Comments on: Horton Hears from Me

By: Kennith Aranas

Kennith Aranas — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:36:38 +0000

my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:16:22 +0000

It has taken me this long to comment because I took this essay as a challenge to actually write a book centered on a girl who is strong, and creative, and smart, and unusual, and about to go on the adventure of anyone’s lifetime. I am no J.K. Rowling, but I have a draft done, and I am working on making it into something. I would love ideas on where to go for help, and editing, and inspiration, and support with work like this.

By: Hayley

Hayley — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:25:21 +0000

Growing up in a large family, (I’m one of nine children; five girls, four boys), one on one parental time was the rarest gift we got. As an adolescent, I knew my Dad loved me but I wasn’t sure he recognized me as an individual from all my siblings and he didn’t really encourage me to value myself as a person; the message was more “be a good girl” if anything. Not that he didn’t value me or want me to succeed; it was just hard to get that message across to one child let alone eight more. I had a difficult time understanding why girls were expected to be good while my brothers got away with murder and “boys will be boys” was the motto that allowed my brothers to express themselves freely and try anything and everything.

Nothing touched me more then the weekend after I graduated high school. My father bought me a guitar and gave it to me the morning of graduation. It was awesome but I knew it was coming, (my sisters can not keep a secret). It was the Saturday after graduation, I woke up to a note my Dad left in the kitchen, and it read: “Gone on a few errands. Look in your guitar case.”

In stead of my guitar I found “Why a Daughter Needs a Dad: 100 Reasons.” This book is much more then a picture book with a hundred little antidotes of why a girl needs a father in her life. I sat there crying, reading the book over and over again. On the inside flap he wrote a fond memory of me saying my first word (”liiiiiight!”) and how he admits he’s made many mistakes over the years w/his children but knows he did something right to have a daughter like me.

At 26 years old I don’t know if I have any other possession that means more to me than that book. The daughter-father relationship is something so special and complex I bet its impossible to define.

I appreciate you writing this blog. And I’m sure your daughters appreciate having such an in tuned father.

By: otis agabey

otis agabey — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:44:00 +0000

”I don’t know what sins Dr. Seuss committed in his life to be doomed to have Jim Carrey star in movie adaptations of his books.”

Well, maybe you might want to consider the sins below:

http://www.who-sucks.com/people/dr-seuss-sucks-7-racist-cartoons-from-the-doctor

especially this one:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_ir3J5uWAtvU/RpsAMRe57jI/AAAAAAAAAn8/gIgFK42UoTI/s1600-h/jap6.jpg

Good Show Peter, and more Paula please.

By: MJ

MJ — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:44:22 +0000

I, unfortunately, am not so lucky. I was born an only daughter to a man who wanted a son. I have a logical, critical, and precise brain, but my failure to love American football put me clearly over the edge with my father. I am 23 now and an aspiring astrophysicist, and nothing makes me more irate than seeing women portrayed incorrectly. Thank you for pointing out an inconsistency that should have been obvious from the beginning to everyone who watched this film. Male heroes who don’t respect females as their equals are no heroes at all, and I, for one, hold them in contempt just as much as I would a white hero who treats his black friends differently. Sexism is as bad as racism, and it’s time to start seeing that.

I’m a regular listener to Wait, Wait, but I didn’t realize you had a keen brain behind that cheerful sense of humor.

By: Janet Williamson

Janet Williamson — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:20:50 +0000

Peter, I am 63, white and female and I lost my doting father (who also had three daughters) over twenty years ago. I still adore him and it was so refreshing to see another girl’s daddy. Enjoy your daughters as much as possible because they will really love you forever … even if you’re not around to see it.

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:02:10 +0000

Thank you Peter!!! This rant made me realize how lucky your daughters are!

By: Margaret

Margaret — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:50:16 +0000

Mr. Sagal,

Love you on Wait!Wait! and was delighted that someone besides me has skepticism about Jim Carrey and the Dr. Seuss movies. Although I have a son, I am a daughter and found your comments right on. (Sometimes I wonder what Oprah is thinking…). Perhaps you can make Chicago the next Hollywood!

By: Serena

Serena — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:59:19 +0000

Dear Mr. Sagal,

THANK YOU. (Not to mention the movie’s creators’ insistence on relying on racial stereotypes for nearly all of its characters. It’s something that people don’t necessarily notice in animated films but is oh-so-prevalent. That made me seethe.)

Serena, proudly, the youngest of 3 daughters.

By: Geoffrey

Geoffrey — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:39:52 +0000

Just saw Prince Caspian, and was thrilled at what a strong character Susan is. She is a fantastic warrior. The other chief female character, Lucy, is admirable because she is the one with the clearest focus on what the right thing to do is. The chief male characters are doing their best, but have much more obvious character flaws than the women, and the females actually get the males out of trouble.

And, while I fully concur that we need strong female roles, I certainly hope they don’t compensate by making lots of weak men’s roles. For example, I am REALLY sick of sitcoms that revolve around the husbands being lame jerks, yet have very tolerant wives.