2. FAMILY
The Family I have chosen to do this assignment on is the family
from That 70's Show.
That 70's Show is an American TV series that ran for 8 seasons
(1998-2006).
That 70's Show is.. “A comedy revolving around a group of
teenage friends, their mishaps, and their coming of age, set in
1970s Wisconsin.” (IMDB)
3. Family Type
The type of family from That 70s
Show is 2 parent biological.
Red and Kitty are the parents.
Laurie and Eric are the two
kids.
4. Family Roles
The roles in this family are pretty
stereotypical for this type of family.
This is a family that communicates a lot
and their roles stem from
communication. “ Roles are
inextricably bound to the
communication process. Family roles
are developed and maintained through
communication.” (Galvin, Bylund,
Brommel, 2012, p. 151)
Red – Father, financial provider, disciplinary,
handy man, very hard on the kids,
especially Eric.
Kitty – Mother, financial provider, and cook.
Makes a lot of jokes. The kids look to her
for nurturing. Keeps the house clean and
does the laundry.
5. Family Roles
Eric – Son and student. Would
rebel from his parents but at
the same time try to be a good
son. Friends had a big
influence on him.
Laurie – Daughter and student.
Not very smart and lazy.
Always tries to get Eric in
trouble.
6. Family Themes
“A theme may be viewed as a pattern of
feelings, motives, fantasies, and
conventionalized understandings
grouped around a particular locus of
concern.” (Galvin, Bylund, Brommel,
2012, p. 39)
The Forman's family theme is “Love and
respect”. There is a mutual love and
respect amongst everyone in the family,
regardless of how they treat each other
sometimes. They look to each other for
love and support.
7. Family Rituals
“Family Rituals range from those Some family rituals the
tied to the overall culture to Formans have...
those known to only two or three
members.” (Galvin, Bylund, Eating breakfast and dinner
Brommel, 2012, p.115) together.
4th of July BBQ.
8. Communication Functions
From looking at the 4 categories of
communication functions, I
would have to say that the
Formans are cohesive.
They are close emotionally. When
push comes to shove, they are
loyal to each other. There is a
sense of togetherness with this
family. They also emphasize on
individuality.
9. Decision Making
“Decision making is the process by which family memebers make
choices, reach judgments, or arrive at solutions that end
uncertainty”(Galvin, Bylund, Brommel, 2012, p. 194)
Most of the decision making in the Forman family is made by Red.
Kitty has a lot of influence in his decisions. Eric tries to step out
and make his own decisions, which don't always work out in his
favor.
10. Typology
“Consensual families are high in both
conversation and conformity strategies
with their communication characterized
by pressure for agreement, although
children are encouraged to express
ideas and feelings.”(Galvin, Bylund,
Brommel, 2012, p. 173)
I would have to say that for Forman's are
this type of family. They are all very
open with each other for the most part.
Kitty facilitates a lot of it.
11. Conflict Management
“Members of a family systems develop
implicit and explicit rules governing
the communication of conflictual
messages.” (Galvin, Bylund,
Brommel, 2012, p. 220)
Conflicts within the Forman family usually
result in Eric getting in trouble. Most of
the conflicts are between Eric and Red.
Eric almost always ends up in trouble. Red
is very strict and this paired with a
rebelling teenager leads to many
conflicts. In the end though they get
over it.