Dad's In Media - DIM? - digg this
RC at Strange Culture is all about getting the blogging community together for group write ups. This time around he wants to look at dads in the media.
My overall impression of dads in most movies and TV these days is that of the dimwitted bumbler. I'll grant you that that's not true of every TV show or movie, but the trend is there and nothing really very new. Homer and Peter jump out at me as being the biggest/most obvious exampled of that phenomenon. Perhaps that's not fair though considering those characters are supposed to be over the top idiots and not representational of fathers as a whole.
So I think to myself, if I were looking at TV and movies of the last five years, who would I want to be sending a Father's Day card to this weekend?
Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch) of Numb3rs - This no nonsense dad loves and understands his sons. He's smart, well rounded, and knows when to stick his nose in and generally when to stay out.
Joe Dubois (Jake Weber) of Medium - A dad that's this smart and loving on TV? In this day and age that's something to be applauded. He doesn't always love his family well. He is flawed. That's especially true in the most recent season where he has lost his job and reputation is threadbare. He remains true though and tries hard to be a good man.
Travis Gornicke (Jeff Daniels) of RV - The Gornicke clan are the highlight of this movie and they are incredibly down to earth and love each other well. Travis would be a most excellent dad.
Ben Parker (Cliff Robertson) of Spider-Man - Granted Ben is Peter's Uncle but is at the same time a great surrogate father. It's not a role that he's entirely comfortable with. Being a father to a teen when you're retirement age is hard, but he loves Peter and wants to do right by him.
Chris Gardner (Will Smith) of The Pursuit of Happyness - The crushing poverty and defeats that Gardner suffers could have and maybe should have been enough for him to give up. Instead his desire to make a life for him and his son pushes him on. He's far from perfect, but again that love shines through.
I don't ask that fathers in media be perfect. These men all have flaws and that's as it should be. As a father myself though, I need to be able to display the wisdom, love, and ability to sacrifice that these men do. In a sea of mediocrity and ludicrousness, these on screen dads shine.
How about you? Who's your Daddy?
Total Number of Comments: 5
Right on about Uncle Ben.
Without him there wouldn't even be any Spider-Man.
Now that you mention Homer, there's always I've something admired about him; despite constantly being put like an idiot, at the end of the day he's a wonderful father and husband.
Right on about Uncle Ben.
Without him there wouldn't even be any Spider-Man.
Now that you mention Homer, there's always I've something admired about him; despite constantly being put like an idiot, at the end of the day he's a wonderful father and husband.
as seen in "...And Maggie Makes Three"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Maggie_Makes_Three
Henry Jones Sr: "Let it go, Indiana." And he downs a german fighter plane with an umbrella and some well-placed seagulls. What a guy!
Jor-El (Brando): Pretty much the greatest father/son relationship since God and Jesus...heywaitaminute! I love the idea in the film that Jor-El gives Superman all his knowledge and even in death is still available to him (even if it's some crazy Gro-Crystals).
"You will travel far, my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you... even in the face of our deaths... the richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that I've learned, everything I feel... all this, and more... I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your own eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father the son. This is all I can send you, Kal-El."
Happy Father's Day. You're in the New Media, so you count, too.
To a great Dad!
Thanks for the additions guys!
And thank you Bear. Back at ya.