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ladydraceWhen I grew up there was an explosion of media attention on the horrors of pedophilia and child molesters. It was taken to such extremes that most adults ended up being so afraid of being accused of anything untoward, that they hardly even dared touch their own kids.
So I've endured more than a few stares on account on kissing my mother, full on the mouth, every day. Quite publicly. Because that's what we've always done. My own son recently discovered the concept of kissing and if my baby boy wants a kiss on the lips, then by god, I am going to give him one. (Complete with snot and drool. Oh well.)
Thing is, the attention on this topic in my everyday life made me aware of the boundaries in family relations on screen. Physical contact is okay. Kisses? Apparently not so much.
In fact, the only examples of kissing your kids as a casual form of endearment I can think of have been in Star Trek DS9 and Jericho (which I just watched).
I'm not talking about a peck on the cheek for goodnight, locked away in your private home where nobody can judge you. I'm talking about meeting your child on the street and giving them a loving kiss, not caring who sees. I like that.
Generally, Captain Sisko is an affectionate man who freely distributes hugs and kisses to those he loves. While I have no clue if it was written into the scripts or was simply agreed upon by the actors, it all seems so wonderfully natural and not at all forced or the least bit uncomfortable. So what I'm getting at here is that it works. It looks like it's something they've always done. It's everyday, average stuff. Casual affection. It warms my heart a lot and adds one more reason why DS9 is my favorite Trek series.
I thought this was pretty much a unique occurrence, until I tripped over Jericho and was happily surprised by this:
The main character Jake Green, being kissed goodbye by his mother. In the very first episode, no less. And just like with the Siskos, it just seems so natural.
But these are only two examples and it saddens me that I can't really think of others off the top of my head. Does anyone else know of any similar family displays of affection? Do please, tell me.
And while we're on this subject, I thought I might as well add some incest to the mix. Because who ever might think that kissing is what leads the mind to unsavory places has clearly not watched a lot of the same shows I have.
Yes, it's Supernatural. Wincest. Because it's such a nice, obvious example of the fans seeing something the writing really didn't plan on originally. Granted, the storylines provide enough fodder for the thought, what with them being "soulmates" and everybody thinking that they're gay. The writing happily plays around with their emotional co-dependency, so the thought isn't exactly farfetched.
But no matter how you slice it, the Winchesters aren't normally big on physical brotherly affection. In life or death situations, sure. But day to day? Not a chance. It might *le gasp* draw their masculinity into question. (If only Dean knew how many chicks he could get from being cute with his brother... oh well.)
The thing that makes the mind jump to all those taboo places is the chemistry. It's something undefinable that crackles between the people on screen. Sometimes it's all down to the actors' personalities, and other times it just happens as a bi-product of excellent acting. Mind you, I'm not taking actual incestuous storylines into account here, because I wanted to focus on the casual affection that some people apparently find so dangerous. And I'm not saying that the Siskos or the Greens don't have chemistry. I'm just saying that it's amazing how fluid the lines are. It's ridiculously difficult to define where it stops being affection and veers into attraction.
On the other end of the spectrum we have the problem of no chemistry at all, which makes whatever the relationship seem stilted and staged. Even when the writing dictates sexual attraction, those pairings can be impossible to believe from a fan point of view.
That said, I think I'd just like to point out that in this day and age, with the internet connecting fans from all over the globe, there's hardly anything that can't be shipped. Rule 34 is very much in effect, so I really don't think it makes a difference how you express the love on screen. Someone will always ship it. That is the way of things. So I really just wish we'd see more physical family affection on TV. More hugs! More kisses! Yes, please!
In conclusion I'd like to add that I'm personally not against incestuous relationships. You can't help who you fall in love with and as long as all parties involved are consenting adults (and no babies come out of it), then I'm cool with it. It's illegal, of course, but as long as you're not hurting anyone, I don't see a problem.
