1. Family Collage
Ben
Ives
Communica/on
in
the
Family
Maureen
Ebben
Due:
4/10/11

2. Background
Informa/on
• For
this
assignment,
I
chose
to
look
at
the
Tanner
Family
from
the
hit
TV
show
“Full
House.”
Their
family
is
made
up
of
Danny
(the
father),
DJ
(oldest
daughter),
Stephanie
(middle
child),
and
Michelle
(youngest
daughter).
The
mother
of
this
family
was
killed
in
a
car
crash
by
a
drunk
driver,
which
prompted
Danny
to
ask
both
his
brother
in
law
(Uncle
Jesse),
and
best
friend
(Joey
Gladstone)
to
move
into
the
house
and
help
raise
his
three
daughters.

3. Family Type
• Because
the
mother
was
never
present
during
the
show,
I
would
consider
the
Tanner’s
both
a
“single-­‐parent
family,”
as
well
as
an
“extended
family.”
I
feel
that
this
family
falls
under
these
descriptors
because
although
Danny
was
technically
the
only
true
“parent”
that
was
relevant
during
the
shows
airing,
his
extended
family
(brother
in
law)
as
well
as
best
friend
(Joey)
were
just
as
pivotal
in
raising
the
three
girls
as
Danny
was.
Uncle
Jesse
(leV),
Uncle
Joey
(right).

4. Communica/on
PaXerns
• Chapter
2
of
the
text
refers
back
to
different
communica/on
paXerns
and
family
func/ons.
With
the
loss
of
their
mother,
the
Tanner
family
became
extremely
close
and
loyal.
The
text
describes
an
“enmeshed”
family
as-­‐
members
are
so
intensely
bonded
and
over
involved
that
individuals
experience
liXle
autonomy
or
fulfillment
of
personal
needs
and
goals.
Total
loyalty
is
expected.
Family
members
appear
fused
or
joined
so
/ghtly
that
personal
iden//es
do
not
develop
appropriately;
thus,
members
are
highly
interdependent
(31).”
I
personally
feel
this
enmeshed
style
describes
the
Tanner
family,
as
well
as
Uncle
Joey
and
Uncle
Jesse
very
well.

5. Rituals
• “Rituals
contain
a
variety
of
meanings
and
messages
in
paXerened
and
emo/onally
powerful
forms;
they
serve
to
remind
members
of
who
they
are
and
they
reflect
a
family’s
rela/onal
culture
(116).”
• Throughout
each
season
of
Full
House,
the
Tanner
family
remains
extremely
close.
Although
I
cannot
specifically
remember
any
nightly
rituals
from
show
to
show,
the
family
made
it
a
point
to
always
do
things
together.
I
can
remember
one
specific
episode
where
they
travel
together
to
Disney
World.
There
is
an
issue
where
Michelle
wanders
off
and
becomes
lost,
and
together
as
a
family
they
work
together
to
find
her.
Although
this
seems
obvious,
in
many
instances
people
would
enter
a
state
of
panic
and
try
to
do
this
individually.

6. Family
Roles-­‐
Danny
Tanner
• Danny
Tanner
would
be
looked
at
as
the
All-­‐American
father
to
many.
The
way
he
handles
his
everyday
business
with
the
family
is
the
ideal
way
you
would
want
your
family
ran.
Although
he
can
be
strict
when
necessary,
his
approach
to
everyday
life
would
be
seen
by
the
viewers
as
flawless.
He
has
an
extremely
strong
set
of
morals
that
he
follows
very
closely.

7. Uncle
Jesse
• Although
both
Uncles
are
considered
“cool”
by
many,
Uncle
Jesse
has
more
of
a
father
role
to
the
girls
than
Uncle
Joey.
This
could
par/ally
be
because
he
has
experience
as
a
father,
especially
later
in
the
show.
He
is
best
known
for
his
hair
and
love
for
music,
and
always
seems
to
Be
there
when
the
girls
need
him
most.

8. The
Girls
• The
girls
of
the
house
seem
to
share
a
very
/ght
bond
with
each
other.
whenever
the
going
gets
tough,
they
always
seem
to
have
ones
back.
Although
they
are
each
a
few
years
separated
by
age,
this
doesn’t
stop
them
from
s/cking
together
as
one
and
remaining
as
close
as
possible.

9. Uncle
Joey
• Uncle
Joey,
Danny’s
best
friend
on
the
show,
who
also
is
a
huge
help
to
the
girls
childhood
development,
is
beXer
known
for
his
comedic
side.
On
the
show,
Joey
works
as
a
stand-­‐up
comedian.
Around
the
house,
he
always
seems
to
be
the
one
making
someone
smile
when
they
are
down.
I
believe
his
role
on
the
show
is
as
important
as
anyone's
because
his
personality
seems
to
keep
everyone
loose
and
happy,
even
when
its
going
bad.

10. Family
Typology
• The
Tanner
family
would
be
listed
as
a
“Pluralis/c
Family.”
This
type
of
family
is
described
by
the
text
as
“a
family
high
in
conversa/on
orienta/on
and
low
in
conformity,
have
open
communica/on
and
emo/onal
suppor/veness
for
their
families
(176).”

11. Conflict
• “The
way
in
which
family
members
view
conflict
has
a
great
impact
on
how
they
respond
to
and
deal
with
conflict
(217).”
• One
thing
that
I
feel
Danny
Tanner
does
beXer
than
any
other
sitcom
father
is
handles
his
role
as
a
disciplinarian.
Although
there
is
hardly
any
conflict
on
Full
House,
whenever
there
is
an
issue,
it
seems
to
be
resolved
quickly
and
effec/vely.

12. Conclusion
• Although
I
did
not
choose
my
own
family
to
look
at
during
the
Family
Collage
project,
I
feel
the
one
I
have
chosen
shows
great
relevance
to
this
project.
Because
the
mother
was
never
relevant
during
the
show,
it
made
it
interes/ng
to
look
at
different
ways
this
family
meshed
together,
and
how
the
roles
of
the
two
uncles
became
so
pivotal
in
the
development
of
the
girls’
childhoods.