Why Phil is the Better Parent
Aside from the pillow-fighting, today’s new-run in For Better or For Worse does actually fall into the “camera in my house” category for me. One of my favourite things to do when my kids were younger was to make intentional, obvious mistakes in things so my kids could catch me in an error. They loved doing that. I read the same books to them over and over again to the point where they were able to “read” the books back to me, even though at the time they couldn’t read. Even the slightest variation would elicit a response, and it was good to see they were paying attention, especially when I put something silly in as a substitute. This strip hit home for me and it actually made me like the Uncle Phil character more.
As for the pillow-fighting, if you are going to do that with a 1-year-old girl like Lizzie you have to be really careful. A girl that age does not have a good sense-of-balance yet and a well-placed pillow strike can knock her to the floor. Looking at little Michael swinging away in panel 4, I doubt that he has that kind of restraint. Of course, considering how violent the Pattersons get with pillows, I doubt we will see any effect of this.
As for the redone versions of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", see this link for some more original ones than what Lynn has used. This is a pretty popular poem to change.
The best part about this strip is the shift to Elly and John in the final panel. It makes me realize that this scene of play and even this scene of reading to the kids is something you almost never see them do with their kids, nor would you see them approve of. Uncles are about fun. Parents are not. This is one of the perspectives of the strip I don’t like very much.
As for the pillow-fighting, if you are going to do that with a 1-year-old girl like Lizzie you have to be really careful. A girl that age does not have a good sense-of-balance yet and a well-placed pillow strike can knock her to the floor. Looking at little Michael swinging away in panel 4, I doubt that he has that kind of restraint. Of course, considering how violent the Pattersons get with pillows, I doubt we will see any effect of this.
As for the redone versions of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", see this link for some more original ones than what Lynn has used. This is a pretty popular poem to change.
The best part about this strip is the shift to Elly and John in the final panel. It makes me realize that this scene of play and even this scene of reading to the kids is something you almost never see them do with their kids, nor would you see them approve of. Uncles are about fun. Parents are not. This is one of the perspectives of the strip I don’t like very much.
posted by howard at 10:07 PM
13 Comments:
My dad would do this with our bedtime stories, too, and I remember that his ad libs seemed to be the funniest things I'd ever heard. Mike and Liz are developing wonderful memories about Uncle Phil: he plays with them, he reads them stories, he bounces Lizzie on his knee -- they are going to be completely bereft when he leaves or when his focus is forcibly shifted onto Connie.
It makes me realize that this scene of play and even this scene of reading to the kids is something you almost never see them do with their kids, nor would you see them approve of. Uncles are about fun. Parents are not. This is one of the perspectives of the strip I don’t like very much.
Same here; Lynn doesn't seem to realize how horrible the Pattersons look every time we see a parent act like he or she is too big a deal to sully him or herself by playing with children.
Oddly enough, I recall there were a few incongruous strips years ago where Lynn established that John -did- love to romp and play...just not with his own children. I'm recalling in particular the "Can Doctor Patterson come out and play?" snow strip.
Though, as I recall, Lynn later made a commentary that said strips were not actually about the John Patterson character, but about her own father, who she recalled as being an eternal Big Kid, one who was unable to relate to her in a meaningful way once she became a Responsible Adult.
...now I feel a bit of pity for Lynn. :(
Being "grown up" does not mean being joyless. Why is she so convinced it does?
forworse,
Mike and Liz are developing wonderful memories about Uncle Phil: he plays with them, he reads them stories, he bounces Lizzie on his knee -- they are going to be completely bereft when he leaves or when his focus is forcibly shifted onto Connie.
Possibly, but I doubt we will see that. As much as I like what Uncle Phil is doing in this strip, I also know that this behaviour is not typical of Uncle Phil in the reprints.
DreadedCandiru2,
Same here; Lynn doesn't seem to realize how horrible the Pattersons look every time we see a parent act like he or she is too big a deal to sully him or herself by playing with children.
Exactly. In the summer vacation strips by the lake Lynn reprinted, that was the remark which was made when Michael was looking around for something to do. Mike kept on running across other parents playing with their kids and then when he got to his own parents, the joke was that Michael was supposed to find something to do on his own, and couldn’t do it.
Anonymous,
I'm recalling in particular the "Can Doctor Patterson come out and play?" snow strip.
I couldn’t find the “Can Can Doctor Patterson come out and play?" snow strip, but looking for the keyword “play” I did find this strip and this strip and this strip and this strip and this strip featuring John at play. Oddly enough, no strips of Elly at play showed up.
Though, as I recall, Lynn later made a commentary that said strips were not actually about the John Patterson character, but about her own father, who she recalled as being an eternal Big Kid, one who was unable to relate to her in a meaningful way once she became a Responsible Adult.
This could be the whole reason for her attitude, if she feels that her dad’s way of doing things was wrong and she wants to be the opposite.
This sort of reminds me of my brother's interpretation of the Disney "Robin Hood" book. There was a sheepdog that was in the archery contest against Robin Hood, and my brother liked him and always made my dad read the book that way -- always adding "And the dog wins!" Somehow this didn't otherwise change the story :)
I think my parents probably had a more equitable time as regards to being the "fun" parent than many couples have, which I think is really nice, because looking back, I can remember a lot of fun moments with both of them.
Even the phrase "reading the kids to sleep" is a tell. Like the primary purpose of a bedtime story is to lull kids into unconsciousness. I know it's a valuable part of a bedtime routine, but Lynn really makes it sound like the primary intent is to drone away until Michael and Liz pass out from boredom.
Which, of course, would explain Michael's own writing later in life.
Anonymous,
This sort of reminds me of my brother's interpretation of the Disney "Robin Hood" book. There was a sheepdog that was in the archery contest against Robin Hood, and my brother liked him and always made my dad read the book that way -- always adding "And the dog wins!" Somehow this didn't otherwise change the story :)
I remember that sheepdog. He blew the hair out of his eyes each time he shot. I think he should have won too. Disney's Robin Hood was so egotistical, I often wished he lost that match.
I had a similar experience with book-reading reinterpretation with my daughter. She had a book called McDuff and the Baby, which is basically a story about how a dog (McDuff) got ignored after his owners had a baby. Whenever I read the story to my daughter and the baby was being discussed I would read the story with the most sinister tones possible, which delighted my daughter to no end.
dlauthor,
Like the primary purpose of a bedtime story is to lull kids into unconsciousness.
From Saturday’s strip, this is apparently the method that Elly gave Phil to use to “unwind” the kids. The funny part about it is that I would be hard-pressed to remember Elly using the same method. Oftentimes, she appears to drop Lizzie into her crib and expect her to automatically fall asleep.
Which, of course, would explain Michael's own writing later in life.
LOL.
Disney's Robin Hood was originally meant to be Reynard the Fox, a vain and often cruel trickster character...which is why the final version seen on screen comes off as rather a shallow mish-mash of conflicting traits.
That would explain it. Thanks for the info on Reynard the Fox.
Interestingly enough, minstrel Alan-a-Dale was a rooster because his character was originally intended to be Chaunticleer, from Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales".
Animator Don Bluth would later attempt his own version of the story, the monstrously bad film "Rock-A-Doodle".
Thus endeth the obscure animation trivia tangent.
Post a Comment
<< Home