It’s not like we didn’t see it coming. With the recent Dobbs decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, there is a great deal of momentum to produce films and shorts regarding choice and abortion. Christen R. Carter’s short film, Man Child, takes a comedic point of view on the subject. What would it look like if it was men who were the ones who got pregnant and were put in the position to make the “choice?”
After a horrible bout of morning sickness, Jason (Clayton Froning) discovers he is pregnant. Unfortunately, his hook-up, Ashley (Miranda Kathleen), doesn’t want anything to do with a child and has already moved on to another man. His buddy, Nick (Shaun Bedgood), is there for moral support and accompanies him to the clinic, where he is confronted by an angry slut-shaming protestor and an expecting father basking in his pregnancy glow.
“What would it look like if it was men who were the ones who got pregnant…”
I’m a little mixed when it comes to Man Child. The six-minute short takes us to an alternate reality where women impregnate men, and it’s the men charged with the responsibilities in the aftermath. While the film does have its funny moments as a commentary on the abortion debate, I’m not sure it really addresses the question posed earlier.
Instead, the short film appears to simply gender-swap men and women when it could have confronted men directly about the position women are in when men get them pregnant. I think the real point was to explore how the patriarchy would approach accessibility, safety, and body autonomy issues since they are the patriarchy. Still, Man Child is a fun, comedic sketch, but in the end, I think there was a much bigger issue to explore, one rife with comedic potential.
"…a fun, comedic sketch..."
