I recently watched the movie Astronaut Farmer staring Billy Bob Thorton.
Thorton plays an eccentric farmer who builds a rocket in his barn on his rural farm and dreams of flying into space. He has a family, and the amazing thing about the movie is the way his family supports him in his craziness. He has a teenage son who worships him. In nearly every other "family" movie I watch, the teenage children hate their parents or are embarrassed by them. Here, when the father pulls his children out of school to help with the project, they support their dad and want to be part of what he's doing.
The most memorable line in the movie comes from his father-in-law, who complains that when he was growing up, he could barely get his family to eat together, but he (Thorton) has his family dreaming together. The movie has one or two sexual references that may not be appropriate for younger children (but they'd probably go over their heads). It's definitely one of the more pro-family movies I've seen out of Hollywood.
There is a sense, even among Christians, that children will naturally rebel and dislike their parents. It doesn't have to be that way. In fact, the whole teenage experience is a recent social creation. See Mardi Keyes excellent article for more on this point.
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Oh . . . the comments I could make on THIS one!
Instead of commenting though, I will refrain to asking you a question.
Before the question I will state what I have already observed . . . in talking about this movie, it is apparent that the "one-liner" the dad says GREATLY impacted you. And when we spoke about the movie, you actually teared up with hope.
Now the question. What does that look like and sound like for YOU! How do you get YOUR children to worship you (so to speak)? How do you get them to think that THEIR dad is the BEST dad anyone could have, and the kind of man THEY want to become?
A good place to start is asking question? What kind of dad am I being? What do they think I think is important? Ask them . . . they will tell you the truth. OK. I am starting to make comments . . . I must stop :)
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