Deadliest Catch

I've been hooked (so to speak) for years. I've seen pretty much every episode and countless re-runs.

Have the cult-stud types given some thought to why it's so popular? They might not like the answer.

To my way of thinking, the show resonates because it is an unambiguous enactment of traditional masculinity (something which "gender studies" has understood poorly, if at all). Some of these guys are loners; most are family men who want to make sure their kids get a decent shot at life. In other words, the code of masculine behavior they live up to involves responsibility, rather than privilege. Of course, there are rites of passage (for the greenhorns who make it) and plenty of other male-bonding rituals within and between crews (like hauling another boat's pot and substituting the carcass of an old pick-up truck). This isn't mere towel-snapping but a psychologically necessary means of dealing with the constant fear that comes with working this damnably dangerous job. It's also pretty clear, contrary to modish theory, that a homosocial environment doesn't have much to do with covert homosexuality.

I believe that "intellectuals" are fascinated by "Deadliest Catch" simply because it depicts a no-bulls*** way of making a living. You count yourself lucky if you can get away with doing back-breaking work under intensely uncomfortable conditions without having to face outright disaster. Rather different from run-of-the-mill tenure-chasing, with its ceaseless brown-nosing!

It's also been noted by the producers that the show has almost as many female fans as male. The obvious conclusion is that the traditional masculine role, combining guts, responsibility, and the prestige of the hunt, is still a turn-on for women despite years of feminist indoctrinatiion to the contrary. Score one for the evolutionary psychologists, zilch for the social-constructivists.

Chronicle Forums