son after the show.rnUnlike Gladiator, Gregory Hoblit’srnFrequency transcends mortal limitationsrn—at least temporarily, which is onlyrnfitting for its time-travel premise.rnAt the sentimental heart of this film isrna fairly typical, if seldom discussed, wishfulfillmentrnfantasy: the desire to reachrnback in time and prevent the catastrophesrnthat have already befallen us. Whornwouldn’t want to encourage a long-deadrnparent to quit smoking before succumbingrnto lung cancer or, in the case of thisrnfilm, warn your fireman dad to avoidrnmaking a fatal mistake fighting a conflagrationrn30 years ago? I suspect it’s guiltrnthat keeps us mum about these fantasies.rnThrough some solipsistic alchemy, werntranslate our current knowledge intornsomething we should have realized andrnacted on in the past. Irrationally, we feelrnresponsible for events that were beyondrnour control.rnFrequency charms us by suspendingrnthis guilt. It indulges our fantasies of exrnpost facto rescues vicariously by givingrnJohn Sullivan his chance to save his father,rnFrank, when he finds he can talk tornhim across time with a ham radio.rnHokey? No question. But Dennis Quaidrnas Frank and James Caviezel as Johnrnmake the hokum work. As father and sonrngradually discovering one another acrossrnthe decades, they are achingly credible.rnNostalgia, however, soon takes a backrnseat to adventure. By saving his fatherrnfrom death, John sets in motion a newrnand more disastrous sequence of events.rnSoon, father and son are working togetherrnfeverishly to stop a serial killer fromrnmurdering one or more of their family.rnTheir detective work, carried out simultaneouslyrnin two time periods, is a marvelrnof intricate plotting that had me thoroughlyrnbaffled at points. Fortunately, myrn11-year-old, Liam, was on hand to explainrnmatters to me after the show.rnSuffice it to say that this four-dimensionalrnpuzzle is great fun, and its piecesrnactually fit together. However, I wouldn’trnhave minded if they hadn’t. The film’srnreal strength resides in the encounter ofrnfather and son across time and mortality.rnThe experience grants them an awarenessrnof life’s uncertainties. Were we ablernto sustain such recognition in our ownrnlives, it would undoubtedly render our relationsrnwith those closest to us immeasurablyrnfuller.rnGeorge McCartney teaches English atrnSt. John’s University.rnSOCIETYrnTeen Angelrnby Aaron D. Wolfrna This is not your Grandma’s pageant!”rnthe announcer proudlyrnproclaimed. No, indeed, this was thern1999 Miss Teen U.S.A. pageant fromrnShreveport, Louisiana —”Brittney’s Beat”rn(a reference to teen super-Lolita BrittneyrnSpears). Why even acknowledge thatrnthis sorry event hap]Dened? Because itrnprovides a window into the existence ofrnan American phenomenon, one that hasrnprofoundly shaped our culture —thernteenager.rnIn Western civilization past, there wasrnno such thing, per se, as a teenager.rnThere were children, and there werernadults. In patriarchal Ghristian society, arngirl passed from being under the authorityrnof her father to that of her husband.rnBoys became yoimg men, husbands, andrnfathers. Both were deemed fit to marry inrntheir mid-teens, having been taughtrnhands-on how to manage a household.rnHouseholds were units—like church andrncountry—in which there was a level ofrnsolidarity. Children worked alongsiderntheir parents to support the household. Arnfather as “head of the household” bore responsibilityrnfor his wife, children, and servants,rnboth monetarily and spiritually.rnThis structure flows from Scripture andrnthe tradition of the Church. We Lutheransrnsee it emblazoned in the Small Catechism,rnwhere Luther begins nearly everyrnpassage with “This is how the head of thernhousehold is to teach concerning . . . “rnIn modern America, child-labor lawsrnhelped to nail shut the coffin lid of thernmortified Christian family. The abstractrn”child” was deemed fit only for (public)rnschool, not for work, and the federales becamernthe de facto heads of households byrnusurping the God-given rule of fathers.rnAdolescents, fit physically (if not mentally,rnfor lack of training) for the responsibilitiesrnof marriage and family, becamernmodernity’s tertium quid —no longerrnchildren, not trained or allowed to bernadults.rnThis discrepancy has taken its toll uponrnour culture. Rock ‘n’ roll, the soundtrackrnof our VH-1 lives, is a teenage product,rnmarketing sex in the form of nurseryrnrhymes. Soda pop, America’s syrupy,rnpuerile wine, is the ubiquitous drink inrnour restaurants. And oddities like thern”age of consent” remain unchallenged inrnour society and cast teenagers—particularlyrngirls—as sexual objects.rnIt is illegal for an 18-year-old male tornfornicate with an “underage” female.rnAnd yet the Miss Teen U.S.A. producers,rnthe censors, the contestants’ parents, andrnthe viewers do not flinch at underagerngirls parading around in high-cut bikinisrnwhile the two announcers say such thingsrnas “I like Miss Texas’ body.”rnIncreasingly, this third category of lifernhas become identified with virhially unrestrainedrnlust and immorality. Ratherrnthan question the cultural factors that definernthese adolescents as people fit for sexrnbut not for marriage or the responsibilityrnof work, we fret over our children’s exposurernto Dawson’s Creek and the BackstreetrnBoys.rnBecause of the lurid attractiveness ofrnwhat the Psalmist called the “sins of ourrnyouth,” being a teenager has been elevatedrnto the American ideal. “Those werernthe best days of my life,” pined rock ‘n’rnroller Br}’an Adams. Fortysomethings (inrnwhat traditionally would have been consideredrnthe “best days of one’s life”) havernmid-life crises and long to be teenagersrnagain.rnRather than stand up and fight,rnchurches since the 1950’s have hiredrn”youth pastors” to provide sexy activitiesrnand Clearasil Bible studies to teens. Inrnthe 70’s, youth pastors began to hawkrn”Christian” rock —a marketable, sanitized,rnmoney-and-sex machine. PrivaternChristian high schools (modeled afteirngovernment schools) adopted all of therntrappings of flieir secular counterparts—rna displaced, coed group, spending eighrnhours a day together, plus road trips fornthe teams and cheerleaders, proms, ancrnhomecomings. Yet church leaders anrnpuzzled by statistics that indicate tharntheir young people now have higher raternof premarital sex and pregnancy.rnThis cultural degeneration cannot brnundone by getting the Miss Teen U.S./rnpageant to return to one-piece suit;rnIt cannot be fixed by flooding the marnket with more “innocuous” shows likrnTouched by an Angel or by hiring a hi]rnper youth pastor. It must be solved brnrestoring real homes —or rather, hous(rnholds.rnAaron D. Wolf is the director of externalrnactivities for The Rockford Institute.rn48/CHRONICLESrnrnrn