Roles and Play

There has always been father-son bonding in the military. And some friendly competition is one of the ways boys and men take each other's measure. So, it is not really much of a stretch in thinking how the role of fathers is changing to read of an old block and his little "chip-off-the" having an F-15 dogfight over Japanese airspace, as did Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula and son Capt. David Deptula.

But the very idea that daddytime is built into a contract does offer a bit more evidence that something is up. Aside from the news that — for people who care about such things — Spiderman IV and V will go into production shortly with Toby Maguire, the biggest news to come out of his re-uppping is that by contract with Sony he will be allowed to shave time off the beginning and ending of each shooting day so that he may spend more time with his 22-month-old daughter Ruby Sweetheart.

There does not seem to be a provision that the actor is allowed to breast feed on set — not that his daughter needs it — but everything else about the deal does seem to be precedent setting for Hollywood, treating a father just like a mother bringing her child onto the set.

But not only has a new style of fatherhood pushed its nose into the movie maker's tent, it has also been put on display in tiny panels. Soon to celebrate its second anniversary in America's newspapers, Daddy's Home is a comic created from the foibles and family of a stay-at-home dad. Intriguingly enough for those worried that SAHDs aren't mainstream, the comic's creators, Anthony Rubino and Gary Markstein, are, respectively, a single man and a not staying at home father of two who find humor in the universal and singularity of a dad serving on the homefront.

In the air, on the set and in the kitchen, something certainly does appear to be up with the changing father's role.