Changing Notion of Nuclear Family as Portrayed in Television Shows

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This paper explores the changing notion of the nuclear family. The understanding and operations of a nuclear family have changed over time. This is well exemplified in the way the nuclear family has been portrayed in television shows over time.

The nuclear family is at the centre of children’s growth and development (Hansen 5). Apart form parents and siblings; other people are also involved in the growing up or every stage of the children’s life. The mother alone cannot be able to take care of the children all alone without the help of the nuclear family even though she is culturally preferred to take care to the children.

Relatives often have to help in taking care of their children when the mother and father are not available; this is where the help of the extended family is needed and is preferred by most parents. When there help is not available parents seek other options like schools, after school programs, child care centers etc (Hansen 6).

Hegemonic ideology of the nuclear family is clearly exposed in the Simpson show, which is popular among adults and the children alike. The show portrays the middle class nuclear family in America: father is Homer; mother is Marge, and the three children who are Bart, Lisa and little Maggie who live in town of Springfield, U.S.A.

Most of the family television shows portrayed a family as happy and perfect but Simpson had a different way of portraying a family by showing how a true family is because it’s not always happy and perfect. By using comedy Simpson looks at popular culture.

It reflects the true color of a nuclear family and the constant quarrels among family members. The Simpson displays frustrations and irritations in a family and how sometimes it suffers lack of money and other important effects and it portrays nuclear family which is a very important image of the family.

In the Simpson the father is not displayed as the only one who can make decisions or who knows everything but as a rebellious one and also a failure (Bowler 1). Though the show has been blamed for portraying bad role models for children and parents and for the declining family values in America, it ends with celebration and appreciation of the nuclear family as a very important part of the family which has been assumed by many other family television shows (Cantor 70).

The mother and daughter are good role models as Marge Simpson is a mother who is dutiful and a good housekeeper as shown in the episode where she goes off for an outing. She has a talent in painting and she tries to nurture it in different episodes of the show, e.g. the “Brush with Greatness” where she made and painted a portrait of Ringo Starr.

Lisa on the other hand is a model of a perfect child in a modern nuclear family. She performs and achieves great in school and is also a vegetarian and an environmentalist, she is always right and all she does is correct. She portrays her integrity when she refuses to smoke in the episode “Lisa the beauty queen” (Cantor 74).

The father “Homer” is portrayed as a dumb, illiterate, weak character and morally wrong. He has all these bad characters but he plays well his role of a father by being there for his family. He lacks many qualities we expect in a perfect father as he is often selfish putting his own interests first (Cantor 70).

Bart is the only son of Homer and Merge and he’s the first born in the family. He is portrayed as a mischievous, rebellious and disobedient to his parents.

Simpson portrays the most important image of the family which is the nuclear family (Cantor 70). Although some of the characters are not good role models making the Simpson to be viewed by many critics as not a model of a perfect family they care for one another and they bring out the roles of each and every member of a nuclear family.

Homer as the father is the breadwinner and he works in a nuclear power plant. Merge Simpson continues to play her role of taking care of baby Maggie and home keeper while Bart and Lisa attend school (Martin 74).

Religion also features well in the Simpson family. The family and majority of the town as well attend church service at the First Church of the Springfield which is a non denominational church. Many of the characters are religious and there is also a Sunday school for children where many attend but they are mostly forced and Bart Simpson also doesn’t like attending Sunday school but he seems to enjoy some of the theological teachings they receive.

In the Simpson family, religious difference is also displayed. Marge and Lisa display family’s good morals while Homer and Bart represent family’s lack of good morals. But at the end the good morals always triumph (Bowler 3). The mother, Merge, holds the family together by her sense of morality and her commitment to them. This has helped the family from falling. She is devoted to God and always looks to Him for strength to keep her family strong (Kisken 1).

Lisa is the smartest girl in Springfield and also intelligent. She looks at religion a combination of morals and tradition and not just faith. She believes in everything there is a cause and consequence and this is why she cannot watch stolen cable because she believes she will go to hell if she does. Her strong sense of morality helps her live a good life and be a good example and influence her family positively so that they can live good lives as well.

Bart is a rebellious 10 year old boy who is rebellious to every authority he is under, his parents, school, God etc. But he always turns to the authority he rebels about for control and at the end things turn out good for him (Bowler 27). It is through Bart that the others’ good character is brought into the open.

