A couple of years ago a guy named Dana Glazer wandered into Parentopia. He told us of a film he was developing, “The Evolution of Dad.” There was a certain vibe Dana conveyed, one of sensitivity and respect for fatherhood, not just his own paternal experience, but the importance of capturing on film the modern day dad-how he feels, how he lives and above all else, how he loves. Call it the metrosexual father if you will, but despite the offensive media message  fathers are couch surfers, addicted to the remote control of their televisions or bumbling idiots if they don’t have a mom showing them the ropes, dads-just as moms-should not be stereotyped and washed over with sweeping generalizations.

We were recently shown a preview of Dana’s film in it’s entirety. To say it is a moving tribute to dads doesn’t even begin to cover the way this film documents fatherhood. Put it this way, babies may cry occasionally in the movie, but grownups will cry watching it-but in a good way. It’s touching, thought provoking. It’s peppered well with experts such as Kyle Pruett from Yale School of Medicine  and Joan Williams from The Center for Work/Life Law. And no, it’s not a reactionary film about father’s rights, instead of making fatherhood issues an “agenda” the film organically covers timely topics like custody, job loss and life/family/work conflict. You meet, through the film,  faces of fatherhood you may recognize for the first time. Each of the stories, along with Dana’s own narration, speaks to what we call the “Undertow of Parentopia.” Simple defined, the “Undertow of Parentopia” consists of  all of the emotions that pull, or push, us as we parent our children. They are ever present,  ebbing and flowing throughout our lives as moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, spouses, partners, friends, teachers, co-workers…the list goes on. The “Undertow of Parentopia” is felt not only from the perspective of adult to child, but also from adult to adult as we consider the effect of having been parented, in whatever capacity, ourselves.  Just as in the ocean, the Undertow of Parentopia, has existed for ages and will continue to exist for generations to come.  This existence is evolutionary. Which brings us full circle to Dana’s film.

Here is a trailer for the film, “The Evolution of Dad”

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day may be more about Hallmark for a lot of us, but a film like The Evolution of Dad, brings us back to the reasons fatherhood deserves to be feted. Happy 100th Father’s Day!