MovieChat Forums > Steve Jobs (2015) Discussion > How do you feel about the paternity-sham...

How do you feel about the paternity-shaming of Steve Jobs in this movie?


I have mixed feelings about it: I'm incredibly sympathetic to adorable little Lisa and definitely felt Steve should've done more for his natural daughter (which he eventaully did.)

On the other hand, no person should have to be forced to be a parent. Being a parent should be a deliberate act, a choice.

Chrisanne had a choice, to become a parent or not. She chose to, apparently.

Steve should have been given that choice too.

reply

Steve should have been given that choice too


And what choice is that, to murder Lisa when she kept coming around? No matter what he was her parent. Abandoned or not.

Steve could've pulled out, that was his choice..and he didn't.

9 months later, it's his. That's not a choice.


Whether he'd provide care for her or not, that's his choice. I think he was a f'n scumbag when he decided he didn't want to provide, given that he was extremely wealthy.


But after Lisa was born, it's not his choice. He was her father. I dont understand how this would be a choice situation. Unless you're arguing it should've been his choice to her mother's abortion rights..

reply

Steve could've pulled out, that was his choice..and he didn't.

Do you know how sex works? It's not as simple as pull out don't have a baby | keep it in have a baby. Even condoms break like 15% of the time.

What you're suggesting is that only way a man can choose not to have a baby is to not have sex. This is exactly what anti-abortion people say about women, which I'm sure you think is unreasonable.

Was Jobs an *beep* about it? Yes, but he was a busy man and this was unilaterally dumped on him by somebody who he didn't trust. Let's not use this bad example to propagate a double standard.

How do you like them apples?

reply

Do you know how sex works? It's not as simple as pull out don't have a baby | keep it in have a baby. Even condoms break like 15% of the time.


Fine. He chose to have sex so he had a baby. My point was he did nothing to prevent himself from having one, so he shouldn't be surprised that 9 months after he ejaculates into his girlfriend that he becomes a father. The OP's point (I think) was that that Steve should've been given a choice to become a father. His choice was own, by having unprotected sex.

Don't turn this into some pro life vs pro choice argument. I'm sure you have plenty of other forums that you have thinking you are the highest of order. Enjoy your apples

reply

Regardless of your rationalizations (if that's what they are), the child was still his and he had a moral responsibility to take care of her.

reply

It takes two to tango, pal. If you have unprotected sex, pregnancy is a risk.

Ultimately, it's the woman's choice whether to carry to term or not. Once that's done, he IS biologically the father. There's no choice there whatsoever.

Whether he wants to be a part of her life or not, now THAT'S a choice, and if he couldn't even bear to do that, then financial support is the bare minimum that the law requires.

Jobs was a complete creep on this matter.

reply

I agree Silent Bob. I'm not very far in to it yet, but the scenes at the beginning pissed me off! I had a similar situation growing up, and it sucks!!! 





AVADA KEDAVRA!!!

reply

It takes two to tango, pal. If you have unprotected sex, pregnancy is a risk.


It only takes one to lie. There are women who stop taking contraception to get pregnant by their partners without informing them. I know one such cow personally. In those cases, men shouldn't have to be responsible. Trapping someone like that should be illegal.

I'm a woman, by the way.

reply

Perhaps. That's an anecdotal story at best.

It's far more common for a man to shirk his parental responsibilities than it is for an unstable woman to trap a man via pregnancy.

reply

[deleted]

Whether he wants to be a part of her life or not, now THAT'S a choice, and if he couldn't even bear to do that, then financial support is the bare minimum that the law requires.


Yeah, exactly. Acknowledging that you made a person and paying your share for that person's care is called accountability, not shamming. The problem wasn't that he don't want to be a father (which is fair) it's that he denied being one in the first place.

reply

I don't know how accurate it was but he came across as Hank Kingsley without the nobility. 

Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.

reply

Well, then he should've just disinherited her outright, given her the minimum legal child support.

Instead of doing what he did, which was constantly give and yank financial support, for the benefit of his ego.

Been an outright a55hole, instead of feigning humanity.

reply

lucky for her, she was adorable and smart and used paint. Otherwise Steve Jobs wouldn't have done a thing for her.

reply

Focusing the whole story on Jobs' relationship with Lisa and Chrisann was extremely odd. Neither had a particular importance in his life and trying to make it look like his relationship with Lisa was the linchpin to understand him and making it seem that his acceptance of her was his redemption, was ridiculous.

The most important relationships in Jobs' life were with his adoptive parents. The movie misrepresented that to make some point which was off the mark. Jobs adored them and they probably gave him so much unconditional love that they spoiled him for any other relationships in his life. The film didn't even touch on the importance they, and in particular his adoptive father, had on who he became.

In the authorized biography, Jobs said he was a perfectionist because of his father and told a story about how his father, when he painted a fence also painted the (hidden) back of the fence. Jobs asked him why, if nobody would see it, he would bother to do it. His father told him 'well, I will know it's unfinished'. Jobs made it sound like that was the key to who he became.

reply

Its Jobs' choice as to much how he wanted to be involved but to deny him being the father was disgusting.

reply

I've recently been studying Asperger's Syndrome and discovered I'm completely on the spectrum -

His unempathetic, totally logical, fact-oriented, sarcastic, personality & genius mind would probably put him right there.

Though there are historical innacuracies, I think this movie captured the apparent lack of empathy & 'coldness' he often displayed -

I think he tried to logisticize his being a father in terms of rationale rather than an experience from the heart.

Like all neurodiverse people, it takes many years to learn to cope & respond properly to the expectations of others . . .

reply