"O Father, Where art Thou?"

So, Fathers Day is tomorrow in the good ol' US of A and it got me thinking. What exactly does our western society think of fathers? In the past (read: 1950s or earlier), the father was traditionally the wage earner, the man who "brought home the bacon" so to speak. But, that's changed a bit in recent times. As the single mom is much more common in these days, women in general have to be the wage earner, the caretaker and all of that good stuff for their families. By comparison the ex-husbands tend not to be the caretakers of the kids and sorta fade into the sunset until taking the kids on the weekends. So, in a sense the kids wind up just knowing their mom and that guy who happens to be their father. As my parents are not divorced, I cannot speak for kids of divorce, but only what I've personally experienced in dealing with my friends who do have divorced parents.

Even so, also in families where just the father works, or even with both parents working, the children seem closer tied to their mother than to their father (a slight majority of the time) even when the parents are working the same hours and see their kids about the same. Why is this? Why would kids be tied closer to their mothers than to their fathers given the same exposure?

So, I got to thinking: what exactly does our society teach us about fathers? To figure this out, I decided to analyze various stories/movies that I had watched in some capacity and guess most American Midwestern young adults have seen at some point in their childhood and look for the parental influence: (WARNING: SPOILERS POSSIBLE, but unlikely)

First up, the mainstay of most young children's media: Disney Movies.

The Beauty and the Beast- The Beast didn't seem to have any parents- even the servant were more so advisers than parents. Belle, on the other hand had Maurice. Maurice was a cool guy, though often portrayed as dopey, foolish and just out of touch. He cared for his daughter, but just seemed clueless and ineffectual. Ouch for parenting there.

Aladdin- Again, nonexistent for Aladdin (unless you count the Prince of Thieve story, which included his absentee father) while Jasmine has the dopey dad. Weird.

The Lion King- Mufasa seemed like a really cool dad and nice guy, guiding Simba along the path. AND voiced by James Earl Jones. Win. But he dies (in quite possibly one of the most heart wrenching sequences of my youth) and isn't heard from for a good part of the movie. What's the message we are supposed to get from this? Dads are cool but you need to get used to them not being there from a young age? Though, Mufasa does reappear later on to give Simba a much needed kick in the bum to "man"...err..."lion" up to the job and kick Scar out. I'm mixed on my opinion of this- sure Mufasa seemed like a good dad, but the story kills him off quite early. Why is this? (other than The Lion King ripping off Hamlet)

The Little Mermaid- Ho boy. Rebellious teenage daughter + overprotective father. Well, we all know how this story goes. I do have to give Triton props for actually being a father figure in a mostly female driven movie (don't get me started on that mimbo Eric) but his parenting skill can be called into question when his daughter runs away, though he does pull the noble dad sacrifice by making his own bargain with Ursula to let Ariel go. Though this plays right into Ursula's hand and this along with her running makes him seem ineffectual. This same sort of father/daughter relationship reappears in Pocahontas sans magic and merefolk.

Ouch. So Disney movies of the 90s weren't so kind to dads (if the dads are actually present in said movie). TV shows were kinder by far:

Fresh Prince of Bel Air- Uncle Phil was often the butt of a number of jokes, usually weight related. However he is always the person (or Geoffry) that Will or Carlton or whomever turns to when they screw up, although he is quite often mocked.

Smart Guy- Floyd Henderson really had his work cut out for him. Head of his own business, widower and had three kids in high school. Well, four if you count Mo. Still, in spite of being in a couple of the goofier plot lines, he still is the go-to person whenever TJ or one of his other kids had a problem.

Even Stevens- The father, Steve, isn't really that present as much as the other characters. Not so much in the foreground as Uncle Phil, but just kind of there.

Lizzie McGuire- The dad was present though, more often then not, part of a goofier plot line with the younger brother, Matt. The mother was the one who often was the advice giver, though it's possible that my memory is betraying me.

That 70s Show- I don't care who you are- Red Foreman is the reason to watch this show. He's a bit of a hardnose (and that's putting it kindly), but it's apparent that he cares for Eric and Kitty and perhaps a bit much for Laurie (total twit, that one).

The Simpsons- I'm divided on this. Homer is hardly an ideal dad- he's about as bright as a 30 Watt bulb, he's lazy and drinks often in excess. However, he's nearly always had a job, always attempts to spend time with his kids and has a cool father/son dynamic that is rarely seen in TV or otherwise(when they aren't strangling each other- though that is part of *any* father/son relationship). While his brain is not really always engaged, his heart is always in the right place.

South Park- Most of the parents are clueless, the fathers especially, but that, I suppose is part of the satire. Gerald is not too bad most of the time though.

Boy Meets World- While Cory's parents were always supportive and fantastic, there was always one person that the cast would turn to with problems in their personal lives. That's right: George Feeny. Quite frankly he is the wise old man that is omnipresent in literature of all forms. He'll scold and cajole, sure, but he always gives the advice that the protagonists need to hear. Come to think of it, Matthews brothers had three solid parent figures on the show and arguably one of the most stable family environments ever seen on TV.

Interestingly enough, the stable family environment seen in Boy Meets World isn't really seen in the comic book hero universe that a number of people in my generation have gotten into. Bruce Wayne had both of his parents murdered in front of him as a child (though Alfred stands in as father figure). Peter Parker loses his parents, gains father figure, Uncle Ben, and loses him early on in his life. At least the X-men have Prof. Xavier to look up to or the future would fairly bleak for young superheroes.

Though the fathers, aside from those listed above which are mostly from the 90s-ish, do seem to be pretty much absent from pop culture or ineffectual. So, where have all the fathers gone? And what's going to happen to the late 80s/90s generation of kids not necessarily having one to look up to?

That I cannot answer, but I guess I just want to give a shout out to my own dad, my grandfather and my uncles for being the father figure(s) in my life that isn't necessarily present in popular culture. Thank you.

-Reven