BrandonS
04-23-2003, 08:13 AM
Things seemed to have slowed down a bit on this board since I joined, so I'll offer this theory, in the hopes of sparking some new interest.
I have a friend who is a big fan of LITB, but has a slightly different interpretation of the show than I do. He thinks the mystery and contradictory hints surrounding Ward's profession indicate that the writers were trying to tell us that Ward was in the CIA or else in organized crime. I've told him that it's just the writers' way of telling us that the Cleavers are a prototypical American family, and that that's why they tried not to get too specific with the location of Mayfield or Ward's professions, but he says that all of these contradictory hints about Ward being an engineer, an accountant, in advertising, etc., show that Ward's job was just a front for something more sinister. He says that he thinks he remembers seeing an episode in which Ward kisses Fred Rutherford's hand and calls him "Godfather," but I have no recollection of seeing it. Also, he says that the reason Eddie Haskell always puts on such an extreme showing of false politeness for Ward and June is not that he's habitually insincere, but rather that he knows that Wally's father is a captain of organized crime and is actually petrified not to be polite. He also points to the way Mrs. Mondello always asks Ward for help and advice and likens it to the way people in the community would ask Marlon Brando for help in the "Godfather" movies. What do you think?
I have a friend who is a big fan of LITB, but has a slightly different interpretation of the show than I do. He thinks the mystery and contradictory hints surrounding Ward's profession indicate that the writers were trying to tell us that Ward was in the CIA or else in organized crime. I've told him that it's just the writers' way of telling us that the Cleavers are a prototypical American family, and that that's why they tried not to get too specific with the location of Mayfield or Ward's professions, but he says that all of these contradictory hints about Ward being an engineer, an accountant, in advertising, etc., show that Ward's job was just a front for something more sinister. He says that he thinks he remembers seeing an episode in which Ward kisses Fred Rutherford's hand and calls him "Godfather," but I have no recollection of seeing it. Also, he says that the reason Eddie Haskell always puts on such an extreme showing of false politeness for Ward and June is not that he's habitually insincere, but rather that he knows that Wally's father is a captain of organized crime and is actually petrified not to be polite. He also points to the way Mrs. Mondello always asks Ward for help and advice and likens it to the way people in the community would ask Marlon Brando for help in the "Godfather" movies. What do you think?