Why isnāt that man wearing a shirt?
Adam from Girls and Martin from Friday Night DinnerĀ - they have one thing in common.Ā
Shirtlessness, itās everywhere! Well, more specifically itās a character point in both Girls and Friday Night Dinner, and despite the fact that these shows were made on two different continents in two different cultures, shirtlessness is used in a very similar way.Ā
Letās have a brief look at the two characters weāre comparing. Adam Sackler is a rude, gross caricature of the bad boyfriends girls have in their early 20s (and even though I canāt say I particularly enjoy the show, I do think my BFF Adam Driver makes this character surprisingly watchable.) Adam Sackler treats Hannahās heartĀ ālike monkey meatā, heās inconsiderate, tactless and if you knew somebody who was dating him youād sayĀ ābreak up with him immediately.āĀ
Martin Goodman is the quintessential dad character: eccentric is probably the gentlest word to use to describe a character who collects staplers, washes his privates in the bathroom sink, and eats sprigs of parsley just because he āfancied some.ā Martin is a very well observed portrait of a dad, and one of the things which drew me into Friday Night Dinner is that I instantly recognised Martin as a dad. Of course heās got a shed full of old magazines. Of course heās always the wrong temperature. Of course heās barely ever wearing a shirt. The late Paul Ritter gave a performance as Martin that was the heart of the show, and there are lines of his which, even remembered out of context, make me laugh every time,Ā āIām going to go downstairs and stare at my handsā being a particular favorite.Ā
So the characters are different, yes, but they are both male archetypes: bad boyfriend and cringeworthy dad. What these archetypes share is a lack of social awareness, or interest in social convention, that is often associated with male characters. Remember in Mean Girls where Cady notes that in girl world, all the fighting has to be sneaky - that is an observation about men and women: female aggression is stereotypically considered to be carried out as part of a complex social hierarchy, while masculine aggression is presented as simpler and resolved through physical violence or other confrontation. Martin and Adam both show a disregard for other people, Martin not caring for his sonsā embarrassment, and Adam not caring for Hannahās feelings, through one simple costume choice: shirtlessness.Ā Ā
The shirt signifies something. In Friday Night Dinner, Martin often only puts a shirt on when he is told to by Jackie, his wife. Itās a sign of deference to her that he puts on a shirt, respect for a social custom and respect for his wife. Martinās shirt usually ends up removed because heās either concentrating on a different activity, frustrated orĀ ābloody boilingā. He doesnāt think about the shirt as a necessity, more of a hinderance. The shirt is only ever donned for the benefit of others.Ā
Adam Sackler does not wear a shirt when Hannah is around, because he has no respect for her. The impression given by his character is that he is only grudgingly bothering to wear trousers or underwear. Adam is self-centered, and doesnāt think at all about the impact his actions have on others. So no shirt.Ā
Interestingly, Martinās shirtlessness is born more out of hapless obliviousness than selfishness, the thought that his sonās new girlfriend might not want to see his naked chest hasnāt occurred to him. When Jackie makes him aware that he should wear a shirt, he puts one on. Adamās character is presented differently, as if the putting on of a shirt would only take place if it were absolutely necessary for his comfort. To take another example of shirtless Adam Driver to contrast, Kylo Ren appears shirtless in The Last Jedi, and when Rey requests that heĀ āput something onā, he ignores her, because he is laser focused on continuing the conversation the two have been having via their force bond. Shirtlessness here indicates both vulnerability and the same disinterest in social niceties displayed by Adam and Martin.Ā
Sure, this is a very deep dive into what the wearing of one garment means in two different contexts, but it is a testament to how costume, or lack thereof, can add volumes to character and story.Ā