Fox asked Mindy McGinnis:

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Mindy McGinnis Good question! I don't like to put any type of diagnosis on anyone, since I'm not a licensed mental health worker. I think the anger that is present in both of these characters is rooted in a sense of helplessness. They both see things in the world that disgust them, yet these things continue to happen, unabated. For the father I think there is a general lack of happiness in his life. He's in a bad marriage. He actually detests his wife, and this makes it difficult to form bonds with his children, which creates guilt, which makes it even more difficult to have any sort of healthy home life. I think helplessness and a sense of failure is a huge root for the father's anger, and to some degree, Alex's as well. They are both angry for different reasons, but their anger has some of the same shared origins.

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