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CorporalCoyotePerson298
Images of families are everywhere in media, including in movies and…
Images of families are everywhere in media, including in movies and television. What constitutes a family has changed significantly in recent decades, and much of those changes are reflected in the families we watch on screens. Some of these images reflect our personal experience of family and some are very different from what we know and have experienced.
STEP 1: Choose either a television show or movie to do some research from a sociological lens. Look for a family that is explored in depth. There should be a strong enough depiction of family members and how they interact to be able to explore sociological concepts. This doesn’t mean you are limited to only shows or movies that take a serious or dramatic approach. You can choose any genre you like, as long as the show features enough family interaction for you to work with. (And as you know from the materials we have covered so far, family can be defined in many ways.)
STEP 2: Refer to Taver Sociological Theories Paradigms and the Study of the Family.pdf(In the image below) and review the theoretical views of the family identified in the chapter. Choose a theoretical framework through which to analyze your chosen family.
Reflect on how well your family selections support a theoretical view of family. Your reflection should be in longs paragraphs Use your identified families as support for or an argument against the theoretical view of family in society. Consider the following questions:
What norms are assumed in this family?
What roles do family members have?
How are the assumptions and points of view in this family understood through your chosen theoretical view?
What argument do these families make about public perceptions of family behavior and structures?
What does this family say about society?
For example, you might decide to write about how the Simpsons reflect a functionalist view of the family in society. You can evaluate each family member on how well they socialize Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, how each member provides emotional and practical support for each other, and how significant changes in their family impact its stability.
For additional information on theoretical frameworks–Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Sympbolic Interactionism–click the link below. You will will find a breakdown of each framework and a short video with an explanation of how each applies to a sociological perspective on families:
Theoretical Perspectives on Marriage and Family (link: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-introductiontosociology/chapter/theoretical-perspectives-on-marriage-and-family/)
