The Nuclear Family is no Longer the American Ideal

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Times have changed; the nuclear family is no longer the American ideal because family needs have changed since the 1950's. This American convention of a mother and father and their two children, were a template of films and early television as a depiction of the American family life. Now seen as archaic and cliché by today’s standards, but the idea is common throughout many of the first world nations in the world. This ideal was a vast departure from the past agrarian and pre industrial families, and was modeled and structured as the ‘American dream’ father working, mother maintaining the household and children molded to be simulacra of the parents. This portrayal was not the standard; many communities throughout America had a different structure due to social and racial values or economic constraints. The 1950’s also brought about a change in technology that brought the world to everyone’s homes and gave people plenty to think about. A television in the home wasn’t just a family time activity, the radio serials of earlier generations were similar, but with the images and nationwide spectrum brought into the home, it was easier conceptualize the events of the world. The television was becoming a window to the world, sitcom dramas and the nightly news were stark contrasts, seeing your favorite characters live their lives was nice but when the news told of warfare and hidden communist threats. Society began to see that other groups in the nation weren’t like the nuclear family, that many events on the nightly news were real and not rumors and easily dismissed. The influence of advertising and television, gave people the idea of items and status equaling happiness, economic prosperity led to the replacement of family functions. Ind... ... middle of paper ... ...ng. The adaption and growth of different ethnic and social groups led to more nontraditional families, these groups found what works for them. Education and technology, gave more people an opportunity to learn and focus on what made them happy, not so much what society had in mind for them. Whether or not a nuclear family is the “best” type of family structure is highly debatable. Many American communities still hold it as the standard of family, but it is clear that different environments have different stigma that influences these groups. Religion, politics and geography are all constant in a community, the effects of the economy, media and social evolution all interweave with one another. If a family of the 1950’s was transplanted to today would it explode or go mad by the change that has occurred? The family would find its place in society and adapt and grow.

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