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[Disclaimer - this essay is rather rough and unedited/proofed due to time constraints.]
Rough estimate - how many stories, live journal posts, movies, and tv shows have you seen or read discussing bad parents or parential issues? Perhaps would be easier to count how many you've seen or read or heard that did not discuss bad parents or parential issues? Specifically - two - sick mothers and disapproving fathers.
At a recent family gathering, we started discussing our mothers and fathers. Two generations were present, and we were all together to mourn the passing of our grandmother. It wasn't quite a whinefest, but it was interesting - because our parents told us how disappointed they'd been in their parents, and how they worked to do the exact opposite, while we in turn informed them, how we were disappointed in how they brought us up, and were damned if we would not do the exact opposite. Having no children of my own, and actually relatively few issues regarding my own upbringing, I found the discussion ironically amusing.
Then about two days ago, I rewatched the Season 3 Buffy Episode Helpless - while watching it, I began to see parrallels to the Season 7 episode Lies My Parents Told Me, which served to enrich both episodes and expose new layers to the narrative - that I had not noticed before. If you are a Buffy fan, you know that Lies My Parents Told Me is a relatively controversial button-pushing episode that has, shall we say, been discussed to death. If you aren't, you are no doubt bored and have wandered elsewhere.
( Spoilers for Lies My Parents Told Me and Helpless )
Rough estimate - how many stories, live journal posts, movies, and tv shows have you seen or read discussing bad parents or parential issues? Perhaps would be easier to count how many you've seen or read or heard that did not discuss bad parents or parential issues? Specifically - two - sick mothers and disapproving fathers.
At a recent family gathering, we started discussing our mothers and fathers. Two generations were present, and we were all together to mourn the passing of our grandmother. It wasn't quite a whinefest, but it was interesting - because our parents told us how disappointed they'd been in their parents, and how they worked to do the exact opposite, while we in turn informed them, how we were disappointed in how they brought us up, and were damned if we would not do the exact opposite. Having no children of my own, and actually relatively few issues regarding my own upbringing, I found the discussion ironically amusing.
Then about two days ago, I rewatched the Season 3 Buffy Episode Helpless - while watching it, I began to see parrallels to the Season 7 episode Lies My Parents Told Me, which served to enrich both episodes and expose new layers to the narrative - that I had not noticed before. If you are a Buffy fan, you know that Lies My Parents Told Me is a relatively controversial button-pushing episode that has, shall we say, been discussed to death. If you aren't, you are no doubt bored and have wandered elsewhere.
( Spoilers for Lies My Parents Told Me and Helpless )