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Rita's Ripoff: Tassie author receives shock of her career

<p>When Lian Tanner went online to see if her book was available for purchase in Australia, the last thing she could have expected to learn is that it was - under someone else's name. </p> <p>The award-winning Tasmanian author has written no few books over the course of her career, and only released <em>Rita’s Revenge</em> in 2022. But according to one of Amazon’s sale listings for the latter, Lian had nothing to do with it, instead declaring Emilio M Parks to be the author responsible for the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards shortlisted story.</p> <p>Tanner opened up to <em>ABC Radio Hobart</em> about her discovery, confessing that she was “absolutely shocked.” </p> <p>"Both had exactly the same cover, exactly the same blurb,” she explained of the two purchase options, “but one of them listed me as the author and the other one had this fellow Emilio M Parks listed as the author.</p> <p>"He had a whole list of books he had apparently written, including <em>Rita's Revenge</em> and Doctor Seuss books, and heaps of other stuff."</p> <p>She went on to comment that the mysterious Emilio M Parks came with a few red flags, noting that “there was no information listed on Amazon about the 'author', and his version of Rita only had 25 pages, when the real book runs to 351 pages. The stolen version was also selling at half the usual price.”</p> <p>Obviously he is hoping someone will come along and want to buy the book, not notice it's the wrong author listed, and then just click through and buy it. Their money's gone and it's too late. </p> <p>“It's a complete rip-off.” </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Apparently Emilio M Parks has ALSO written a book called Rita's Revenge. With exactly the same cover. And he's selling it on Amazon for half the price of mine. Weird coincidence, huh? </p> <p>He's also selling The Lorax. <a href="https://twitter.com/AllenAndUnwin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AllenAndUnwin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ripoff?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ripoff</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/theft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#theft</a> <a href="https://t.co/lzE5UhoE6q">pic.twitter.com/lzE5UhoE6q</a></p> <p>— Lian Tanner (@tanner_lian) <a href="https://twitter.com/tanner_lian/status/1629365601125949440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>Allen and Unwin, the publishers behind legitimate copies of <em>Rita’s Revenge</em>, chimed in on the unfortunate theft, though digital publishing director Elizabeth Weiss’ take couldn’t have come as much comfort to Tanner or her fellow authors, simply stating that plagiarism like that “happens from time to time.” </p> <p>Tanner herself acknowledged the unfortunate likelihood of such events when she said that she’d “heard about entire books being stolen and published under a different title.”</p> <p>“That's much harder to pick up because you're not searching for your own title,” she added. "It happens a lot with translations. Someone will pick up a book that's published in English, translate it into a different language, and then put it up as their own work."</p> <p>However, all hope was not lost, with Weiss explaining that “sites like Amazon are pretty responsive. There is a particular channel we go through and if we can demonstrate the infringement of a title we hold the rights to, they're reasonably prompt [in] dealing with it.</p> <p>"We try to get on to it quickly but often it's the author who finds their own book online and raises the alarm.</p> <p>"Clearly they look identical. It's the same cover file but look at the price … it's a loss of sales but also a moral right infringement.”</p> <p>Weiss also shared advice with shoppers hoping to grab their next online bargain, telling them that “it’s always wise to be a bit careful”, and to double - even triple - check all the information on hand before adding to cart, even on large and “reputable sites like Amazon.” </p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

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What made Bob Saget’s Danny Tanner so different from other sitcom dads

