How the ‘90s idolized unheroic dads

The sixties had hippies. The nineties had fathers: Homer Simpson, Dick Solomon, Major John MacGillis and more. Over at The Paris Review, Willie Osterweil writes about how unheroic dads, often defined by their initial ineptitude, took center stage in both television and film during this time period. It was emblematic of a demographic's need to reconcile with its increasing age, he says. "If only they could convince their kids they were cool, maybe they could convince themselves."