Analysis Of Married With Children: Dysfunctional American Family

Objective – Explain basic sociological concepts of the family, marriage, and intimate relationships. (Pg. 365)

In this show, instead of there being the typical husband and wife scenario, there are two women married and fostering several children. This may still surprise many people, but it is now more accepted than it was in the 1950s. There are several problems that come up in this modern-day show, some being big ones and some small. I also noticed that instead of addressing that there is a problem, the family members will often keep it from each other and not go about fixing it. The way that problems are handled in the earlier mentioned TV show, “Leave it To Beaver” are drastically different than in modern-day shows. In an episode that I watched on YouTube, I noticed that the characters would immediately address the problem to one another and resolve it in the best way possible so nobody had to get

The film, Precious, is a powerfully charged story that delves into the family dynamics of a 16-year-old girl and her struggles to survive an onslaught of treacherous experiences. Throughout the film, the viewer is enveloped in a dramatic web of extreme situations, experienced by the main character, and those to whom she is close. The themes of domestic violence, rape, incest, drug addiction, gambling, poverty, social justice, social services, housing and education are laced together throughout the story. Particularly poignant attention is paid to various systems that help shape the experiences of the characters. The social services industry, and its associated workers, educators and administrators, set the foundation for the social themes that are highlighted by this film.

Family Guy, an animated sitcom about a New England family and their everyday dilemmas, is a way for viewers to see the comedic side of a dysfunctional family. The Griffins consist of Peter and Lois, the patriarch and matriarch, and Meg, Chris, and Stewie are the children(Family Guy). Every character is different from the next character. They are also weird in their own way. The television show itself displays feminism, structuralism, and gay and lesbian criticism. Each character in the show also displays those criticisms in a certain fashion. Family Guy can be offensive to viewers with its satire, and the way the show delivers its message can make the family and the other characters in the show seem dysfunctional.

Suburban sitcoms coming out in the late 50’s early 60’s portrayed usually an average family with average problems it solves by the end of the episode, most sitcoms including “Leave It To Beaver” followed the same formula; two white parents, a mother, and father, and 2-3 children; every episode followed the same steps, there’s a problem, the problem is solved by the end of the episode, and a lesson is learned by the main character. This held up perfectly in the 50’s and 60’s society, but sitcoms needed to adapt to fit their society, as time progressed, more important issues showed up in the shows, and as the US became more diverse so did the sitcoms. Today suburban sitcoms couldn’t be more different. As society became more diverse, more sitcoms were made to cater to the new audience.

(Elliott, 1). This says it all on how their marriage was something where they lived

(SIP-A) They lose most of their emotions and become thoughtless to the life they are living. (STEWE-1) Montag makes Millie think and questions her, “‘Millie does’-he licked his lips-’does your ‘family’ love you, love you very much, love you with all of their heart and soul, Millie?’ He felt her blinking slowly at the back of his neck. ‘Why’d you ask a silly question like that?’” (Bradbury 73). Montag asks Millie a question he already knows the answer to. He wants to get Millie to think and slow down for a moment and realize that all the stuff she has will never make her completely happy. (STEWE-2) Loving someone is clearly not as important as their tv, “‘Anyway, Pete and I always said, no tears, nothing like that. It's our third marriage each and we're independent..’ ‘That reminds me,’ said Mildred, ‘Did you see that Clara Dove five-minute romance last night in your wall? Well, it was all about this woman who-’” (Bradbury 91). These people don't seem to care that they've gotten married and divorced, married and divorced, over and over. They don't cry but they just move right along. However, their tv’s will always stay with them. Right after one of Mildred’s friends finish talking about getting divorced and married, Mildred continues to talk about another show on their tv. (SIP-B) Due to spending so much time with their machines and tv’s, they have become a machine, only obeying what their tv’s tell them to do. (STEWE-1) There is no more color or difference in their society anymore because everyone wants the same and acts the same, “‘Police suggest the entire population in the Elm Terrace area do as follows: Everyone in every house in every street open a front or rear door or look from the windows…’ like gray colorless animals peering from electric caves, faces with gray colorless eyes, gray tongues and gray thoughts” (Bradbury 131-132). Everyone obeys

Have you ever wondered if there is a difference between sitcoms back then and now? This paper is going to compare and contrast the differences between an episode of Full House and an episode of Modern Family. We are able to spot notable differences and similarities by comparing the characters, plot, and setting for both of these sitcoms.

Norma Jean and Leroy’s marriage shows an insight on the theme in action because of how their lack of understanding the inner workings of marriage, which causes them to drift apart and eventually separate. One of the most important things in marriage is the ability to communicate, but neither of them are able to do so on a meaningful level. An example of this is when Norma Jean starts to explain why she wants to leave him, then as she walks away she takes back what she said, adding “No, it

Due to the increased amount of technology in the book, people barely know each other, including couples. Millie is always listening to her Seashell radio, and barely talks to Montag. At on point Montag ponders, "...why didn't he buy himself and audio-Seashell broadcasting station and talk to his wife late at night..." This shows how little communication there is between people. People also remember little about each other thanks to technology. When Millie cannot remember where they met Montag remarks, "Funny, how funny, not to remember where or when you met your husband or wife." Other people matter so little in this society remembering such "trivial" things is seen as pointless and silly. The increase of technology has not only resulted in lack of real social interaction, but also lifestyle.

In Iran’s The American Husband by Jalal Al-E Ahmad, we are introduced by the narrator into a world where educated Iranian men choose American women as their trophy wives; Muslim men are allowed to marry a Christian or Jewish women. The protagonist of the story states that life would have had a different outcome if it weren’t for this poisonous corruption of the Qur’an culture. Jalal coined the term gharbzadeh-westoxification-a stinging critique of western technology and western “civilization.”

Every family functions in their own unique way, even if they attempt to model themselves after the social norms of what a family “should be”. Little Miss Sunshine gives insight into how individuals with their own variety of dysfunction manage to function within the family. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Little Miss Sunshine in the context of four different ways of communicating as explained in the textbook, Family Communication: Cohesion and Change. The following paragraphs, organized into sections by theme will explore the Hoover family’s system, the degree of adaptability and cohesion within the family, the productive or destructive ways they manage conflict, and their use of power or decision making processes. Each section will contain a brief review of each of the aforementioned topics that apply, concepts that exist within those topics that appeared in the movie, and examples taken from the movie.

In a sociological perspective, family is interpreted as a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties or a combination of all three. The sociological theories the connect to this concept are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. First, functionalism states that the family socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, and it provides its members with a social identity. Secondly, conflict theory states that members create disagreements, and create emotional support and comfort. Finally, symbolic interactionism claims family members and intimate couples interact on a daily basis. "Families are defined as a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection" (Seccombe 5).

Technology has changed the relationships of families. Distracted by their laptops, TV’s, smartphones, and video games, families can’t have a friendly

Modern Family is a sitcom that first aired in 2009 that focuses on many prevalent issues including cultural differences in families. The US was a nation founded upon immigration and now embraces the term as “melting pot” (National Review). The Pew Research Center reports that currently about ten percent of children are mixed race (VOA News). Many children have the influence of two or more cultures within their families. Yet the influence of culture can extend in the environment as well. Growing up with Chinese parents but living in America I can feel the impact of both cultures and I am appreciative of both. There are moments in Modern Family where we can see both the “melting pot” of the Delgado-Pritchett marriage and the tension caused by the different cultures, and I find there are reasons why the sitcom portrays both perspectives.