The American Family…As Seen on TV?

The public sphere has been long- saturated with the
spectacle. Among the most prominent form of the
spectacle on television is noted through infamous
family sitcoms that work to explain the dynamics of
family life. Sociologists have long questioned the
role of the family, working to define it as an evolving
institution. This qualitative deductive research study
seeks to examine American family life and how it is
sociologically interpreted on the screen. Using the
sitcoms “Full House” to examine the role of fathers in
the family; “Step By Step” to evaluate the dynamic of
step-family life; “George Lopez” and “One Day at a
Time” to observe Latino-American life; “Black-ish” to
understand the realities of Black-American life, and
“Boy Meets World” to determine the ways in which
education is responsible for shaping identity; this
study works to embed and question the depictions of
sitcoms into an analysis of American family life.