I don’t think I, personally, have seen an Eric Edwards on-screen portrayed the way Wood Harris portrayed him nor written the way Mara Brock Akil wrote this character. I’m glad I watched Mara on “The Breakfast Club” talk about the joy she had writing these characters based on one of her favorite authors, Judy Blume. Her talking about Eric, specifically, and witnessing the greatness that is Wood Harris got me to thinking about male vulnerability on-screen and how rare it is to see it. Let me explain.
If you’ve been here before, you know I LOVE “A Different World.” Both Ron and Dwayne had their moments where they were soft but often, it was few and far between. It was also always when they were about to lose something or they had finally gotten to a point where the situation called for them to dig into that more vulnerable side of themselves. I think of Overton from “Living Single” or Jason from “Jason’s Lyric.” Sweet, vulnerable men but goofy and not really sure of themselves. There wasn’t a power in their presence like Eric. Fast forward to Randall from “This is Us.” I feel like Randall is close to Eric but he lacks that confidence. Beth is his confidence, and that may have stemmed from him being adopted and a whole host of other things we learned about his struggles as the show went on.
The closest person I can think of on-screen who has both that softness and power that Eric has is….wait for it….Woodson Wayne, played by Harold Sylvester. Now, some of you are like, “Who is that?” Woodson Wayne was Dwayne Wayne’s dad, and no, I’m not picking him because he’s a character on “A Different World.” I’m picking him because of one specific things Mara Brock Akil said on “The Breakfast Club” in relation to Eric character. She said he was able to be who he was because of his security in his wife. Woodson Wayne had that same security. Honestly, he had the same wife. Adele, played by the legendary Patti LaBelle, was a powerhouse, and you knew it without her even having to open her mouth. Dawn is the same way. There is a presence that’s felt and doesn’t have to be explained with these women. These are also the type of women who need a particular man. This is also, probably, why Dwayne fell in love with Whitley.
Eric and Woodson have a quiet calm about them. William, Randall’s biological dad, had that same cool, calm about him. Unlike William though, we saw the power that lived within both Eric and Woodson. Usually, it involved them dealing with their wives. What I loved about it, and I have stated this before, is that they’re not domineering over their wives. They’re not even telling them what to do. They are stating the facts of the situation and then redirecting them, not by force, but why telling or showing them their flaw in whatever happened. It should be noted that this only happens when they absolutely have to.
The flip side of this, as we saw with Eric, is them allowing their wife or son to just be. The beauty in this is that the son and wife know that when they need their husband or dad, they can go to their husband or dad. There were many times in the “Forever” series where Justin would come to Eric and plea with him to talk to his mom and he would tell him he needed to work on his communication and he would have to talk to mom. Not him. Woodson was always there for Dwayne, and Whitley eventually. There was something so sweet and charming about these two men that I, as a viewer, felt safe just watching the character live in this world. It made me want this type of dad for everyone. They were the cool dad. They were the demanding dad. They were the voice of reason. They were stern when they needed to be. They were balanced, and that’s what we don’t get to see as often in television, especially with Black dads. Either they’re a complete push over or they’re really strict. If they aren’t a dad, their vulnerability is cut with a joke or awkward behavior. These more vulnerable, lived in characters don’t get to just be.
I’ll even take it. step further and go back to what Akil said in her interview. These men are secure in their relationships and in the strength of their wives and that’s what gives them the freedom to be who they are for us, as the viewer. If Eric didn’t completely trust Dawn, we don’t get that relationship the way we saw it on-screen. If we didn’t get the backstory of Adele and Woodson, we don’t get Dwayne as he was portrayed to us. Knowing who his dad was for him made it that much clearer as to why Dwayne was who he was. Kadeem, obviously, did a great job of giving us all of that for six seasons. I want more characters like Eric and Woodson on my TV. I love a vulnerable man but there still has to be that power in his presence for me, and it’s never balanced. More balance, please!
What do you think? Have a missed a vulnerable man on-screen? To be completely honest, I really do feel like I’m missing someone who might be just like Eric and Woodson but it’s not coming to me immediately, which means the writing and portrayal wasn’t strong enough….But y’all tell me!
