Paper 4: Literature Review You are essentially going to merge papers 1 through 3 in order to compose an analysis and literature review on media representations of family through gender, race, and clas

Running head: PORTRAYAL OF FAMILIES On USA MEDIA 0

Portrayal of Families on USA Media

Alyssa Wichern

SYO 3100-007

Professor Salerno

3 November 2019

Trophy Wife is an American television sitcom aired on channel ABC from 2013 to 2014. There were several characters in the sitcom such as Pete who was a middle-aged lawyer with already two marriages i.e., Diane, a perfectionist doctor, and Jackie, flaky and new age. Pete had three children from his two marriages including Warren, Hillary, and Bert. The story mainly revolves around Kate who is a young, pretty, and attractive girl falling in love with Pete who was already married twice. Episode 12 of the show revealed that the story had explored the marriage concept along with the generation gap between newlywed Pete and Kate as there was a certain age gap between them. The modern family dynamics are also highlighted in the show involving the other two wives and three children in a lighter way. The target audience of the show was the married couples having certain age differences. The show made an effort for such couples to understand the expectations and requirements of their partners efficiently to improve their relationship. Moreover, the show is also suitable for individuals looking for a simple humor drama for passing their time happily. 

Brothers and Sisters are a drama series broadcasted on American TV channel ABC. The story mainly focuses on a Walker family living in Los Angles and California. The show involves various characters including William Walker, Kitty, Tommy, Kevin, Holly Harper, Saul, etc. All of the characters were related to each other by blood. Episode 31 of the show describes a family that was quite wealthy from an economic point of view. However, the family had to deal with a certain number of problems with each other after a sudden death of the head of the family viz William Walker that was taking care of the whole family business in a positive manner. The relationship between siblings is the main highlighted factor of the show. The show described a happy relationship between the siblings until the death of the father after which various secrets started to reveal in front of them creating issues for them and how they overcome the same differences to maintain positivity in their relationship. The show mainly targeted the audience living in a joint family system as most of the similar problems arise in such families; therefore, the show was beneficial for them to overcome their differences positively.

Gilmore Girls is a television show broadcasted on the American TV channel. There were several characters involved in the show; however, the key character around which the story revolves includes Lorelai Gilmore and Rory. Watching Episode 54 of the show describes that the show focuses on a mother and family living in Connecticut which is a small town and the people living around them are quite colorful. The story explores various experiences of the life taking place between a mother and daughter including friendship, ambition, education, family, romantic disappointment, etc. along with various other generational and social issues. The story illustrates that the younger generation is quite different from the previous one in terms of various things and the same differences create various issues between them. The elder and younger generations need to understand the expectations and requirements of each other positively to respond appropriately. The targeted audience of the show is the parents and their children as they are facing several issues due to the generational gap. The show provides them with a positive opportunity to overcome their differences in sustaining a positive relationship between them.

The portrayal of families by television is significant as it is resourceful for taking adequate information relating to the families. Such programs support in identifying the appearance and behavior of the expectation of family members from each other. The products from USA media are currently dominating international programming; therefore, maximum analysis regarding family analysis revolves around US programs i.e., Family Structure & Diversity (Callister, Robinson & Clark, 2007). The programming types certainly influence the portrayal of families including family dramas, soap operas, and situation comedies. All of these types make the use of family as a core element for enhancing the appeal of the programs (Leon & Angst, 2005). The author viewed three television shows for this particular study; these are Brothers and Sisters, Gilmore Girl, and Trophy Wife. The Brothers and Sisters show describe relationships pertinent between brother and sister during various stages of life i.e., starting from kindergarten to adulthood. The show overviews the relationship of siblings in various disasters of life such as political campaigns, adoption, and horrible car crash, and divorces. Gilmore Girls describes the relationship between mother and daughter living with their elders. The show describes the beautiful relationship of a family where they have only got love to share. Trophy Wife shares the story of an individual getting married thrice. The show displays a touching look regarding the family as to how each of them selects to work together instead of creating conspiracies against each other hilariously.

