The definitions of fatherhood have shifted in the twenty-first century as paternal subjectivities, conflicts, and desires have registered in new ways in the contemporary family. This collection investigates these sites of change through various lenses from popular culture - film, television, blogs, best-selling fiction and non-fiction, stand-up comedy routines, advertisements, newspaper articles, parenting guide-books, and video games. Treating constructions of the father at the nexus of patriarchy, gender, and (post)feminist philosophy, contributors analyze how fatherhood is defined in relation to masculinity and femininity, and the shifting structures of the heteronormative nuclear family. Perceptions of the father as the traditional breadwinner and authoritarian as compared to a more engaged and involved nurturer are considered via representations of fathers from the US, Canada, Britain, Australia, South Africa, and Sweden.

Introduction: Pops in Pop Context; Elizabeth PodnieksPART I: SELF-DEFINING DADS: AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PATERNAL LESSONS, AND NARRATIVE PERFORMANCE1. Pappahandbooks: Guidebooks for Dads in Twenty-First Century Sweden; Helena Wahlström Henriksson2. Fatherhood, Feminism, and Failure in Louis C.K.'s Comedy; Peter C. Kunze3. "Daddy Time all the time": Representations of Involved Fatherhood in Contemporary Dadoirs; Elizabeth Podnieks4. Daddyblogs Know Best: Histories of Fatherhood in the Cyber Age; May FriedmanPART II: "REAL" MEN: BRAWN, POWER, AND PROTECTION5. Ads and Dads: TV Commercials and Contemporary Attitudes Toward Fatherhood; Kristi Rowan Humphreys6. Hard Bodies, Soft Hearts: Mixed-Race Men as Muscular Daddies in the Films of Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson; Andrea Schofield7. Contemporary Crime Fighting Dads: Negotiating Masculinity and Fathering in 24 and Castle; Christy Ebert Vrtis8. Tale of Two Fathers: Authenticating Fatherhood in Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer and Naughty Dog's The Last of Us; Melvin G. HillPART III: ECONOMICS AND EMOTIONS: PROVIDERS, PALS, AND NURTURERS9. Breaking Dad: Re-Imagining Post-War Models of American Fatherhood in Breaking Bad; Heath A. Diehl10. Masculinity, Subjectivities, and Caregiving in the British Press: The Case of the Stay-At-Home Father; Abigail Locke11. A Sentimental Fathering Model: Alexander McCall Smith's Vision for Nurturing Paternity in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series; Nicole L. Willey12. Modern Fathers in Modern Family: The Impact of Generational Differences on Fatherhood Styles; Kathryn Pallister