Splinter's line in the first movie, "All fathers care for their sons" - problematic?

[Purse Grabbin Puke]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Well, please consider that if anyone has been abused by their parent(s), it's a little bit more than just a nitpick.

I know plenty of people who wish their fathers were dead and they're rather justified in feeling that way. So yeah, whenever they watch that movie, that scene either gets an eye-roll or a massive disgusted groan.

Just sayin'. Whether it annoys a person or not most likely depends on how they themselves were treated by their parental figure.

My alcoholic/abusive father actually took me to this movie in 1990. Ironically it's the only thing he ever really did for me. He missed 98% of my baseball and football games, he never cared about anything I liked, and always tried to get me into the things he liked. So thinking back, the fact he took me to this movie is kind of mind boggling. But I remember when this line was spoken in the movie. I was 8. I laughed. I rolled my eyes. I remember the feeling like it happened a second ago. I honestly, truly believed that my father did not care for me. When Splinter said that line, my dad immediately burst into tears, and nudged me like "See?! I love you". I didn't believe him.

I spent the next 12 years believing my original thought. My father does not love me. He left for good when I was 20, and I never saw him again. He died a few years ago. I celebrated.

After he left my mom remarried. That man has been a father to me. He proudly calls me his son. That guy in my life, the one who took me to the movie. He wasn't my father. He had no ability or desire to be a father. He was a guy playing father.

So because I watch this movie so much, that line has gone from something that was a joke to me, to having it's true meaning. All Fathers, care for their sons. Because that's the definition of a father. The ones who leave, who abuse, who neglect, they're not fathers.

This line is not problematic.

[Voltron]

No, it's not problematic. It makes perfect sense. It mirrors the earlier line from Shredder that the Foot Clan is a family, meaning Shredder would be the father. He fills a void in the lives of these kids lives. He offers easy answers as opposed to the hard lessons offered by the Splinter and Charles Pennington.

Splinter contradicts this, saying that while you may not be biologically related, your father is someone who cares for you. If the man doesn't care for you, regardless of blood relations, then he hasn't earned that title. He isn't really your father.

In Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Yondu has a similar line with "He may have been your father, boy. But he wasn't your daddy."

It's one of the layers that makes the movie so good. The parallels between the good guys and the bad guys, and how each one deals with the same problems.

Dammit. Now I want to write an article about family dynamics and the Ninja Turtles.

[Utrommaniac]

I had been thinking about that myself.


Which eventually made me realize that there's mostly father-son dynamics a vast majority of the time. With the exception of Karai in the center of a father-daughter dynamic (between two different Shredders and Yoshi). But not really any maternal connections. April sometimes, maybe, but usually a "big sister" role.

Other times, mothers are fridged for character backstory or are just completely absent.


(God, that Yondu line hits hard every time)

[pferreira]

Not sure if this has been said but the film contrasts Splinter with Shredder in being fathers. Splinter genuinely cares for his sons while Shredder abuses his family and generally tolerates them. Danny and his father are sort of in between all this. Splinter is essentially what Danny should be aiming for in a father/son relationship with his own father, not obviously Shredder.

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

(God, that Yondu line hits hard every time)

What? You mean this one?