Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Family Myth
Where do you think the "family myth" in American culture comes from? What are some possible sources for the idealized picture we painted together in class (mom and dad, two kids, dog, two-car garage, picket fence, baseball and a home-cooked meal)? In what current situations, contexts, or debates is this ideal picture evoked - for good or for ill?
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2 comments:
I believe that the "family myth" derived from the immigrants who arrived from the Industrial Revolution period. They were told of a land thats streets were paved with gold. They were told that it was the perfect place to start a family. In current day situation, we are mostly shown loving families in our entertainment. The Brady Bunch, Full House, and Step by Step are just a few of the "loving families" we are presented with. Sure they get into their arguments at times, but in the end those shows always end with the families hugging and kissing and making up. However, I myself have never known any family that operates that way. I don't think that you have to experience this type of situation in order to become a good person. I personally know a lot of people who don't have both parents, or even any at all, and they are still great people. The opposite of this "loving family" is the tortured family. For example, the opposite of Full House, I saw the new Halloween in the theater a couple weekends ago and the reason why Michael Myers was the way he was was because he didn't have a family structure. He was poorly treated as a child by his parents and sister. Why is it that this is the stereotype for children who are neglected.
I think boomer makes a very good point in bringing up how broken families are treated now. It seems like wherever they are portrayed, broken homes create monsters in the media. Rather than simply acknowledging a crime, the news goes into all the supposedly "juicy" detail of how the serial killer was raised. Over 50% of families are no longer together, so why does the media still portray a broken family as a social time bomb? Some of the most unstable people I have ever seen have come from "healthy" families, and myself and many other normally functioning people come from supposedly dangerous "broken" families. I for one, am tired of the stigma.
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