Discuss how white working-class masculinity is portrayed in The Deadliest Catch and/or Coal. Do you find these portrayals of working-class masculinity appealing? If you (or someone you know) are a fan of reality shows about working-class masculinity, explain such shows’ appeal from a personal perspective.
April 23, 2019 at 9:22 pm
Both The Deadliest Catch and Coal, like many other reality shows focused on people in these industries, are extremely interesting as they depict an aspect of reality television which is much more realistic than standard reality television. Although aspects of both shows are often dramaticized, these shows portray different parts of the working life in jobs which are rather unstable and often exciting. Having friends that are fans of The Deadliest Catch, it is clear to me why in fact these shows are appealing and what the draw in is. The concept of these professions being dangerous and unpredictable are indicative of working-class masculinity as these characteristics are romanticized by the general working class. Even more so, the nature of these types of jobs is that the men are required to possess skills that are labour intensive, often times including manual labour, and play into the stereotype of manliness that is knowing how to work with your hands and get the job done using your physical power and strength.
Furthermore, many people in these industries hold certain views about what it means to be a man, as many of them grew up watching their father and grandfather do the same work they are doing now. By continuing the work throughout their family tree, many have a sense of devotion to the idea that men are to work hard no matter what, and to have their hard work pay off in the medium of being able to care for their families. Furthermore, this devotion is probably further instilled by the fact that these men are being groomed to conduct these jobs from a very young age. As such, they idolize their fathers who did this work before them and think that it is their duty and value as a man to continue to carry out their ancestors legacy.
April 17, 2019 at 5:35 pm
Along with Kirby explaining the opening song to The Deadliest Catch being “Dead or Alive,” the pilot episode of Coal also had hardcore music and dramatic videos of seeing and hearing people talk about the danger and death involved in the job. I think these opening scenes or introductions to the shows is one obvious way that there is a sense of working-class masculinity being emphasized. From watching just one episode of these shows you see right away the rugged and tough men who don’t care about anything but getting the job done, putting all of their blood sweat and tears into their work each and every day no matter how hard it is. There are also common portrayals of the “family man” in these shows who is doing these jobs either because it has always been apart of their blood or their town, or their dad passed it down and they will pass it down to their son, showing a sense of persistence and almost obligation to do what they are doing and not backing down from this “deadly” challenge. To be able to complete this job is to have this perseverance that it is hard and at times deadly, but it is a mans job and it has to get done and I am masculine enough to do it and not whine or complain about it, and those who do are not manly or gritty enough. The only times I have watched the Deadliest Catch was with my dad, and if I were to guess what appeals him to watch this show or similar ones such as Dirtiest Jobs which we have also watched together, is quite possibly the admiration for these men to do such a dangerous and/or dirty jobs and to do it compassion and without complaining. You hear quite frequently “somebody’s got to do that job,” and I think with my dad having a blue collar job that it is a source of entertainment that is not necessarily a way for him to feel more or less masculine about himself but in a way to kind of reinsure the idea more generally that yes men do do these jobs and these jobs are still important and need to be done and it is a pretty cool thing to be proud of doing.