Download a transcript.Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Wherever You ListenSign up to receive our weekly cultural-recommendations newsletter.The protagonist of the new film “Club Kid” never meant to become a dad. Peter, played by Jordan Firstman, who also wrote and directed the film, is a gay party promoter whose years in the New York club scene are finally catching up with him. When his ten-year-old biological son unexpectedly comes into the picture, Peter is forced to reckon with his new role in life. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz consider how depictions of fatherhood in the culture have evolved over time. After the women’s-liberation movement, postwar Don Draper-esque patriarchs gave way to a cohort of lovable sitcom dunces, laying the groundwork for the ultimate satire of American fatherhood: Homer Simpson. Today, dads seem to be more pals than patriarchs. Since 1965, partnered American fathers have nearly quadrupled the time they spend with their kids, resulting in a host of new ideas about what a dad is and how to be a good one. Amid seismic cultural shifts, one thing remains unchanged: paternal figures loom large in our lives, and yet there’s no such thing as a perfect dad. “Once you’re a parent, the performance of the role . . . it’s like nobody can actually inhabit it,” Cunningham says. “You think of the father as the person who ruined you or the person who saves you. And of course, you’re always both.”Read, watch, and listen with the critics:“Club Kid” (2026)“Who’s the Boss” (1984-1992)“The Cosby Show” (1984-1992)“The Simpsons” (1989-)“Married . . . with Children” (1987-1997)“Little Women,” by Louisa May Alcott“Mad Men” (2007-2015)“The Dead Father,” by Donald Barthelme“Pride and Prejudice,” by Jane Austen“One Battle After Another” (2025)“Hamnet” (2025)“Sentimental Value” (2025)hellodimeji’s Instagram“They Want to Be Better Fathers, One Braid at a Time,” by Isabella Kwai (The New York Times)“Transcription,” by Ben Lerner“Men at Work,” by Luke Winkie (Slate)“A Great Leap Forward for American Fathers,” by Jessica Grose (The New York Times)New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.