Vol.14 No.2

you are
incredibles 2,
Equality and Fathers
By Jeremy Ham
The new
Disney film
Incredibles
2 was
released in
theaters
this past
Friday in
the US. At
Answers in
Genesis, we receive a number of requests
to give our take on various popular films.
As I watched this in a movie theater to
determine whether to write a review on
it, there was nothing that demanded we
comment on the film. But I do have some
personal thoughts and reflections that
may be beneficial to consider if you
choose to watch the film.
For those who would like to read a
review to determine if you or your family
should watch the film, I recommend you
read reviews such as “Incredibles 2
Movie Review” on PluggedIn. I will not be
commenting on whether the content is
suitable for children or adults.
In the Western culture, there is an
increased emphasis on women’s rights
and women being treated as equals to
men. A number of factors have
contributed to this focus in the culture
such as the MeToo movement, which has
helped keep this issue prominent,
including in Hollywood media.
Teaching Equality by Making
Men Look Foolish
Although this movie has been in
development for a number of years, I was
not surprised that Incredibles 2 includes
some of these issues.1 First, understand
that I found the film to be very funny and
entertaining. But as I was watching, I was
reminded that many movies will express
the importance of women being treated
as equals but do so by making the men
look foolish.
Now, God created all men and women in
His image (Genesis 1:27). The Bible—the
true history of the universe—is God’s
Word, and the truth of His Word is our
foundation that men and women are
created equal and should be treated as
such. As men and women we have
different roles in marriage (Ephesians
5:22–33), but we are still equal before
God (Galatians 3:28).
The secularized culture has no moral
foundation or absolute authority for why
women and men must be treated as
equals. In certain instances, people will
resort to belittling and joking about one
gender in order to emphasize the
importance of recognizing the other
gender.
Not Leading by Example
In the film, Bob (Mr. Incredible) is seen
looking after their children while his
wife, Helen (Elastigirl), works as a
superhero. If the movie had just stayed
with this scenario, I would not be writing
this article, but I came away with the
impression that Mr. Incredible was
initially shown as incapable of handling
his children. In addition, Elastigirl was
more capable than her husband in the
role of a professional superhero.
At one part of the movie (near the
conclusion), an ad is shown on a
television with a man making a pie. The
commercial said it was so easy to make
that anyone can do it (I am
paraphrasing). It was clearly a put-down
about men. This type of joke seems to be
harmless, but, with the many situations
portrayed in the film, it reminded me of
how men will unnecessarily be seen in
movies as looking foolish in order to
show the importance of women.
Of course, with any film, each moviegoer
can view it with a different
interpretation, and one could argue that
the movie redeemed each character by
the conclusion.
Are Men (Fathers) Being Foolish
in Our Culture?
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