Description
Book Synopsis The Homer Simpson-esque stereotype has been a persistent trope in cartoons since programming aimed directly at children and adolescents began. Young viewers are exposed to the incapable and incompetent hapless father archetype on a regular basis, causing both boys and girls to expect the bare minimum of fathers while mothers hold the responsibility for all domestic and parenting work. Cartoons rely heavily on toxic stereotypes for ratings, when in fact, healthy representations of fathers are just as successful in maintaining viewership.
Eleven essays, written by scholars from around the world, investigate the topic of fatherhood as it is represented in children''s animated television shows. Main themes that emerge include absent and negligent fathers, single fathers, generational shifts within families, and raising the standard of fathering by creating secure bonds between father and child. The authors uncover problematic fathers, imperfect yet redemptive fathers, and fa
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
Lorin Shahinian and Leslie Salas
Part I: Absent and Negligent Fathers
- Professor Von Drake as the Absent, Emotionally Unavailable Father Figure: Why Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Gets It Wrong
Sarah Ghoshal
- O Captain! Why Captain? A Study of Haddock as Father Figure in the Tintin Television Series
Debnita Chakravarti
Part II: Single Fathers
- My Little Other: Fatherhood Is Symbiotic
Samuel Oatley
- The Most Fatherly Duck in the World: Scrooge McDuck as Symbolic Father in Disney's DuckTales Reboot
CJ Yow
Part III: Generational Shifts
- Fairly Not-Parents: Attachment and the Perpetual Child in The Fairly OddParents
James M. Curtis
- "Not so bad a dad after all": Phineas & Ferb's Supervillain and Super
Vanessa Osborne
- Defeating the Father Lord: Iroh and Ozai as Paternal Duality in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Colleen Etman
Part IV: Raising the Standard
- The Normal and the Natural: Nigel Thornberry as Father Figure
Dibyajyoti Lahiri
- Silence Underscores Responsible Fatherhood in Ulysses
Juan Urdániz Escolano
- Batman: The Journey from Hero to Father Figure
Hollie Fitzmaurice
- From Flipping Burgers to Flipping Fatherhood: Bob Belcher
Lorin Shahinian
- Conclusion
Lorin Shahinian and Leslie Salas
- About the Contributors
- Index
