The concept of dysfunction refers to closed communication (Bitter, 2014). Function is described by open communication that leads to health interactions and behaviors (Bitter, 2014). For example in the case of Janssens family, the mother was struggling to gain power and control over her current family dynamics (Rober, 2011). The family would be considered to be functioning at a dysfunctional level. The communication between the mother and her two sons were closed (Bitter, 2014).…
The documentary, Two American Families, is about two American families (one white and one black) from Milwaukee, the Neumann and the Stanley family, who shared how they lived their lives for two decades. This documentary showed how difficult it was for these families to achieve the American dream, as they were affected by the varying degrees of poverty, unemployment, and poor economy. Watching the documentary, Two American Families, was quite emotional for me. I was able to put myself on these families’ shoes. The documentary showed an example of how a lot of ordinary American families live and face the daily struggles of life.…
Coen Brothers are known as the most famous and popular independent film makers nowadays, they have produced many films labeled as B movies. The Coens’ films, unlike the Hollywood ones, often carry radical skepticism or a liberal outlook, from their very first film Blood Simple to the recent Inside Lewin Davis, always achieve on a low-budget with a small scale of production and their own stock company of actors. Their films are known for the mixing violence, dark humor, film noir, their films are frequently researched within a postmodern perspective. Though postmodernity and postmodernism are two distinctive ideas or theories, one responds more to an aesthetic, and the other is more of a condition of the society, but in many of their films,…
Each family has their differences. No family is perfect. There comes a time in each family’s lives when their differences can set them aside and even start to pull them apart. It always seems there is one person who can help keep them together. However, when that one person is no longer with us, it takes a toll and soon things start to spiral more and more out of control.…
The Ken and Barbie killers were a couple that conducted murders together for their own pleasure. This case is very unique from when the study started because of its nature and type of crime. “Ken” real name was Paul Bernardo and “Barbie” real name Karla Homolka. This case is very unique because it was linked from an early age of Paul Bernardo, which led to his rampage.…
Big Mama Documentary Analysis – Tracy Seretean, filmmaker The 2000 documentary Big Mama covers an 18-month span chronicling the battle an 89-year-old grandmother, Viola, has in keeping her grandson, Walter, out of the foster care program. Walter’s mother was an addict who delivered him while she was under the influence, only to disappear completely from his life shortly after. Subsequently, while on his deathbed, Walter’s father, begged his mother to take care of Walter, though it would seem that Viola was unable to secure custody of Walter immediately following the death of her son. Inspiration for the documentary came from journalist Erin Texeira who wrote that Viola struggled to obtain custody of, the then four-year-old Walter after he “had…
The family roles exhibited in this show are fairly diverse. The typical mother daughter roles, as personified with Dorothy Zbornak (Beatrice Arthur) and her mother in the show, Sophia Petrillo’s (Estelle Getty) relationship. Other characters take on this type of motherly role throughout the show, but none more than these two characters. As far as functions go, the characters of the show take on all manners of different functions.…
Merging two very different families in marriage can create a lot of turmoil throughout the life of a marriage, however, merging to very different families can be a blessing for future generations. This paper analyzes the family portrayed in My Big Fat Greek Wedding from a multi-generational family therapy perspective as well as outlines interventions, Ian Miller and Tula Portokalis can benefit from within their marital relationship. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about a first generation American, Tula’s, difficulty with being a healthy person who is able to embrace a sense of belonging to her family while establishing a sense of separateness and individuality (Bitter, 2014).…
I decided to watch Malcom in the Middle, which is a comedy TV series that is based upon a dysfunctional family which centers around the high IQ gifted middle child named Malcom. Malcom has three brothers. The youngest named Dewey is the one always getting picked on. Dewey is also easily influenced by his older brothers to participate is wrongful acts. The oldest named Francis and second oldest named Reese are the trouble makers.…
What are some of the main causes of tension between family members? Are the causes related to societal expectations, cultural expectations, or personal pride? Or maybe it is a combination of all of these causes? How these external and internal conflicts can affect the relationship among family members is noticeable in the short stories, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and “The Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan. In both, “Harrison Bergeron,” and “The Rules of the Game,” the impact of these struggles can be seen between the relationships of the parents and their children; Harrison’s parents, in “Harrison Bergeron,” show indifference towards how societal beliefs affect their son while Mrs. Jong, in “Rules of the Game,” favors cultural expectations…
Franny and Zooey is a book mostly about family. Mostly a family that is healing after Seymour did suicide. Seymour was Bessie (the mother) oldest son who killed himself. That was what the family was healing from. Their family bond was different than other usual families.…
PARENTHOOD The Braverman family faces many obstacles in Parenthood and as a viewer, I was very intrigued by the dynamic of the family and show. This show is unique and deals with issues that different types of families can relate too. I will admit that during some of the episodes, I was overwhelmed by the problems and drama the family goes through. At one point, I thought they over exaggerated the situation but quickly realized that this is the reality.…
Ron Howard’s 1998 dramatic comedy, Parenthood, explores various parental and interfamily relationships within a family dynamic. This feel-good comedic film explores four parenting styles portrayed by four suburban families over the course of a single summer. Frank and Marilyn Buckman’s children, Gil, Helen, Susan Huffner, and Larry, all exhibit different parenting styles and strategies despise their own father’s neglectful unemotional parenting tactics. Due to the neglect, he experienced during his own childhood, Frank Buckman was unable to relate emotionally to his own children and therefore was a neglectful parent. Frank’s parenting style played an important role in shaping the way his own kids parented their own children.…
Donna’s Determinants Income and Social Status- Donna’s family is considered to be a low income family. According to Living in Canada, the average annual wage of a painter is 10,416 (Living in Canada, 2014, para. 1), whereas her mother does not make an income, and stays at home with Donna and her three other siblings. Considering that Donna’s father is the main supporter of the family, his yearly income is not enough to provide essential needs for his wife and 4 children. This is shown through the video when Donna’s father speaks about about the family running out of food and having no choice but resort to food banks; which is directly related to the father 's income. Even when the family did have money for groceries, we noticed that whenever…
The film “ The Founder “ is based on a true story of man named Ray Kroc ( Michael Keaton playing a small time businessman with a big time dream ) a salesman from Illinois , who builds his way up through the ranks of the business world . The film starts off following Ray Kroc on his journeys of being a salesman trying to sell milkshake makers to restaurants , mostly unsuccessful . Hes a quick talker , eager businessman , who’s life is comfortable but he always wants more, from the get go it is very visible that Ray has a great business mind and was very inelegant. During Rays journeys he runs across two men named Mac and Dick McDonald who ran a burger operation in Southern California in the 1950’s . Mac and Dic’s burger operation was very…