If you didn’t know any better you might think this post was shaping about to be a deep rumination about the nature of this blog, as Martin Weller did so well the other day. But, alas, no need for that because this was, is, and always will be a b blog, and to re-enforce that fact let’s dig into the 10th episode of the Family Pictures podcast, “Father Knows Death,” wherein we discuss the 1987 b-movie gem The Stepfather.
If the idea of watching a much younger Terry O’Quinn of John Locke fame from Lost playing a homicidal maniac is not enough to entice you, how about an allegory of the Reagan 80s that was arguably the birth of the right-wing conservatism that we are currently witnessing go off the rails in the US? We got it all on the Family Pictures podcast, we’ll feed your pop culture hankerings while also educating you about the fall of cultural empires; it’s junk food for the soul.
“But wait a minute, who am I here? Ahhh, Jerry, Jerry Blake.” That’s the line from this film that really ties the room together. Our protagonist goes from family to family and identity to identity trying to reproduce the ideal Leave it to Beaver scenario from the 1950s only to be disappointed time and again. But rather than coming to terms with the impossibility of his retrograde conservative vision he instead leaves a blood mess in his wake as he continues his futile quest—the political allegory coming together for you now?
Robbie Conal’s popular political protest poster from the 1980s: “Reagan/ Contradiction”
As Robbie Conal‘s Reagan/Contradiction guerrila protest poster from the 1980s points out about Reagan, at the heart of Jerry Blake’s conservatism is the contradiction of enforcing family values with violence (at home the war on drugs and abroad the Iran-Contra Affair amongst others). In his 2009 essay for AV Club, Scott Tobias writes about the contradiction at the heart of the “Reagan Revolution” in his 2009 essay on this film:
Coming seven years into a Reagan Revolution that attempted to turn back the clock of American culture, The Stepfather presented Jerry as the perverse face of family values, a proudly “old-fashioned” guy who still watches Mr. Ed, talks about real estate as “selling the American Dream,” and goes so far to protect his stepdaughter’s purity that he confuses a goodnight kiss for attempted rape. Throughout the film, Jerry tries to impose his reactionary ideals onto a family—and if you count those he’s murdered or will murder, families plural—that can’t function within those tight parameters.
It’s worth noting that Terry O’Quinn’s performance is absolutely brilliant, and it’s safe to say without it this film would have most likely been forgotten. But the stars aligned and the film became a cult classic because of that performance, what’s more it opened up the opportunity for pop culture as critique of a moment in the moment. As The Stepfather argues, it’s the kids who see through the hypocrisy of the conservative adults. This may explain why youth subcultures like punk and hip hop were such strident responses to the reactionary politics of the 80s, crying out against deregulation, a growing police state, and eroding public services. B-movies like The Stepfather use the rise of that turmoil and violence as a form of entertainment to not only critique that 1950s family mythos, but also underscore the deep contradictions at the heart of the conservative family values that when taken to their logical end over the following 40 years would result in more and more families unable to afford the basics like shelter, food, and clothes on their back. How does that benefit that mythical family unit? Where is you “City Upon the Hill” now, Mr. Reagan?
I love the bit in the 1984 documentary Another State of Mind where various figures, including Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks, talk about the generational struggles around the idea of family and what it means to live in the Reagan 80s.
Just six years after The Stepfather the rise of the aggrieved white male that has become the template for the MAGA man can be seen in Falling Down (1993)
MBS makes a great point during our discussion suggesting where The Stepfather goes to great lengths to suggest how deranged this conservative vision of the 80s has become, just 6 years later the template for the proto-MAGA man, namely Michael Douglas in Falling Down (1993), is championed. The idea of excessive, random violence as a justifiable reaction to changing times highlights a potential shift in the vision of Hollywood. To be fair, it is just one film from the early 90s, albeit it has taken on cult status, so we would have to dig deeper to make any sweeping statements about Hollywood. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting referent point that MBS argued well.
The teacher from First Born could have very well been another Jerry Blake for all we know.
In fact, I think the whole point is that MBS and I are start to find our legs a bit with this podcast. We’re more comfortable with one another and as we talk about more films together we gain more insight into each other’s tastes. What’s more, with each new episode I have yet another movie to compare to First Born (1984), which has become my mission in life 🙂
Who am I here? I am THE BAVA!
