Humanity by Proxy

“Hi Mrs. Banning, I’m from the office,” Ron the assistant shouts over the crowd of cheering parents. “Which one’s your son?” Ron raises the 1990s-era camcorder to his eye and zooms in on Jack Banning in the batter’s box just in time to catch the look of devastation on his face. Jack’s dad, Peter Banning, a workaholic lawyer, couldn’t make it to the game, so he sent an assistant.The scene from Spielberg’s 1991 Hook (Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman) sticks with me. Hook is probably not the best movie any of these exceptional talents have made, but I was a ‘90s kid, and it holds a special place for me (not least because for years after that movie came out, my little brother would replicate Bob Hoskins’ fake pirate accent saying, “Nevaaaaahhhhh”). You see, how we interact with the people we love matters. It’s important. The little league scene in Hook is so poignant–even if a little over-the-top–because it’s so obvious that a dad can’t cheer for his son’s baseball team by proxy.The days of camcorders and videotape may have come and gone, but technology’s promise to enable relationship by proxy has only grown in intensity..." This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe