The Middle and the Representation of the Working Class in Sitcoms

I would like to start off this post by saying I love The Middle. I have watched this show on and off again since high school, and I can say that it is one of my favorite shows, as far as sitcoms go.

If you don't know what The Middle is about, it is pretty simple. The show revolves around The Hecks, a working class Indiana family and the various parts of their family lives.

Mike and Frankie are the parents, and Axel, Sue, and Brick are the children. Mike works for a construction company, and Frankie often has on and off again jobs. These two parents do whatever they can to support their children and make their goals a reality.

However, after recently watching the documentary Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class, I began to associate a lot of what the documentary had to one of my favorite sitcoms, The Middle.

The documentary pointed out five typical ways in which the working class is framed in the media. These frames are:

• Seen has buffoonish of they attempt to move out of their class
• Often need makeovers if they want to move up 
• working class men are depicted as unintelligent or weak, loving beer and sports 
• not interested in politics
• poor work ethic and no leadership skills, dysfunctional family values

A couple of these made me think of the Hecks. The one that stood out to me is the unintelligible beer-loving father figure. I immediately thought of Mike Heck. Though he is a very loving and hard-working dad, he has his moments when he is uncaring, especially when beer or sports are around. Take this clip of when him and Frankie got the wrong baby Brick at the hospital when Mike is so caught up in a football game, he brings back the wrong baby. 

The next one that hit me was the dysfunctional family values frame. Now, I would argue that most families are pretty dysfunctional, so a lot of people could relate to this. However, dysfunctional family makes up a large part of Heck life, especially with interactions between the kids. Mike and Frankie are always trying to do something to make their kids get along. This is seen in numerous clips like this one where Frankie is explains why her kids can't stand each other around Christmas time: 

Or this one where Frankie tells Mike, beer in hand, that he is a lazy parent. When she tries to go out and play with the kids, she is also lazy, and ends up loosing her patience and getting knocked out by a football:

I could add many more clips, but I think you get the point. Middle class families are framed in specific way in the media more often than not. Often these portrayals are the opposite of the class that makes up the bulk of American society. 

However, this show is called The Middle, so a working middle class family and the struggles that they endure makes since for a show of this type. However, the fact that middle class families are depicted with these characteristics across the board is interesting. Think about your favorite sitcom, and see if these apply.