In one corner of the cathode ring stands Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), a soccer coach who gives his boss cupcakes and encourages his brave players to be kind. On the other side of the ring are the Dutton family, protagonists of Yellowstone (SkyShowtime), a ranch the size of Ávila, where the greatest “honor” is having your pecs branded with a hot iron. The bell rings and without meaning to, they feed one of the greatest achievements of feminism: the critical examination of masculinity.
“Ted Lasso [Jason Sudeikis] “He is an understanding, loving trainer who (apparently) does not hide his feelings, a masculinity that would never ask one of his employees for a ‘piquito’,” says Cristóbal Garrido, screenwriter of Fariña and Better Days, “during Yellowstone the is fantasy heteroza par excellence. A place where men move freely, those who have not yet checked themselves or thought about it. It’s like trading velociraptors for old dicks in Jurassic Park. Ok, they’re dangerous too, but it’s fun.”
From left: Nick Mohammed, Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt in “Ted Lasso.”AP
And for example, a moment from each: In Yellowstone, the characters don’t ask questions, they strike, it doesn’t matter if the viewer sees some nurses trying to control grandson Dutton’s anxiety attack, the father comes in and does it not When asked what’s going on, he addresses the suffering health workers directly. Meanwhile, Ted Lasso gets his players to sing and dance to a song from the syrupy musical The Sound of Music.
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“Assuming that Ted Lasso does not have a naturalistic bent, he exposes his male characters to new masculinities and plays more or less with topics that are in social debate. In “Ted Lasso,” the male characters are often faced with the need to examine their patriarchal backpacks, and this is done for the sake of humor,” says Carmen Llano, screenwriter of series such as “The Promise” and “Acacias 38.” “You might wonder if Yellowstone is really that.” more believable or self-referential, that’s how the characters behave because they’ve always behaved that way. When you have to witness moments of violence in real life, they are much funnier, more ridiculous and more unpredictable than those of the big men on television.”
The danger of clichés
In both series, testosterone flows and coexists with the female characters in different ways, although in both productions they have their place in the family/professional environment but are focused in very different ways: in Lasso, who wields power from femininity; in Yellowstone, about the masculinization of women, which always reminds us of a Russian matryoshka, from one reflection to the next and the danger of cliché lurks tirelessly. Does femininity have anything to do with being elegant, being well dressed and standing in dizzying heels? Who wields power? Not necessarily. Is a woman who knows how to defend herself physically male? Neither. Screenwriter Carmen Llano says: “If we’re being picky, maybe we can talk about how irritating it can sometimes seem that all we can think of to ’empower female characters’ is to give them a position.” But it’s part of it Evolution in the construction of female characters that we invent over time because we hardly have any references. A few years ago, the path to inclusion was to replace male characters with women and make them act like tough men.” And as Cristóbal Garrido confirms: “The Yellowstone ones are real studs. Still, Beth Dutton’s character is fascinating. Maybe because their actress (Kelly Reilly) is incredible. On the other hand, it’s strange that the only dramatic flaw is that she can’t be a mother. As if motherhood was the only narrative difference that could be explored in female characters.”
And in both Yellowstone and Ted Lasso, the world of work takes a back seat as groups of people spend hours and days together. “The world of work is no longer just for men, but only for men and women,” says Alberto Vázquez Balañá, Scrum Master (coach and facilitator of high-performance teams). “Therefore, respect for others marks a milestone in relationships.” “Personally in the world of work.” But there are still many Rubiales who find it difficult to understand what harassment is, there is still a lot to be done.” For Alberto Vázquez : “When a group lives and sleeps together, they end up thinking the same thing, or the one who doesn’t leave the team, and you know how they go from Yellowstone.” (Small spoiler alert: they end up like carrion at the bottom of a ravine ). “I prefer teams where we learn from mistakes and experiment to see if we work better in other ways, and that is more valued in the Ted Lasso world.”
Kevin Costner, in a picture from “Yellowstone.” Paramount Network
And after years of filmmakers exploring the dark side of their protagonists, including superheroes, a coincidence between Ted Lasso and Yellowstone is the exploration of the figure of the good guy, albeit with nuances, as Cristóbal Garrido explains. “The problem in Yellowstone’s case is that they don’t ask anything. You don’t even smell feminism. In any case, that’s where the whitewashing comes from in this series, but also with the tightening of family values (even though they’re crazy) or ecology (even though they blow up a river just to avoid losing their land).” For Carmen Llano it’s ” complex to build a character who has his truth and is interesting, whether good, bad or average.” The difficulty lies not in morality, but in constructing a consistent morality.”
And with it the karma of these series: Ted Lasso said goodbye amidst praise and awards; However, the continuity of “Yellowstone”, despite its great popular success and the fact that it is a milestone in the career of its protagonist, is questionable due to the disagreements between Kevin Costner and the screenwriter and production company. Not everything is Barbie when it comes to masculinity in audiovisual fiction, and in this battle between two series, perhaps what’s interesting isn’t who wins, but what would happen if good ol’ Ted came to Yellowstone in a surprising twist in the script : Cowboys vocals by Julie Andrews? Here we leave the idea.
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