When I watched the new movie The Breadwinner, I really wanted to like it. There aren’t many clean comedies, and I hoped that this one would be entertaining and uplifting. Unfortunately, however, I left the movie theater feeling pretty disappointed. In my opinion, The Breadwinner feels more like a loser than a winner.
Content vs. Message
If you don’t know what The Breadwinner is, I can share a quick summary: It’s a PG-rated movie that clean comedian Nate Bargatze helped write and produce. He also plays the main character—a car salesman who has a wife and three daughters. When his wife becomes an entrepreneur, he has to stay home from work to take care of the girls. But life quickly becomes chaotic because he takes shortcuts and make excuses. In the end, he finally realizes the importance of prioritizing his family.
Thankfully, The Breadwinner doesn’t have much objectionable content, like sex scenes or foul language, but it definitely has some questionable messages. And when deciding whether a movie is worth watching or not, it’s crucial to keep both things in mind. A movie that’s clean can still send a message that’s unbiblical.
Though I like the movie’s emphasis on the family, I don’t like the message it sends about the family. Here are a few specific examples of what I mean:
- The husband/father is portrayed as a lazy, stupid man who fails at everything.
- The wife/mom is portrayed as productive, smart woman who succeeds at everything.
- The daughters aren’t necessarily portrayed as sweet little angels (which is good because they don’t act like sweet little angels), but they’re never disciplined for disrespecting or disobeying their parents.
I think men should definitely prioritize their families. But putting the husband/father in a negative light while putting the wife/mother in a positive light probably won’t encourage many men to devote more time and effort to their families. After all, if they’re just dummies who have endless flaws and make endless mistakes (as movies like The Breadwinner seem to suggest), why should they even bother trying to be better?
Clearly Defined Roles
Ephesians 5:22-33 is an amazing Scripture passage, and it connects well to this topic. I’ve included parts of it in previous blog posts, and I even included it in my new book. It clearly defines the role of the husband and the role of the wife. Paul wrote that “the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23 ESV). Paul also wrote that “as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Ephesians 5:24 ESV).
I feel like the overarching message of The Breadwinner contradicts these verses (and others) in Scripture. Yes, the movie sends the message “family is important”—but it gets drowned out by this much louder message: “Mom is the boss of the home, the family, and the business. She’s the breadwinner, not Dad. She doesn’t even need him.”
Unfortunately, I think the family/marriage roles portrayed in the movie are confusing at best and unbiblical at worst. It feels like yet another feministic movie that elevates women by mocking men. That’s the main reason I don’t like The Breadwinner. Maybe you won’t get a feministic vibe from it, but I wouldn’t bother watching it to find out.
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