Member-only story
Parenthood Control, As In Self Control, Dystopian And Otherwise
I’m not going on some crusade to purge the kid-centered dystopian genre, I just individually don’t want to ride that ride anymore.
There are many axioms that evolve from philosophically self-evident to sledgehammer of the gods obvious as we traverse life, but none more so than “wait ’til you have your own kids.” Those pesky olds told kid me that as a child, yelled it at adolescent me, then chuckled it when barely adult me really did have a kid, as if they knew what was coming. Being a parent changes you. Being an adult who has friends that both do and do not have children also lets you in on another self-evident thing that nevertheless must be explained to certain folks: having or not having children RADICALLY changes not only life but one’s perception of life.
Sonny Bunch, in reviewing the season finale of hit video game turned hit HBO show The Last of Us takes that approach, titling his very worth your time to read piece “Parenthood changes how we see art.” There are of course spoilers, because the main plot point involves an adult making a decision about a child and the audience response to that decision breaking strongly along lines of viewers parenting status. No worries, not going to spoil anything here.
