Parents apologizing on screen is a trend appealing to Millennial fantasies. Last year a pattern emerged among Millennial-produced films where parental characters underwent a breakthrough scene in film (Everything Everywhere All At Once) or TV (Ms. Marvel) where they end up apologizing to their kids—something Millennials know their Boomer parents would never actually do IRL. The subgenre, dubbed “the Millennial parent apology fantasy,” dives into “how stories about parents and children confronting gaps in culture, generation and identity could pave the way for new perspectives about trauma and family.” And while YPulse data shows 87% of Millennial parents agree there’s no such thing as a perfect parent, they’re still working to raise their kids in ways that undo any traumas brought on by their own parents. (NPR)