So do go on. Kiss your kids, your parents, your siblings or your old auntie. Don't be afraid to show the love. Because at least some of us really like to see it.
So I've endured more than a few stares on account on kissing my mother, full on the mouth, every day. Quite publicly. Because that's what we've always done. My own son recently discovered the concept of kissing and if my baby boy wants a kiss on the lips, then by god, I am going to give him one. (Complete with snot and drool. Oh well.)
Thing is, the attention on this topic in my everyday life made me aware of the boundaries in family relations on screen. Physical contact is okay. Kisses? Apparently not so much.
In fact, the only examples of kissing your kids as a casual form of endearment I can think of have been in Star Trek DS9 and Jericho (which I just watched).
I'm not talking about a peck on the cheek for goodnight, locked away in your private home where nobody can judge you. I'm talking about meeting your child on the street and giving them a loving kiss, not caring who sees. I like that.
Generally, Captain Sisko is an affectionate man who freely distributes hugs and kisses to those he loves. While I have no clue if it was written into the scripts or was simply agreed upon by the actors, it all seems so wonderfully natural and not at all forced or the least bit uncomfortable. So what I'm getting at here is that it works. It looks like it's something they've always done. It's everyday, average stuff. Casual affection. It warms my heart a lot and adds one more reason why DS9 is my favorite Trek series.
I thought this was pretty much a unique occurrence, until I tripped over Jericho and was happily surprised by this:
The main character Jake Green, being kissed goodbye by his mother. In the very first episode, no less. And just like with the Siskos, it just seems so natural.
But these are only two examples and it saddens me that I can't really think of others off the top of my head. Does anyone else know of any similar family displays of affection? Do please, tell me.
And while we're on this subject, I thought I might as well add some incest to the mix. Because who ever might think that kissing is what leads the mind to unsavory places has clearly not watched a lot of the same shows I have.
Yes, it's Supernatural. Wincest. Because it's such a nice, obvious example of the fans seeing something the writing really didn't plan on originally. Granted, the storylines provide enough fodder for the thought, what with them being "soulmates" and everybody thinking that they're gay. The writing happily plays around with their emotional co-dependency, so the thought isn't exactly farfetched.
But no matter how you slice it, the Winchesters aren't normally big on physical brotherly affection. In life or death situations, sure. But day to day? Not a chance. It might *le gasp* draw their masculinity into question. (If only Dean knew how many chicks he could get from being cute with his brother... oh well.)
The thing that makes the mind jump to all those taboo places is the chemistry. It's something undefinable that crackles between the people on screen. Sometimes it's all down to the actors' personalities, and other times it just happens as a bi-product of excellent acting. Mind you, I'm not taking actual incestuous storylines into account here, because I wanted to focus on the casual affection that some people apparently find so dangerous. And I'm not saying that the Siskos or the Greens don't have chemistry. I'm just saying that it's amazing how fluid the lines are. It's ridiculously difficult to define where it stops being affection and veers into attraction.
On the other end of the spectrum we have the problem of no chemistry at all, which makes whatever the relationship seem stilted and staged. Even when the writing dictates sexual attraction, those pairings can be impossible to believe from a fan point of view.
That said, I think I'd just like to point out that in this day and age, with the internet connecting fans from all over the globe, there's hardly anything that can't be shipped. Rule 34 is very much in effect, so I really don't think it makes a difference how you express the love on screen. Someone will always ship it. That is the way of things. So I really just wish we'd see more physical family affection on TV. More hugs! More kisses! Yes, please!
In conclusion I'd like to add that I'm personally not against incestuous relationships. You can't help who you fall in love with and as long as all parties involved are consenting adults (and no babies come out of it), then I'm cool with it. It's illegal, of course, but as long as you're not hurting anyone, I don't see a problem.
So do go on. Kiss your kids, your parents, your siblings or your old auntie. Don't be afraid to show the love. Because at least some of us really like to see it.
