Description
Book SynopsisA brisk, humorous collection of essays that redefines the mythos of fatherhood depicted in film, television, and video games.What do dads tell us about the world? Not your real dad, but dads in general. Dads are everywhere. Lurking in our movies, television shows, and video games. Spouting homespun wisdom and atrocious jokes, wallowing in might-have-beens and back-in-my-days, or rigidly defending the status quo. These fictional dads fuel a myth of fatherhood. What is that myth trying to tell us? And what is it trying to sell us?
Dad Bod is a clever, riveting collection of essays about father figures in popular culture. From Gandalf to Homer Simpson,
Die Hard to
The Mandalorian, these essays unpack the tropes that inform our collective image of fatherhood. Follow Cian Cruise, newly minted dad, as he riffs on the stereotypes and lore of fatherhood, traces a contemporary art history of dads in popular culture, and journeys to the heart of da
Trade ReviewFunny, perceptive, and thoughtful, Cian Cruise’s
Dad Bod is constantly curious about the pop culture artifacts it interrogates. Plus, he extracts parenting advice from
First Blood, which no book has ever done before. * Naben Ruthnum, author of A Hero of Our Time *
Cian Cruise is a great writer and a great father, and a never–ending source of interesting insights.
Dad Bod takes those qualities and mashes them up with the dads you know from popular culture, to figure out what it means to be a father. * Misha Glouberman, co-author of The Chairs Are Where The People Go *
Cian Cruise’s irreverent exploration of fatherhood in pop-culture shrouds a cosmic reverence for the teaching it contains, whether that’s in video games, television, or movies. The religious attention that the essays of
Dad Bod bring to beloved media properties provide new insight not only to their subjects but also to human life and all of its deepest mysteries. * André Babyn *
I rarely think about the challenges of fatherhood…this book offered me a brand new perspective I have never considered. * I’ve Read This blog *
Dad Bod explores pop culture papas with irrepressible verve...It shines as a cultural criticism, a memoir, and a parenting guide. * Foreword Reviews, starred review *
Table of ContentsContentsPrologue
Part One: Foundations
- By Way of Introduction
- 404 Dad Not Found
- Foreword, Afterword, Side-to-Sideword
Part Two: The Good, the Dad, and the Ugly
- The Absent Heart of Robin Williams
- Rambo’s Big Tantrum
- The Sitcom Dad
- The Distant Driven Dad
- Major Dad
- A Litany of Bad Dads
Part Three: Tales of Adventure
- ’Ware the Wanderer
- Enter Pappas
- The Wanderers Return
Interlude: Gandalf vs. Obi-Wan
Part Four: Children’s Television
Part Five: The End
- Die, Die-Hard, or the Die Hard Dilemma
- Down for the Count
- A Dad Becoming
