Motherhood In Today's Culture

Across races, genders, and media, the story of motherhood is consistently played down whether it be a film, book, or song. Stories can be told in many ways, and these ways are typically referred to as media. Two of the most prominent types of media in today’s culture are films and songs. As time has progressed, these two media have withstood time and have continued to impact our beliefs and knowledge of society. These influences can sometimes be negative. For example, in an essay by Sarah Boxer, “Why Are All the Cartoon Mothers Dead?” the medium of film is used to convey the cultural myth that mothers do not have a significant role in a family and that fathers become very prominent in the family. The other significant medium, song, portrays this cultural myth prominently in the song “Just the Two of Us,” by Will Smith. Two types of media can convey the same cultural myth yet do it in very different forms. Why cultural myths exist is a very broad question that has no concrete answer. Some cultural myths are created to better behaviors as children, but some seem to linger around for no reason at all. One cultural myth with no apparent meaning that plagues pop culture is the myth that mothers play an insignificant role in families and that fathers step up and do all the work for a family. Across media, the myth influences how our brains work and what we see. The essay “Why Are All the Cartoon Mothers Dead?” brings light to this cultural myth. Although it is an essay, it spotlights the use of the film medium and how children’s movies instigate the myth. One way that Sarah Boxer proves to readers that this idea of missing mothers in families truly is a myth is through the use of factual numbers, “67 percent of U.S. households with kids are headed by married couples, 25 percent by single mothers, and only 8 percent by single fathers” (Boxer 90). These numbers go against the idea that in children’s movies, such as Ice Age, mothers play little to no role in the raising of children while a male figure takes over. One reason that Boxer brings this idea up is that mothers playing an insignificant role doesn’t only occur in Ice Age, but it actually occurs in an overwhelming majority of children’s films. The films that Sarah Boxer’s essay bring to light all have one thing in common, they were all designed and produced for the target audience, children. Although these films do not outright talk about how a mother is not around, they let the plotline advance as if the mother does not exist, which in some movies, is the case. This creates a problem because the children watching do not notice it, yet subconsciously the idea that mothers do not play a role in families seeps into their minds. When a mother is not around, it becomes easy for the second part of the myth to take place, that fathers dominate and step up to raise a child the best possible way. The average person is almost guaranteed to listen to at least one song every day. Whether it is a song on the way to or from work, a quick song to hype up before a game or workout, or even an alarm clock, music makes its way into …show more content…
The myth that with a mother gone, it is all up to the father to be the hero, as well as show how good and tough a father can be. In one of the final verses before the end of the song, Will Smith raps “It’s a full-time job to be a good dad // You got so much more stuff than I had.” These few lines seem minimal but they result in a very large impact to somebody that may be listening. This verse continues to tug at the idea that mothers are people that are not needed because, when in doubt or against all odds, the single father becomes a dominant figure that saves the day, a description that sounds just like a hero. The second part of this verse also shows and almost over-dramatizes the “larger-than-life” ability of a father to: provide an income for his children, be a good father, and be better than any father he