Time's ten greatest dads in film: can we do better?

Horrorbuff2 · 2013-11-24T13:33:11+00:00

I immediatly thought of Jim's Dad and was so happy to see him listed. Even though American Pie is obviously incomparable to a film like To Kill A Mockingbird or The Godfather, the relationship between Jim and Jim's Dad was truly the epitome of a great Father/Son relationship. Sure, he was awkward, but like all great Fathers, he was patient, accepting and non-judgemental, and clearly loved his son with all his heart. He wanted his son to grow up to be his own man, and with growing up, comes awkward incidents, and his Father was always there to back him up no matter what and give him some words of wisdom in the process.

SRSLovesGawker · 2013-11-24T15:00:40+00:00

I'm surprised they couldn't find space for the Dad who crossed hundreds of miles and faced one peril after another to rescue his kidnapped son. Can you guess who I'm talking about?

JasonWaterfall · 2013-11-25T00:19:52+00:00

Haven't seen the movie, but if it's anything like the book, The Road is a great one

shitezlozen · 2013-11-24T12:34:02+00:00

I want to watch 'To Kill A Mockingbird' now :)

2013-11-24T22:10:44+00:00

I struggle to come up with many examples of movie fathers or movie mothers, especially where much emphasis was given to the parenthood themes. Actually, the family TV series, where you can get an accumulation of the parents' responses to the minor dramas in their children's lives, is probably a better format for depicting parenthood.

Some interesting examples of movie fathers:

Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. The social fiction that he's the patriarch is honored more in the breach than in the observance. In practice, his wife and children do what they were going to do anyway, and he looks on in perplexity and pays the bills. He loves his wife and children, even though he rarely emotes it outwardly. One of the reasons for the popularity of Spencer Tracy is that a lot of the audience see their own father in him.

Van Heflin in Shane and 3:10 to Yuma. A father who's a hard-working and dutiful provider for his family finds himself in a situation where his ability to provide is threatened by aggression and violence. He feels self-doubt and humiliation because he feels a duty as a man and a father to stand up to the aggression, but he lacks the mindset and skills.

EmperorFishFinger · 2013-11-24T21:17:20+00:00

OP, what exactly do you mean by "can we do better"?

2013-11-24T21:54:48+00:00

Not film, but I think Sam Vines from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld books is a pretty awesome dad.

And I've always loved Saetan from Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy.

Title	Time's ten greatest dads in film: can we do better?
Author	notnotnotfred
Upvotes	18
Comments	20
Date	November 24, 2013 11:41 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1rcf4p/times_ten_greatest_dads_in_film_can_we_do_better/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/times-ten-greatest-dads-in-film-can-we-do-better.1157941 https://theredarchive.com/post/1157941

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