8:18am Tuesday 3rd November 2009
By Alan Molineaux
The football season is well with us and its effect upon our family life is very evident at the moment. Because not everyone who either lives in our house, or visits occasionally to eat our food or have their laundry done, wants to watch it.
In fact, I am the only one who has a passion for the beautiful game, occasionally joined by my two sons-in-law.
I try not to be too obsessive about it, but I struggle to keep quiet when the girls and Mrs M put on America's Next Top Model while the live footie is on the other side.
I tend to sit and look ever so slightly forlorn so that eventually my wife suggests that I go to the pub to watch the match: success!
Last week, I returned from one such trip to the hostelry to join in with a discussion between two of my daughters and their mother. Mrs Molineaux’s youngest had been in a lecture about the sociology of movies and been set the task of explaining the term ‘post-modernity’.
It turns out that in essence my wife and I have been generally influenced by modernity in that we were brought up with a worldview that we thought was shared by everybody.
We watched the same TV programmes as most other people (since we only had three channels to choose from) and we would see many of our neighbours on our annual holiday (Prestatyn was like our village, but with a beach).
In this world, there was only one truth and we all shared in it.
Our daughters are all post-modern children and as such they are full of questions and see the world more as a global village. For them, the status quo is there to be challenged. There are many truths on offer; take your pick.
In our youth, getting a colour telly and an extra channel was mind-blowing; for them, having 700 channels to choose from is just mundane.
During their deep conversation, I thought I would add a question that would be of help: “can any of you explain the offside rule?” I asked.
They stared at me for a moment, before expressing their lack of reverence for all things football. They are feisty girls, however, and couldn't resist a challenge, so it wasn't long before they were trying to offer an explanation.
The ketchup, salt and pepper pots, vinegar bottle, and butter knife were all in position as the girls offered several different versions of the offside rule; none of which were right.
Mrs M stepped up to the table and I was confident that she would provide the answer, because I had spent some considerable time explaining it to her when we were newly married. To my horror, she got it wrong and I had to step in to put them all right.
I challenged my wife about why she had forgotten all that I had taught her and she answered with a smile ‘football isn't the only sport, you know’.
How post-modern is she?
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