Dad Bod

Cian Cruise turns his attention to the fathers who keep turning up in films, television shows and video games. Some hand out folksy advice and groan-inducing jokes, some dwell on lost chances and the good old days, and some cling rigidly to the way things have always been. Taken together, these characters build a shared image of what a father is. This book asks what that image is trying to teach us, and what it is trying to sell.

The essays range across father figures in popular culture, from Gandalf and Homer Simpson to the film Die Hard and the TV series The Mandalorian. Each piece takes apart a familiar trope that shapes how we picture fatherhood, and the writing is quick and funny throughout.

Cruise, who has recently become a father himself, plays with the stereotypes and lore of fatherhood, traces how dads have been portrayed in contemporary pop culture, and sets out to explore the "heart of dadness" in order to become a better father. The book is part of the Rare Machines series.