The Clark character is not poor but nowhere near as wealthy or well off as some speculate which is odd so many are talking about it so much but we live in a time of a pretty bad economy/terrible job market for the last 7 or so years and people are obsessed with class warfare which is pushed by politicians.
Clark is middle class to maybe slightly upper middle. He has a white collar job and went to college but he does not seem to be in any kind of management position or anything special, people who are highly educated with higher end jobs don't act like Clark, Clark is not particularly smart either as referenced in so many scenes throughout the series. They don't live in a very fancy or big house either, houses like that in the mid west suburbs can be had for not too much money/a middle class salary especially if you bought it in the 70's and held on to it, if you look in the interior shots they don't have large rooms, upscale interiors, or are furnished with anything upscale or not found in regular middle income households, they don't have big screen tv's, high end home theater, high end kitchen/appliances, have just a modest goldfish aquarium, furniture not very fancy, etc. They did not drive fancy cars, they had a clunker station wagon they traded in, in the first movie and a older Volvo sedan in the garage, in Christmas vacation they have a Taurus station wagon, nothing expensive.
To think the Clark character is well off or pulling in some good money does not really match the stories of the series, they have money issues in every movie, Clary can only give/lend Eddy $500 and is in shock when Eddie needs 52K, Clark balks at the $80 for the 3 tents, they stay at modest hotels on the way, kids don't have expensive toys/clothes, they don't have a lot of money to spare for the trip and struggle when they lose the credit cards, in "Euro Vacation" they go on a game show to hopefully win money/prizes, Clark is shocked and really angry by the expensive telephone bill, "Christmas Vacation" Clark admits he was short with people because of the bonus he is waiting for, they are not wealthy enough to put in a pool just on their own and need the bonus for it, don't have $7500 in bank account to cover the check he wrote, gifts are nothing special, rooms are not very big, etc.
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Sitcom_Sally
8 years ago
I'm amused at your assessment of their belongings. In the 80s most people preferred their homes to look older, not new or "modern." People with a lot of money often don't purchase new cars regularly and are likely to drive something like an older Volvo. No one had large screen TVs. All of those things you've implied show how much money someone would have were considered tacky by educated people with money. Most of my parents' friends waited a long time to get things like answering machines and later cell phones. They thought it was rude to use them. You can't view socio-economics (particularly the social part) of the 80s through conventions of today.
"There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on." - Rod Serling
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06986
8 years ago
People who make good money/have good paying jobs tend to own nicer, newer, things and don't have money issue's like shown in the Vacation movies nor do they act like Clark. The directors and writers believe it or not put a lot of thought and effort into who the characters are and their situation in life and they have never indicated in the movies that the Grizzwold's are well off, have a lot of money in the bank, to spare, Clark makes a lot of money, etc it has always been middle class to slightly upper middle class. I don't know why people assume that.
The whole reason this thread started was mainly because people think the Grizzwold house is some huge very expensive fancy house which for the mid west suburbs it would not be that special or expensive or the whole bonus situation and debate how much it was and how much he makes so tying in what they own, buy, and do makes sense for this argument. I know some well off people who don't buy a lot of material things or live in big houses so some of what you say is true but they don't act anything like the Grizzwolds and don't own tacky things(Wallyworld mugs) or have their house sort of messy with older furniture, furnishings, etc so what you make/have can be seen somewhere in many cases especially personality. The "Vacation" kids don't act like they are well off either, no private school, fancy clothes, etc.
I lived in the midwest and we had a new two story house with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, full basement, double bay windows, hot tub, nice suburban neighborhood, we put in a small pond, basketball hoop, nice landscaping and we were not close to being well off, we were middle class living in the suburbs and the house did not break the bank especially in the late 80's, that same house in many east coast cities/suburbs close to the city would cost much more but not in the midwest or southern states where decent housing is still relatively affordable. I know many people in the South with really nice houses but they actually don't make much money, they don't drive fancy cars, or have anything nice, they just spend a big chunk of their middle class salary on their home with not much else to spare.
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Sitcom_Sally
8 years ago
Actually, he seems to me like someone with old money or at least comfortable with his socio-economic status (other than being a little short on cash), unlike the Yuppie neighbors. New money flaunts money, but old money doesn't. And they definitely balk at the price of things they can (not a typo) afford. Some of the cheapest people I know are the richest I know, and they behave eccentrically and own whacky crap and old stuff. And many people who have money do not care about getting new cars all the time. Owning a new car is usually no absolute indication of real wealth; it only likely confirms the person has good credit.
It seems that John Hughes based his films on the North Shore area. That's very expensive. And his high school and others in the area like New Trier (Winnetka) are some of the best in the country. They're better than many private schools. So, I don't think the fact that the children don't go to private school means anything in the context of his movies. My husband grew up in an area similar to the North Shore and said that the only people there who went to private school were devout Catholics and people who got kicked out of the public school. The poverty rate for where he lived is just under that of Northbrook, on which Hughes based Shermer. Once you have almost no poverty in an area there's no need for private school, and, yes, I get the irony of that statement. The household income and per capita income in that area is much higher than the national average.
So, if you're basing it on the type of area in which Hughes based his films I think we can assume Clark was educated and was at least upper middle class. I just don't see him as a new money type who cares about having a lot of new things. And in the 80s there was a trend toward country kitchens like they have with plaid wallpaper or curtains and rustic cabinets. My mother spent a lot to have our kitchen cabinets redone that way and we had gold checked wallpaper. Today it would probably look to someone who didn't know about that trend like we just had an old, unremodeled kitchen, but that was the style then. (Actually, most people with old money didn't give a crap about their kitchens back then.) Kind of like rough hewn furniture today or expensive jeans that look old. That's why I don't think this film can be judged by the standards of other decades.
As far as how Clark acts, it is a comedy. But I do know some really whacky old money people. They just don't care about impressing anyone. You know it used to be considered really tacky to own a large screen TV? And MacMansions were considered gauche? Hence, why many people with money didn't own large screen TVs because where would they put them in their traditional homes? Again, a different time.
Honestly, if having bay windows and a basketball goal is something to indicate incremental increases in wealth then I can see why it might seem odd that someone can have money, but be thrifty. Yes, when discussing a show like Roseanne then bay widows or a foyer means something. But when discussing an area similar to the North Shore that's pretty irrelevant. That's little increases in money like getting a new car, especially if you make payments on it. That's not a real indication of wealth.) At a certain point when people make more money they don't increase their disposable income because they're putting more money into paying things off and life insurance (that would make up for loss of a higher salary) and retirement. You don't see those things, but they definitely put a person into a different level of comfort in life, even if they don't have more things. They just end up with more responsibilities. I'm not saying we are supposed to figure out how much Clark puts into retirement or pays for insurance, but I think we are to assume he's the type to do those things and his lifestyle reflects that mindset.
Also, it's only part of the South that aftordable. It depends on where you live.
Edit to add: I have not seen the other Vacation movies. In fact, friends and I walked out of the first one when it came out. However, based on this one I see Clark as kind of preppy, which I didn't say before. Apparently, this person feels the same way and had devoted a page to Clark's Midwestern preppiness: www.greatlakesprep.com/style-inspiration-clark-griswold/
"There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on." - Rod Serling
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