Daddies and Daughters; Boys and Birds (T-Birds)
6th April 2010
Today’s persuasion theory comes through a close reading of a long forgotten text, “Fun, Fun, Fun,” by Professors Wilson and Love, and colleagues, also known as the Beach Boys from the Department of Surf at the University of Endless Summer. Refresh your memory at YouTube or analyze the relevant album cover.
Now, the text.
Well she got her daddy’s car
And she cruised through the hamburger stand now
Seems she forgot all about the library
Like she told her old man now
And with the radio blasting
Goes cruising just as fast as she can now
One can reasonably infer that She has a positive attitude toward her Daddy’s car, now. And her Daddy’s car wasn’t no stinkin’ Oldsmobile, but a T-Bird that looked something like this.
No wonder She forgot all about the library like She told Her Old Man, now. Wouldn’t you love to cruise your hamburger stand in that Red Chariot today? Fifty years out the T-Bird still soars. And, realize, too, the social advantages from the roadster.
Well the girls can’t stand her
‘Cause she walks looks and drives like an ace now
(You walk like an ace now you walk like an ace)
She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now
(You look like an ace now you look like an ace)
A lotta guys try to catch her
But she leads them on a wild goose chase now
(You drive like an ace now you drive like an ace)
She drives better than Charlton Heston, the standard for chariot driving from Ben-Hur. You remember the scene (YouTube clip).
Girls envy Her skill. And the boys? She’s outruns them. They can’t catch Her now cause She’s got Bird and it’s no Goose. But . . .
And she’ll have fun fun fun
‘Til her daddy takes the T-Bird away
(Fun fun fun ’til her daddy takes the T-Bird away)
Well you knew all along
That your dad was gettin’ wise to you now
(You shouldn’t have lied now you shouldn’t have lied)
And since he took your set of keys
You’ve been thinking that your fun is all through now
(You shouldn’t have lied now you shouldn’t have lied)
Daddy finally gets wise to Her and takes Her set of keys which we know aren’t just a set of keys but freedom, envy, and out-running boys. Which leads us to our persuasion theory: Reactance. We’ve seen Her living life free, autonomous, and independent in Her Daddy’s T-Bird, but He unfairly took her freedom away and now . . .
But you can come along with me
‘Cause we gotta a lot of things to do now
(You shouldn’t have lied now you shouldn’t have lied)
And we’ll have fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away)
And we’ll have fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away)
Daddy may want to rethink his persuasion strategy with the car keys as He tries to make Her a Better Girl. She evaded all the boys before, but now, what’s a Girl to do? With a Daddy-induced Reactance, Boys won’t be chasing her Wild Goose. Instead, baby, “We gotta lotta things to do now” won’t include visits to the library, but will require stops at the hamburger stand now, both before and after They have Fun, Fun, Fun.
The persuasion lessons: Women, like Men, make different decisions when they feel autonomous (internal attributions, baby) than when they feel controlled (external attributions, Daddy). Daddies, and Mommies, elicit Reactance not Restraint when They take away freedom of action. And Boys, like Girls, want to have Fun, Fun, Fun.
Parents, remember the Rule: If You Can’t Succeed, Don’t Try.
Endless Summer.
Endless Human Nature.
Fun, Fun, Fun!
Footnotes
1. No CGI in the Ben-Hur clip. That scene is all human and horse with skillful editing. Heston and the bad guy, Stephen Boyd, actually learned how to drive chariots and were filmed in action at speed in the movie. There were a lot of stuntmen, but Heston and Boyd both took chances that are no longer possible in a Hollywood movie of this scale.
2. The T-Bird is a great image in cars. Bob Seger immortalized the car and the people who made them on the Line in Makin’ Thunderbirds (YouTube rock video). The newest Ford attempt a few years ago doesn’t come close to the early 60s version or the even more compelling late 1950s T-Bird immortalized in American Graffiti with Suzanne Somers as the Blonde.
3. Nothing but Steve’s Sincerity here, but I’d love to have that 1966 GTO from the Beach Boys album cover above. Just add Melanie and Fun, Fun, Fun.