This is seen where he lies about ruining Christmas for the family, they loose everything to the angry people of the town. This experience teaches the family to stick together and appreciate one another and also learn that there is more to Christmas than material possession (Bowler 15).

Homer seems to be confused and doesn’t understand religion well. He doesn’t seem to understand the Bible and often misquotes it. Example is when he was telling Lisa how the Bible says gambling is not wrong yet Marge kept saying it is wrong. When Lisa asked him where in the Bible he answers that it is somewhere in the back. Though Homer constantly falls into sin due to his confusion his total dedication to his family makes him to always choose good over evil after all (Kisken 3).

When trouble comes, the Simpson’s always turn to God by praying. This can be seen where Bart lost his soul, he turned to God and prayed and God answered his prayer. This shows that God answers prayer which is believed by many nuclear Christian families. The show recognizes that families are not perfect and it focuses on the realism of life and that people don’t have all the answers of life but there is always somewhere we can turn to when looking for answers.

There are several examples that show Merge as the feminist she is. Politically and socially, she is a wife as well as a mother. In high school she burned her bra and this is a typical behavior of a feminist. In another episode, “she goes off on a jaunt al Thelma and Louise” (Cantor 74).

Lisa also shows her feminist characteristics just like her mother, she is a vegetarian, political and an environmentalist. There is this episode where Lisa decides to be a vegetarian and later in the episode we see her trying to change the rest of the family by convincing them to be vegetarian like her. Later while discussing about vegetarianism with her friends who are also vegetarians, Lisa decides that it is not good to push her own values on other people but to appreciate other people’s values and live diplomatically mutually.

The Simpson’s often travel around the world and in another episode Bart is banned from traveling to France for bad behavior. “The Simpson effectively portrays globalization in America in the 1990s (Cantor 91). They are aware of the rich kind of life outside their country America.

The Simpson portrays Globalization in Springfield. There are many foreign people living in this town for example their local store is run by an immigrant from India known as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. We see foreign celebrities like John Elton visiting the Simpson family.

This shows the way television brings celebrities from allover the world inside the homes of middle class nuclear families and makes them seem their actual neighbors. Politically the Simpson show portrays a typical and traditional American nuclear family. And the way we view the show has changed over the years, it doesn’t just show cartoon characters but the realism of life. The Simpson family is seen as part of a local community and in this way we learn that a family can be sustained by a small community.

Status quo is also reflected in the town where the Simpson’s live. We see Monty Burns who is the richest man in the town; he lives in a big mansion and owns most of the town. Being rich he enjoys the good things of life because he has a lot of money to buy anything he wants.

Homer is a working class who wakes up every morning to go to work which is typical of a working father in a middle class nuclear family. Thus Homer plays an important role in the building of the community. The Simpsons also advocate free market and capitalism; this we see where Homer was complaining about the American donuts.

With its rich style of comedy, the Simpson has many examples which make it be able to maintain its status quo. Monty Burns who is the richest man in the town is also the man with least morals. Homer is working and the audience sees him go to work everyday but is rarely seen working, often he is stealing donuts or has his feet up and eyes closed.

The consuming culture of television is reflected by the characters in the Simpson. The characters in the show consume culture just as audience consumes them. Simpson is a show about consumption and many people can identify with it. An unusual tension concerning consumption is reflected here, viewers are influenced as they are always looking forward to the pleasure they will feel in the shows continuous consumption while others learn to be cautious of such actions.

The Simpson is a postmodern content of popular culture and it gives its viewers identity. Homer is a victim of excessive consumption. He publicly embarrasses himself but through him, viewers are able to identify their wrongs and cautioned to consume with care and to make good use of the culture’s industry (Lehr 72).

The Simpson is just a show just like any other family TV show and it’s a story of everyday life of a typical middle class nuclear family. It is able to look into the moral belief, the roles of the genders and what audience expects from the show’s model of a family. In addition to this, parent teenager relationship is clearly reflected in the show and it portrays the best model of a modern nuclear family.

The family has gone through challenges which normal nuclear family goes through. Homer works in a nuclear power industry while Marge is a stay at home mother. She has to neglect her intellectual potential so as to be a mother and a housewife and in several occasions we see her trying to get a job outside home.

