The Relationship Of The American TV Family

Versus The Real Life Essay, Research Paper

The Comparison of the TV family to the everyday real life family can take many avenues to explore, but I’ll try to keep it as basic as possible. First I’ll break down the animated TV family “The Simpsons”, and then I’ll break down a real life middle class family that I know all to well.

Introduction

I. The Simpsons; Father, Mother and three children. The various daily problems they encounter in their middle class suburban lives.

a) The Father. Hopeless fool. Everything he attempts turns into total chaos, from his job, home life, to hanging out with his buds.

b) The Mother. Hard working sensible women trying her hardest to maintain some form of sanity in her insane world.

c) The children. The broad spectrum from the rowdy to the innocent.

II. The real life middle class family Father, Mother, and three children. The somewhat different, but similar problems they encounter in their real middle class suburban lives.

a) The Father. Typical father figure trying to juggle a million things at once.

b) The Mother. Homemaker and confidant’, going in every which direction to fulfill everyone’s needs.

c) The children. Intelligent know it all’s. “Been there done that ” attitude.

Conclusion

To summarize the we look at the comparison of the American Family portrayed on TV and the real life family living in the in the suburbs. Now we must wonder if our friends and neighbors see our families as “The Simpsons” or as well-adjusted functional members of society.

The Comparison of the TV family to the everyday real life family can take many avenues to explore, but I’ll try to keep it as basic as possible. First I’ll break down the animated TV family “The Simpsons”, and then I’ll break down a real life middle class family that we might know all to well.

The Simpsons: a family that consists of a father, mother and three children. The various daily problems they encounter in their middle class suburban lives. Makes you wonder if this is the typical American family, is this an impression though the media that the rest of the world gets. I hope not, but I have seen some families that could be runner-ups. They fit the bill so closely you’d swear they were the same. So now let’s break the family down into their units.

The Father, a hopeless fool. Everything he attempts turns into total chaos, from his job, home life, to hanging out with his buds. Everything that Homer sees, touches or even hears just gets turned around 180 degrees. He basically just bumbles his way through life with one misadventure after another. You must wonder how he stays alive. Is Homer an accurate portrayal of the typical American father and husband? Some might say yes, but I think the majority will disagree and say no.

The Mother. Hard working sensible women trying her hardest to maintain some form of sanity in her insane world. Basically raising four children (yes, I would label Homer as a child). She tries to be the sensible one in the household. She definitely has her hands full. To me she seems to lacking a brain cell or two to let Homer get away with the stuff that he does. Although she tries to maintain a semblance of rule in the house, things just don’t turn out as she hopes.

The children, a broad spectrum from the rowdy to the innocent. From the grade a student who never does wrong, the rowdy in trouble all the time kid and lastly sweet little toddler that seems to be just there. Yet these children could be an accurate portrayal of most of the children in American society.

The real life middle class family Father, Mother, and three children. The somewhat different, but similar problems they encounter in their real middle class suburban lives. From work, school, doing homework, cooking (thank the gods for the microwave oven) and to the after work and school activities. Trying to fit a 48-hour day into 24 hours. The hustle and bustle of real life is a more accurate portrayal of your typical family then what the media displays in the Simpsons or any other type of sit-com family. Now let’s look at what I believe is the typical functional family.

The Father, typical father figure trying to juggle a million things at once. Gives everything and asks for nothing in return. Wants everything to be a nice status quo, no major ripples in the family harmony. Likes to watch his children grow and blossom into mature responsible adults. Attempts to offer them advice, but lets them make their own decisions (within reason). Now for the relationship between husband and wife. He tries to maintain what they once had, but it’s hard to find the time for each other and fit in the demands of work and family. Even though this would seem to be a close portrayal of a Stepford type father figure.

The Mother homemaker and confidant’, going in every which direction to fulfill everyone’s needs. In charge of the household, the person who sets down the law. Trying to be there for everyone, battling every crisis large or small, and soothing everyone’s fears and injuries. This is the one person in every household that should be placed in high esteem by the rest of the family. She’s the one who sacrificed her youthful figure for their right to life; she nurtured them and taught them the basic skills of life. The relationship she maintains with her husband is not so much as a subservient wife where she sees him as lord and master of the realm, but as a partnership. Sharing in the joys and hardships of the family.

The children intelligent know it all’s. “Been there done that ” attitude. All ready know everything there is and can’t be told different. Until they get in trouble, then it’s off the to mom and dad to bail them out. Trend setters in their own mind have to have everything that everyone else has, Nikes, jnco’s, the latest CD’s and anything else that’s hip. Don’t get me wrong they have their good qualities it usually surfaces in a one on one situation. That’s when you realize the type of hopes, dreams, and ambitions they harbor. All in all some of the best kids to be around, until all three decide to gang up on you and you have to resort to your wits and will power.