I recently had to travel interstate for work and braced myself for the inevitable question: “Who’s looking after the kids?”
My answer? “Their very capable dad.”
The look that greeted me was one of confusion tinged with a sprinkle of judgement, as if I’d said my kids were being babysat by a wolf pack in the African jungle while I binge-drank in Bora Bora.
Despite all the progress we’ve made in championing women in the workforce, I run into gender stereotypes everywhere I go – at the park, at kinder drop-off, at work and during random conversations with strangers. We’ve made a lot of progress since Nanna was tied to the stove in a floral apron, but we have a fair way to go.
That’s why I was so thrilled to watch the trailer for Disney Pixar’s Incredibles 2. Why do I love it so much? Where do I start?
Fourteen years after the original film, the sequel is shaking things up with Elastigirl (aka Helen, the Mum, voiced by Holly Hunter) taking the lead. As the face of the ‘Supers’ campaign, Helen starts a demanding new job while Bob/Mr Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) has to navigate his way as a stay-at-home dad to Violet, Dash and baby Jack-Jack.
The reversal of traditional gender roles doesn’t go too smoothly as Bob deals with a moody adolescent, a fussy eater and a baby with a tendency to self-combust courtesy of his emerging superpowers.
Top Comments
It's interesting to see this trailer viewed from the perspective of a working mom. And yes, while the depiction of Mrs. Incredible as capable and bold and out in the workforce is wonderful to see, the depiction of the father as a bumbling, clueless fool who can't take care of his kids is anything but progressive. Maybe the movie has him turn a corner and get the hang of it, I certainly hope so, but didn't we already deal with that over 30 years ago with "Mr. Mom"? Shouldn't we be a little further down the road from that tiresome trope by now? I'll reserve final judgment until I see the full movie, but that is irritating me and dampening my enthusiasm at the moment.