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Technorati14-year-old Ronnie Winslow has been expelled from school. He stands accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order. When he comes home to face what he is sure will be paternal wrath, he discovers something incredible about the bond between a father and son. In a stirring scene, Arthur Winslow asks his son about the postal order. Ronnie tries to plead that he didn't steal it, but Mr. Winslow stops him because he wants to explain something before his son answers. Mr. Winslow tells Ronnie that if he did steal the money, and tells the truth, that Mr. Winslow will not be angry. He adds that if Ronnie lies, Mr. Winslow will know, because lies between fathers and sons cannot be hidden. Mr. Winslow asks his son if he stole the postal order, and Ronnie denies it. Mr. Winslow repeats the question one more time, and again, Ronnie denies stealing the postal order. Satisfied, Mr. Winslow sends him back to his room.
The rest of the film is an account of Mr. Winslow's tireless efforts to clear his son of wrongdoing. He gives up his time and risks his family's fortune, all to reestablish his son's good name. Mr. Winslow will not stop until his son is vindicated. Everyone needs a tireless defender when they are persecuted by an unfair world. Mr. Winslow admirably steps into the gap.
The Leader
Parents are charged by God to educate their children. Unfortunately, as fathers become increasingly infantilized in films, it is often the wise little child that educates the adult. Everything is backward. But there was a time in which fathers, even flawed fathers, still taught the lessons and braved the dangers. In Something Wicked This Way Comes, based on Ray Bradbury's novel, Charles Halloway, a man old before his time, must do battle with the forces of supernatural evil to save his son, Will, and Will's best friend, Jim from the dangers posed by their own lusts.
But one of the finest examples of fatherly leadership is depicted in To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the novel by Harper Lee. Atticus Finch, an attorney, is called to defend an African-American man falsely accused of raping a white woman in the pre-civil rights-era South. Atticus is widowed, and is raising his son, Jem, and his daughter, Scout. Taking on the case angers the town's racists; and it makes life difficult for Atticus, but he will not back down. Instead, throughout the film he takes the time to teach his children how to get along with difficult people; how to value everyone, but especially the poor; how to stand up for the innocent; and how to have self-control, even when you might feel justified in losing it.
In an incredible scene, a local racist spits in Atticus' face right in front of his daughter. Atticus is the larger, more powerful man. But instead of retaliating, Atticus takes out a handkerchief, wipes the spit off his face, drops the cloth to the dirt, gets into his car with his daughter and drives away. Atticus teaches the children many lessons by telling them the right thing to do. But when the most difficult lessons arise, he teaches them by example. He is a brave man, a leader, whose words and actions reinforce each other. His children look up to him. That is how it should be. Continue »