The media shows carry certain importance for improving relationships between families as they portray a relatable character on-screen after which it becomes clearer for the family members to understand the desires of others and react accordingly. The families make use of such programs for structuring their hectic lives appropriately (Muter, Gore, Gledhill, Lamont & Huveneers, 2012). The media programs structure the attention of the family members as they keep focusing on any particular aspect. The media programs provide an overview of the relationship under various physical locations making it possible for the families to share more experience and physical proximity (Yunjuan & Xiaoming, 2007). The media programs also play a crucial role in keeping all the family members engaged with each other. The improper communication between the family members leads towards putting immoral influences on each family member deteriorating their relationship. The media programs enhance the interest of the family members in a great manner and they engage with each other in a meaningful conversation (Zurcher, 2018). It means that the family members do not only gain the opportunity of sharing time physically but they also share a positive experience bringing intrinsic value to their relationship (Leon & Angst, 2005). The usage of social media allows the family members to interact with each other; however, lack of physical togetherness reduces the charm greatly (Callister, Robinson & Clark, 2007).

The class status of the families displayed on the US media varies significantly. The USA media does not focus on the portrayal of any particular kind of class status. The economic changes in the country have led to enormous changes in the earning capacity of the individuals segregating them into various class statuses. One of the best parts of the US media is that it provides a detailed insight to all the families honestly belonging to each class status meaning that the individuals belonging to different class statuses can gain information from the media for improving their relationships within the family. Moreover, it also supports them in understanding the family values in the individuals belonging to the different class structure supporting them efficiently to engage with them in a better manner due to any reason.

The media programs allow all the family members to sit together and engage in a conversation. The media programs benefit the family members in understanding the expectations of their relatives, where the togetherness allows them to gain more clarification regarding the collected information (Leon & Angst, 2005). The individuals take information relating to the actions that could be taken by them towards the formation of a perfect family. The programs carry the power of showing the positive sides of both traditional and non-traditional families (Muter, Gore, Gledhill, Lamont & Huveneers, 2012). It means that the family members gain the opportunity of skipping conventional methods and adapting new ones for improving their relationships with each other. The media programs provide a positive opportunity to the family members for understanding the counter strategies and support that could be provided by them to their fellows in case of any disaster like divorce, accident, etc. (Yunjuan & Xiaoming, 2007). The media programs also benefit the family members in understanding the stereotypes existing in society and the extent up to which they are negative. It benefits the family members in accepting differences within each other to improve the relationship between each other marginally (Zurcher, 2018).

The study describes information regarding the influence of media in portraying USA families. The study carries significant information regarding the importance of the media and the positive role that could be played by the same for enhancing the relationship between the families. The family members can view the fictional characters and their expectations for improving their actions to meet the expectations of their family members leading towards a perfect family. The media needs to portray a true image of the families as the family members are gaining information from the same for boosting the relationship of trust, credibility, etc. with their fellows. If the media displays any wrong portrayal of the family, the families might end worsening their relationships with each other instead of improving them.

References

Brothers and Sisters. (2013). [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adyOqfJoMEw

Callister, M., Robinson, T., & Clark, B. (2007). Media Portrayals of The Family In Children's Television Programming During The 2005–2006 Season In The USA. Journal Of Children And Media, 1(2), 142-161. doi: 10.1080/17482790701339142

Gilmore Girls. (2019). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXd0ToBrjl4I_jL6BcmE3QA

Leon, K., & Angst, E. (2005). Portrayals of Stepfamilies in Film: Using Media Images in Remarriage Education. Family Relations, 54(1), 3-23. doi: 10.1111/j.0197-6664.2005.00002.x

Muter, B., Gore, M., Gledhill, K., Lamont, C., & Huveneers, C. (2012). Australian and U.S. News Media Portrayal of Sharks and Their Conservation. Conservation Biology, 27(1), 187-196. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01952.x

Trophy Wife. (2019). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko25n2zspuc

Yunjuan, L., & Xiaoming, H. (2007). Media Portrayal of Women and Social Change. Feminist Media Studies, 7(3), 281-298. doi: 10.1080/14680770701477891

Zurcher, J. (2018). The Portrayal of Families across Generations in Disney Animated Films. Social Sciences, 7(3), 47. doi: 10.3390/socsci7030047