The Simpson family is a representation of a traditional nuclear family because it is composed of a father, mother, 3 children which is considered above average, pets and they have a grandparent who lives outside the family home. Traditionally or originally, nuclear family is expected to provide a good environment for family unity and happiness.

The Simpson family is not put in any category of category because they are yellow skinned but it is a working class. This is a significant blend of cartoon realism which is created by the show’s animated format. Their racial category can only be identified to be white based on culture rather than visual. This allows a great deal of cross racial viewing groups.

The Simpson portrays an example of conflict and resolution. In “The last temptation” Homer almost begins an affair with Mindy who is a new colleague; this makes him to almost become unfaithful to his wife Merge. In the related episode “Life on the First Lane”, Merge almost got tempted into a fling with her bowling coach.

Merge calls a local radio station complaining her Homer’s neglect and this humiliates him so much at work because all the workers had about it and laughed at him. Merge is able to resist the temptation of infidelity and finally she and her husband are united again at Homer’s place of work.

Homers working and family life is always a cause and solution to many oh his difficulties. In “Homers Odyssey”, Homer loses his job when Bart visits him at work and distracts him from working. However he is motivational and in his new role as a safety crusader and as he tries to find new meaning in life, he protects his family from danger.

He protects them from being hit by a speeding van by catching them and this makes him campaign for a stop sign in this part of town. When it is revealed that Marge is expectant, Homer is forced to go back to his former job at the nuclear power plant. Photographs of Maggie decorating his father’s desk at the plant are seen at the end of the episode. This shows support through necessity and inspiration from his nuclear family for him to continue working in the nuclear industry.

The Simpson portrays nuclear family power plant as an essential part of American suburbia because it retains the hegemonic dominance of such industries tycoons like Monty Burns, who is the owner of the industry.

The nuclear power plant represents the cultural politics and social awareness of the traditional and true American culture – the suburban American community and in this show the town of Springfield represents this culture. The value of nuclear family and nuclear power as social issue is seen in the town of Springfield. The Simpson family represents these two social issues.

The Simpson is a show that represents how a typical nuclear family runs in its day to day life. It challenges the model of a happy and perfect family which is always portrayed on television. It displays dysfunctions in a family because at times family is faced with problems and challenges. This is why the Simpson offers the best representation of a nuclear family.

The Simpson is a show in which the importance of family model, suburban values and day to day life in typical American culture is clearly represented (Kisken 2). In addition to this political attitude, citizenship attitude and also attitude towards the nuclear industry in the typical American culture is represented. The Simpson culturally identified with all groups of people.

Being an animated show, children, adolescents and even adults enjoy viewing and they are able to learn from the characters in the show. It’s also a comedy and this makes it enjoyable and it provides an environment for everyone to learn and enjoy. Hegemonic ideology of a nuclear family is clearly portrayed in the Simpson’s family where every member plays his or her role and through this the audience is able to learn and appreciate one another.

Though it’s not a perfect family, it portrays how a true and typical middle class nuclear family is. It is sometimes dysfunctional and broken but through the love and care they have for one another, they are able to face the challenges and maintain their relationship and love and they always remain united as a family.

In the typical nuclear family, both mother and father help their children to grow up well and if they go wrong, they bring them back in love (Lehr 29). Children especially teenagers are rebellious but the Simpson shows us how parents are important in our lives. A family should stick together through it all.

Works Cited

Bowler, Gerry. God and the Simpsons: The religious life of an animated sitcom. The Simpson’s Archive. 1996. Web.

Cantor, A., Paul. Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization. Plymouth: Rowan and Littlefield, 2003.

Hansen, V. Karen. Not-So-Nuclear Families: Class, Gender, and Networks of Care. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2005.

Kisken, Tom. The Gospel of Homer: Sarcastic Cartoon show is not without its Spiritual Moment. Ventura Country Star. 4^th September, 1999. Web.

Lehr, Valerie. Queer Family Values: Debunking the Myth of the Nuclear Family. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999.

Martin, Adrian. Phantasms. Carlton: McPhee Gribble, 1994.

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Changing Notion of Nuclear Family as Portrayed in Television Shows

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