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Family Changes Through Television

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The Family Changes through Television Media has always operated as a reflection of society. The same can be said with about families and television. Television and other forms of media have been serving as a platform to showcase what is socially acceptable at any given time. This means that while society has gone through changes, television shows have changed to accommodate new social norms as they develop in society. The socially accepted definition of the word “Family” has changed and will continue to change over time (Berman and Francis). This ever changing definition has been, and will always be displayed through television shows. At its most basic roots, a family is a group of people that share common ancestors either through blood …show more content…
The Tanners, the main inhabitants of the home, consisted of a widowed father, Danny and his three daughters D.J., Stephanie and Michelle. The daughters varied greatly in age with the oldest D.J. being depicted as the average teenage girl, followed by Stephanie who is in early adolescence, who is then succeeded by Michelle who is a toddler at the beginning of the series. The Tanner household, located in San Francisco, was also home to other individuals who did not share a blood line with the Tanners. The house also held the married couple Jesse and Rebecca Katsopolis, as well as the loner Joey Gladstone. These three had no genetic relation to the Tanners, however, Jesse did happen to be Danny’s brother-in-law. Joey, on the other hand was a long term friend of Danny’s …show more content…
Over time, more and more people agree that the family pet is indeed a very important part of any family. One television program that reflects this is aspect is the very popular animated sitcom Family Guy. This show again features the basic nuclear family with Peter, his wife Lois, and their children Meg, Chris and Stewie. This family, the Griffins, also feature a very unique member. Brian Griffin acts as the voice of reason in the show, he often supplies the family with sensible solutions to most of their outrageous problems. He is also a dog who has been given the ability to speak. In fact, he is given every quality a human has (Fox). This show presents the pet like this to show that pets are not only functioning members of families, but can also be seen as equals. This presentation further represents the status quo of contemporary society. This is how many Americans feel today, and the creators of the show were aware of that (Berman and

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