<p>Bob Saget, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/arts/television/bob-saget-dead.html">who died on Jan. 9, 2022</a>, is probably best remembered for his role as Danny Tanner on the popular sitcom “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092359/">Full House</a>,” which aired from 1987 to 1995.</p> <p>I think fans of the show have such fond memories of this character because Danny exemplified what it meant to “be there” as a parent. A single dad whose wife had passed away, he was eager to lend an ear to daughters D.J., Stephanie and Michelle, offering them support and reassurance through the twists and turns of childhood and adolescence.</p> <p>Why heap so much praise on a sitcom dad? It’s easy to disregard TV as mere mindless entertainment. But entertainment media can both reflect and reshape culture – including how fathers interact with their children. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1990-25264-001">They can influence how viewers think about fathers</a>, regardless of the accuracy of those portrayals.</p> <p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GzIcrG8AAAAJ&amp;hl=en">As someone who studies stereotypes of fathers</a>, I view Danny as an avatar of the changing expectations of fatherhood that began in the late 1970s.</p> <h2>Danny Tanner and ‘being there’</h2> <p>Danny Tanner was a 30-something widower when Full House premiered. That wasn’t a common situation for his demographic – <a href="https://www.census.gov/prod/1/pop/p20-365.pdf">less than 1% in his bracket shared it</a> – and it allowed viewers to watch Danny parent his three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend.</p> <p>Nonetheless, in nearly every episode, viewers saw Danny “being there” for his family. “Being there” is a concept that describes <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=_gEDfhZp5s0C&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PR1&amp;dq=promises+i+can+keep&amp;ots=8ac2OWdjLK&amp;sig=mnXZdjICi5BLnhGI-Np8UrcfGlc#v=onepage&amp;q=promises%20i%20can%20keep&amp;f=false">being physically and emotionally involved with your children</a>. This term took <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12376">on particular significance for fathers in the late 20th century</a>. “Being there” allowed dads to be seen as more than just financial providers and recognized that fathers interact with their children in varied and important ways.</p> <p>In the earlier part of the century, fathers were assumed to be breadwinners and not much else, a stereotype reflected in the era’s popular media. For example, sitcom fathers on “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046600/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">Father Knows Best</a>,” which aired from 1954 to 1960, and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051267/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3">The Donna Reed Show</a>,” which ended its run in 1966, bore little responsibility for actual child care beyond a pat on the head and some occasional discipline.</p> <p>Beginning in the 1970s, psychologist Michael Lamb encouraged a change in how we thought about fathers and broadened the definition of what he called “<a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/271493">father involvement</a>.”</p> <p>Lamb proposed three dimensions of father involvement: engagement, availability and responsibility. The last of these, responsibility – which involved financial support and parental guidance – could be spotted in some form in the preceding sitcoms. But engagement and availability, which tend to involve day-to-day emotional support, were almost entirely foreign.</p> <p>Danny Tanner’s approach to fatherhood, by contrast, demonstrated perhaps the fullest realization of these changing expectations.</p> <p>One episode, “Back to School Blues,” featured oldest daughter D.J. starting junior high. Spoiler alert: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnIQu35CCDc">It doesn’t go well</a>. She’s teased by older girls, wears the same outfit as one of the teachers, and spends lunch alone. (I was a year younger than D.J., and this episode made me nervous about my own entry into junior high.)</p> <p>When Danny doesn’t approve of D.J.‘s attempts to look older to fit in and make friends, she storms off to her room saying she wants to be left alone. Danny says he can’t do that, and then listens as she explains everything that went wrong at school.</p> <p>In this short scene, he reinforced family rules and provided emotional support, while showing that he would “be there” for D.J. whenever she needed.</p> <h2>A different kind of dad</h2> <p>Though Danny represented a departure from the typical sitcom father, he didn’t exactly spearhead a new trend.</p> <p>Immature and irresponsible fathers – the kind seen in popular shows like “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096697/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">The Simpsons</a>,” “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101120/">Home Improvement</a>” and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092400/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">Married … With Children</a>” – were more commonplace. To this day, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-sitcom-dads-still-so-inept-139737">the stereotype of the bumbling dad persists on TV</a>.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wKf7i3DZi-c?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <span class="caption">Danny comforts D.J. after she admits she isn’t happy with her body.</span></p> <p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2015-25403-001">In my research</a>, I found that single sitcom dads with full child care responsibilities were shown interacting with their children more often than married sitcom dads. Compared to their married counterparts on the tube, they were more likely to offer kindness, care, love, support and guidance. Along with Danny, these characters included Mr. Drummond on “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077003/">Diff’rent Strokes</a>,” Tony Micelli in “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086827/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">Who’s the Boss?</a>” and Maxwell Sheffield on “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106080/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">The Nanny</a>.”</p> <p>On the other hand, married sitcom father-child interactions were more likely to involve criticism and sarcastic humor. In fact, married sitcom fathers often made jokes at their children’s expense.</p> <p>Why does this discrepancy exist?</p> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00473.x?casa_token=L_W94GXie6kAAAAA:hB5-n-UFrNCGS2C2vVjT1oBL8bdvSocrrzk99GlyY_oy_kOP6jzVByhxeyrDmKaLXMUmLOgMJ26YnVpC">My research has found</a> that in real life, married fathers are thought to be loving and kind but with room for improvement as parents. They’re seen as the right-hand man to mothers, who have taken the lead in parenting. Because of this, people expect more bumbling and less skill.</p> <p>Single dads, however, tend to be viewed as selfless and dedicated, because the assumption is that they’ve put their children above all else.</p> <p>Danny Tanner isn’t the novelty today that he was in the early 1990s. But if his character is instructive in any way, it’s that dads shouldn’t have to lose their wives to be the best parent they can be.<!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-troilo-752757">Jessica Troilo</a>, Associate Professor of Child Development and Family Studies, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/west-virginia-university-1375">West Virginia University</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-made-bob-sagets-danny-tanner-so-different-from-other-sitcom-dads-174754">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: <span class="attribution"><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/promotional-portrait-of-the-cast-of-the-television-series-news-photo/3126220?adppopup=true" class="source">Lorimar Television/Fotos International via Getty Images</a></span></em></p>

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