Fences Movie: The Black Boy's Lack of Emotional Validation

I wanted to discuss the relationships that Denzel had with his on-screen sons and its relation to real life father-son relationships within the Black community. The movie spoke to me on a variety of levels but what stuck out to me the most was the father-son relationship in the movie. In many ways, it reflected my own relationship with my father and reinforced what I did not want to repeat with my son. 

Washington plays Troy Maxson, a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. After having his own dreams of baseball greatness dashed by the MLB, he becomes bitter and cold and carries the grudge into his later years in life. Maxson's son played by Jovan Adepo has the opportunity to realize something greater in sports with a visit by a recruiter but Washington remains staunchly opposed to the idea. The tension between father and son is so thick in one scene played over and over in trailers, the son hesitantly asks why doesn't his father like him. Denzel's responds with a resounding "I don't have to like you."

Youtube: https://goo.gl/91tpDD 
TLE Radio: https://goo.gl/SXUIHA
TLE TV: https://goo.gl/3BBSbe