Until I get a Six Feet Under icon, this one will have to do for now.

[amelialourdes]

For starters today, birthday question. Is it lennongirl's birthday? Ani, if it's your birthday today or tomorrow or yesterday, happy birthday! I'm sure that you're doing something awesome over there at home. Hee.

Now in relation to Six Feet Under, as you know or don't know, I had a Six Feet Under marathon recently. I watched the series over a week and will probably be rewatching the episodes in the next few weeks to be able to digest more of it. It really is so poignant and so incredibly well-written and it probably has the best series finale that I've seen, ever. No weird fade to blacks, no last happy scene without knowing about what happened to them in the future. Charmed came close to this but of course not as powerful or insightful.

That said, there are a lot of issues brought up throughout the series but one in particular stood out to me. Lost recaps constantly observe that any time anyone on that show has an issue, it's usually a "Daddy Issue". Six Feet Under wasn't an exception. There was Keith's feelings toward his father. Nathaniel Sr. popped up throughout the entire series and the children analyzed their relationship with him. In Queer as Folk, Brian's father beat him and Michael never knew his father and Justin's dad disowned him.

Why do you think that television shows explore the father dynamic more than the mother dynamic? Is it more powerful to explore the more masculine dynamic? Is it just because fathers do often abandon their children or cause some kind of traumatic experience in childhood that continues to affect that child as an adult?

I'm always thinking about the parental dynamic in Disney movies because the fathers are almost always around and they kill the mothers. In movies that aren't animated, the girl raised by her father (without any siblings or female siblings) always appears as a tomboy because she hasn't had that female exposure. Disney female characters (princesses) seen so in touch with their femininity.

So, why is the paternal dynamic more prevalent in television?

Comments

[buzziecat.livejournal.com]

I loved Six Feet Under. It was incredibly well written and well acted, from actors in brief appearances to the main characters. The entire last episode was excellent but the last 6 minutes were especially moving. They left me sobbing and still do when I watch it again.
I don't think the show particularly showed 'daddy incidents.' There were tensions between the mother and Claire, Nate, and David throughout the series. David had problems accepting himself so perhaps this, to him, related more to his father.
In any case, I hope you enjoy your 2nd time around watching the show.

[lennongirl.livejournal.com]

It was 11 June, so you were still on time when posting this ;)

Thank you so much, darling ♥

[friday82.livejournal.com]

I don't think I have a smart answer to this question, but I'd agree with your observation. Personally, I don't mind, since I happen to find the father dynamic a lot more interesting. An aspect I love about one of my favorite authors is the recurrent theme of the absence of a father in his novels. I have no idea why I feel that way. Or why a lot of authors seem to feel that way. Maybe it has something to do with personal experience and, as you said, the fact that fathers seem to abandon their children more often or are at least unattainable in some way. There's bound to be more tension and conflict that can be explored. Mothers are supposed to be naturally nurturing and supportive, and while there might be some issues - and if there isn't some Oedipus complex variation - the impact this has on the child seems to be much smaller. Realistically, I guess that doesn't make sense... Still, apparently the majority feels that fathers have the more significant and far-reaching inluence on their children.

[rinmonsterer.livejournal.com]

Not a psychologist here or anything, just drawing conclusions from general knowledge and personal experience, so: in my opinion relationship with the father might be determining to us because fathers often make us feel like we have to *earn* their love. Whereas mothers usually give us equal affection and support whether we did good or bad, fathers might reserve those for the time they're proud or satisfied with us. So, I think fathers might have a big impact on us because they play a big role in our self-esteem, especially in childhood.

That is not to say that rejection by mother can't be just as, or more, poignant.

It's actually a fascinating question you're asking here.

[savemeimdtba.livejournal.com]

I definitely agre... I cried more for the six feet under finale than I havr ever for any tv show or movie. It was so powerful.

[rhiannonhero.livejournal.com]

I think there are a ton of reasons why there are more father issues on tv than mother issues, and it probably has its basis in the Christian culture of our country and must of Western culture in general. The Christian God is conceptualized as a male and as the Holy Father. The Father whom we are separated from and are trying to please.

Of course, one might also say that the Bible and all of that is "entertainment" of its own kind. It's a storytelling thing that is meant to engage people emotionally, to hit home, etc, so I suppose the chicken/egg comes into play. Did the focus on daddy issues exist before the Christian religion and that is part of why it was so compelling? Or are our culture's current daddy issues because of the concept of a God who has expelled us from his paradise, and we're trying to find our way back to Him?

I also think that men have more daddy issues in general than women, because they are looking for some kind of self-identity by seeing who their father is. What does it mean to be a man? A father? A husband? A lover? All of these are questions that little boys would look to their fathers as an example, you know?

So, looking at any kind of business, the entertainment business is no different -- there are a lot more men than women. More men producers, directors, writers, and, thus, characters. The men in charge in Hollywood are going to find programming compelling if it speaks to them, and so the male father figure becomes a central theme.

I think those are are a few reasons anyway.

[mozartfan1313.livejournal.com]

I actually think that SFU was pretty balanced with the parental issues. Yes, Nathaniel Sr. popped up a lot and Keith had issues with his dad, but Brenda has severe issues with her mother (so did Billy, for that matter) and Claire and Ruth butted heads too many times to count (especially later in the series). Even Ruth carried some resentment towards her mother because she wound up being the daughter who had to take care of her when she was sick. I thought it had "disappointing" parent/child relationships from both mothers and fathers. Which is what makes SFU so great. It doesn't just focus on one relationship. No one is a bad guy or a good guy. Every single character makes mistakes. All of them are flawed. It's what makes them so fascinating to watch.

I don't have an answer to your question, though, as to why most films and shows today seem to focus on paternal issues. Maybe Hollywood is just making up for all those dead Disney moms. ;)