A Documentary on Dads

The Evolution of Dad

Sometimes as a Dad, I have a hard time finding time to do everything life hands me.  I work hard during the day, then have a few hours after work to invest with my kids.  Once they are in bed I have an hour or so to invest in my wife before our bed time.  I often find myself staying up late to do many of the mundane tasks like balancing the checkbook, writing this blog, or even cleaning the fish tanks.  At any given time there are about a hundred items on my to-do list in various states of completion.  I am sure this is true for any father and husband that has decided their focus is going to be on their children and wife, not on their lists.  That is where I find myself.  I have decided I would rather my children have a nurturing role model and my wife have a loving husband more than I want my yard to look perfect or my car to be clean.  (We live on 3 miles of gravel so that wouldn’t ever happen anyway.)

There is a certain level of upkeep that must be done, and it gets done.  It may take three times longer than it should, but the help of a two and three-year old often causes that.  Sometimes it is hard not to be frustrated, other times it feels just right.  Regardless of my current emotions, one thing does tend to stay the constant.  These types of struggles, these choices that fathers make every day are not often acknowledged in our culture.  I would even go as far as to say that our culture and Hollywood tend to minimize the role of Dad within the home, at best, and mock it at worse.  That is exactly what makes the topic of this post so refreshing.

Dana H. Glazer has been working on a Dad documentary.  That’s right!  A full length documentary on th joys and challenges facing Dads. The Evolution of Dad will be available on May 18th.  It is already available to pre-order. So, what exactly is this documentary about?  In their own words.

The Evolution of Dad is a thought-provoking documentary about what it means to be a contemporary American father. Following the personal journey of filmmaker and dad, Dana H. Glazer, the film explores how fatherhood has evolved over time, what its impact has been on family and society; and lastly, how fatherhood will likely continue to evolve.

Here is a trailer for the documentary.  There are more video segments here.

So, there you have it.  Someone, a dad, is putting together a documentary to challenge the current cultural stereotype and take an honest look at exactly what it means to be a father.  I know it has my interest piqued.  How about you?  Just out of curiosity, what was your dad like?  How do you see your role as dad?