point to Jeff when he is wrong to teach him a lesson. Women are seen as irresponsible when it comes to money so this is a stereotype that is seen in the show, also when she spends the money, it is usually on herself, which is another stereotype.
Adam is the typical dumb working class man. He has absolutely no common sense and is super gullible. He is not too smart but he is attractive. He really looks up to Jeff so whenever him and his fiance have issues in their relationship, he asks Jeff what to do. This is a problem because Jeff has been married for many years and Adam is newly engaged so the advice does not really work as well and it usually makes things worse. But he is more feminine than the usual man.
Jennifer has the stereotype of women manipulating men in order for them to get things that they want. She does this to her fiance Adam a lot but always ends up feeling bad about it. She is unlike the stereotype of normal women because she is like a man when it comes to the bed room. She is very sexual and loves being with her man. She is the more dominate person in her relationship and more level headed, she is the one who is responsible and the smarter one.
Russel and Timmy are both single men. Russel is the stereotypical man whore guy who sleeps with anyone he can and tries to put everyone else down so he can feel better. He a boss at a company that his dad works for so he is spoiled and doesn't actually have to work for his money. He is highly unprofessional and does not know when he needs to stop being such a pervert. Timmy on the other hand takes his job of being Russel's assistant very seriously. He is always doing whatever Russel tells him to even through sometimes he does not want to. Timmy is actually pretty smooth with ladies and have many women in his life.
This is one of my favorite shows but it goes to show how much media really does play a role in our society. There are so my stereotypes that are present in this show and there are many of shows similar to this because its what we are said to like. This enforces the stereotypes that we are told about and how we see people that fit our stereotypical ideas.
