Why does Dagwood work for Dithers? Why does Hank Hill work for Strickland? Why do these characters who are repeatedly demonstrated to be the most loyal employees that their companies have continue to be doormats for their bosses; bosses who have absolutely no respect for them at all?
And why did Darren keep working for Larry? All he ever did was put him on the spot with big ad campaigns over and over.
Sorry, I’m no help.
Ask the same question of millions of RL employees, & they’ll say “Because I need my paycheck!”
BTW–did you know that Dagwood Bumstead came fromk a very wealthy family? And that Dagwood’s Father told him that if he married Blondie, he’d disown him, & cut him off without a red cent?
Well, Dagwood did marry her, & the old man never showed his face around his son, or in the strip, again.
Dagwood went to work for Smithers’ firm shortly thereafter.
I’d go with the “needs the paycheck” theory. But with Hank Hill, it’s also about the propane. You see, Atomicdog, selling propane (and propane related accessories) isn’t just a business. It’s more of a calling, and Hank Hill has gotten the call. And who else to work for than Bud Strickland, because Buck is the best in the business. Why, Bud Strickland IS propane in Central Texas.
But, there’s something more. You see, Hank took an oath when he became a propane salesman. An oath of loyalty, to Buck Strickland and Strickland Propane. For him to leave would be to betray Strickland, and betray his oath, and Hank Hill is a man who keeps his oaths.
Another vote for “needs the pay.”
There’s also “provides comedic opportunities.” How many laughs do you think they could get if they got along well with their bosses? Far funnier to provide a conflict of some sort with the evil boss, then get the laughs when the loyal employee triumphs.
And when Dagwood, George Jetson, Fred Flintstone, Darren Stevens, and their contemporaries first were created, it was normal to hold one single job for years. Indeed, one’s whole working life might be spent at one company; if the boss was an idiot, well, one put up with it. These guys are just products of their times.
That doesn’t explain Hank Hill or Homer Simpson however. For those guys, we’ve got to fall back on the “provides comedic opportunities” theory.
Have you seen the economy in the future? Spacely runs his entire organization with 1 employee, George. If you figure each and every company employs a handfull or less of people the odds on anyone finding another job if they quit is practically nil.
Same reason millions of Americans continue to work for jerks.
Because better the devil you KNOW than the devil you DON’T.
Dagwood, George, Hank, and Darren all have face-to-face relationships with the Big Boss, the guy who runs the entire company. Admittedly, these bosses tend to be pretty volatile, but they aren’t jerks ALL the time. It would seem that this is a lot better than going to work for another company, NOT knowing the boss personally, and probably taking a pay cut to boot.
I did not mention Homer Simpson in here because he doesn’t seem to fit the situation. As far as I can determine, Homer keeps his job because he is a moron, because he likes the fact that he has to do nothing but sit and stare at a panel and eat doughnuts all day, and because if he quit, where else would he find a job that paid enough to raise a family… while doing next to nothing?
Because Mr. Spacely dominates him after work as well. Dominates him hard.
Well, if anyone would know, I guess it would be Astro. Rut-row, indeed.
Excellent Hank Hill dialogue. I could hear him in my head saying exactly that. The only thing that was missing was at the very beginning.
“You see Bobby…”
Like millions and millions of Americans, it’s all about the health insurance.
For the same reason Drew Carey works for Windfred Lauder (sp?). So when they screw him over, it’s damn hilarious!
GTPhD1996
And IIRC, George only works two hours a day, punching a button. Wonder if he’s in danger of RSI?
So that’s why nationalized health care ain’t going anywhere! :eek:
Please get your quotes straight. It’s not “damned hilarious” it’s “hilarity ensues.”
Jetson has no spine.
Well, Homer Simpson explains Homer Simpson:
Listen to me, Mister Big-Shot. If you’re looking for the kind of employee that takes abuse, and never sticks up for himself, I’M YOUR MAN! You can treat me like dirt, and I’ll still kiss your butt and call it ice cream! And if you don’t like it, I can change!!
As Mr Burns says, he’s “feisty, yet spineless.”
And also, as has been previously mentioned, Homer is far too incompetent to get a job anywhere else, particularly one where he gets to do so little each day (and take so much time off).
They all have a lucrative “Black Market Stolen Office Supply” business going on the side.
Long-term employment with a company breeds a certain necessary imperative connectedness not unlike marriage and family. Common experiences, goals, trials, and even powers structure take on a formation that builds a fundamental and personal conception of reality. It’s not simply a matter of quitting a job, it becomes a matter of quitting a perception of life. As the job and life intertwine, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate the job from the self. And in a highly impersonal society, that conjunction is not only a part of life…it is life.
Let’s look at the Jetson case a little closer. George goes to work every day in a world nearly completely impersonalized by bizarre technology. Robots are everywhere, imitating the human experience but not capturing it. Indeed, apart from family and job, George rarely interacts with fellow humans. Waitresses, football players, maids, even casino employees, are often non-humans only programmed to simulate humanity. Where are all the humans anyway? We see space cars whizzing tightly in the space superhighway, the occasional crowded bus, and the massive apartment complexes. But where is the touch of another, the laugh, the cry, the shared human experience? When food becomes pill, door becomes chute, how soon before emotion and feeling are only available at the touch of a keyboard?
George’s job seems awful. He mostly sits and presses buttons. The moving sidewalks and transportation air tubes eliminate most exercise. The Spacely Sproket is far removed from George and we never actually see his involvement with the making of the sprokets. But is it really so bad? What other jobs are open in the Jetson world? Maintenance man, television star, air patrol cop, bus driver, trash collector on the moon…Are these jobs really any better?
While Spacely is tyrannical, it is obvious his connection with George is a human one important to both men. Jetson is fired, promoted to vice-president, demoted again and so on with alarming regularity. This fluidity of position allows not only for hope, but adds an exciting randomness in a mechanized unrandom existence. George and Mr. Spacely interact outside the office, attending sports events and the like. They also connect on the true mission of The Spacely Sproket Company: to put Cogswell Cogs out of business.
Without this all too human mission, George’s life would have no meaning. By embracing the goal of corporate survival and industrial predetorship, the Jetson/Spacely dichotomy transcends the simple boss/human and man vs machine relationships. If Spacely Sprokets can defeat Cogswell, then the Everyman can still make a difference and control destiny. Note the complete failure when Uniblab is given control in the company. The triumph of Jetson (man) over Uniblab (machine), the triumph of worker over mechanized boss …these are important concepts, identifiable and urgent themes. But the more important truth is that the Spacely Sproket company must be Spacely/Jetson in order to survive. It is not the man versus the machine. It is * Humanity versus the Machine Age itself*!
In the voided empty existentialist world of the Jetsons, if George were to quit Spacely Space Sprokets, he would be quitting his humanity. He would be replaced just as sure as Electranamo replaces Astro. Astro becomes Tralfaz.
We cheer for George because of his job. We cheer for George because of his attempts to help Jane, Judy, and Elroy exist in the cold sterile world of the future. We cheer for George because we are all Georges. Ever wonder why all the buildings are structured on long poles pushed high into the sky? In the Jetson’s world, to stray from home means to fall. By maintaining his job and enduring shrinking machines, indestructable suits and the wrath of the shrewish Mrs. Spacely, George the man transcends the ordinary to become George the Superman. Man avoids the fall and still reaches for the stars.
Jetson works for Spacely because after work they get together, dress in black, and dance around with a monkey.
While speaking in bad German accents. Now we donce!
Because all heroes need character flaws.