Coco paper

FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY IN COCO PAPER 1
Family Systems Theory in Coco
Reagan Brownfield
University of Georgia

Introduction
Family Systems theory is very detailed and requires an in depth analysis of multiple aspects of
the family. Disney Pixar’s Coco provides an exceptional platform for this type of analysis.
Throughout the deep inner-workings of the Rivera family from Mexico, concepts of family
systems theory are evident. In an examination of the family genogram, an in-depth breakdown of
the four first order tasks, including: emotional climate, boundaries, maintenance, and identity,
and a case study of the family unit as a whole, family systems theory in the Rivera family is
further explored.
Genogram Exploration
Significant Dates
The most important date present within the Rivera family genogram is the year 1921. This is
when the big event takes place of Mama Imelda’s husband, Hector, leaving her and her daughter,
Mama Coco. This is the time in which music becomes eternally unwelcome in the Rivera family,
to much of Miguel’s dismay. Mama Imelda learns to make shoes in order to introduce a new
normal into the family, and this will be the Rivera legacy. Another important date that we see in
the genogram is the celebration of Dia de los Muertos on October 31st. This is the day where
land of the dead and land of the living come together. Ancestors get to see their following
generations and every soul, dead and alive, feels celebrated.
Gender Beliefs and Values
Gender values are never openly stated in Coco, however, it can be inferred from stories in the
movie and from the genogram that Rivera men are held to high standards. At the beginning of
the movie, a man, upon leaving the family to pursue music, introduces unreliability. Men are
seen as unreliable, and no Rivera man will ever be that unreliable or distracted ever again.

Women, on the other hand, are seen as powerful figures in the family, with Miguel’s
grandmother, Abuelita running the family altogether. Once this man abandons the family, Mama
Imelda is left alone to raise her daughter, and becomes determined to do just that. She also got
down to business and decided to learn how to make shoes. Generation after generation, she
teaches her family to make shoes. Abuelita takes after Mama Imelda in how she wants to control
the family and take charge.
Secrets
Within the genogram, there is perhaps the largest piece of information about someone that
remains unknown to the rest of the family. Papa Hector did indeed leave Mama Imelda and
Mama Coco to pursue his big music dreams, however, he did not intend for it to be this way
forever. He missed them deeply and desired to return to them, only was murdered by his best
friend, Ernesto De La Cruz, first. Mama Imelda does not know that Hector had planned to return
to her and their daughter. Had this situation been different, there would not be a deep loathe for
music present within the family’s future generations. The family would have had more open
boundaries and Abuelita’s intense sense of control would have loosened up. Also, if the situation
were different, then the family would be placing Hector’s picture on the ofrenda and he would be
able to cross over the bridge in the afterlife to witness the land of the living. He would not be
fading from the afterlife because he would still be remembered by his alive successors.
Losses
Mama Imelda loses her husband and therefore has to learn how to single-handedly raise her little
girl, as well as figure out a means by which to provide for the family. This strengthens her
relationship with her daughter, Coco, which then strengthens Coco’s ability to raise her own
daughter. Mama Coco and Abuelita experience a closer bond because of this. Mama Imelda,

however, is not the only one who has to withstand a loss. Papa Hector loses his close-knit family
when he chooses to leave them, but he also loses his life and the chance to ever mend those
broken fences. Eventually, that reconciliation will be able to take place in the land of the dead.
Papa Hector’s picture is not put up on the ofrenda and he is not being granted the opportunity of
ever seeing his family ever again, which is an unbearable loss for those in the land of the dead.
Themes
Miguel’s family is custom and tradition. They are faithful family members who value
togetherness. The Rivera family operates in very close quarters with one another and are very
intact. His family finds a lot of purpose in learning from one another and helping one another to
validate the family backbone. They behave in a protective manner towards one another and
towards the sacredness of family. Their family themes coincide directly with the
intergenerational model, meaning that the family of origin passes down rules and rituals as
legacies for the current family structure. The themes embellished within this family date back
into the early 1920s and have been passed down to each generation following. The family desires
a unity, and desires to be seen as this respective unit. Also very important to the Rivera family:
storytelling. Ancestors’ stories live on for generations and serve to set examples in the lives of
the living family members. The Rivera family in the land of the living has an abundance of
respect and love for those that came before them (Anderson and Sabatelli, 2010).
Analysis of Four First Order Tasks
Emotional climate
The emotional climate of Miguel’s family can be described as initially very unsupportive.
Miguel is at an age where he is discovering himself, and finds nothing but an unfailingly deeper
love for music. Unfortunately, in his family, not only is playing music not welcome, but even an

appreciation for music is banned. Miguel’s abuelita uses her control and authority over Miguel
and the rest of the family to manage the Rivera emotional climate and keep it family-focused.
Considering the fact that family togetherness is one of the most important values of the Rivera
family, Abuelita aims to manipulate this togetherness by not making it a possibility for Miguel to
branch off and individualize himself. If the rest of his family did not find an importance in
music, then Abuelita believed that Miguel should not either. This is what initially fostered that
incredibly unsupportive and tension-filled environment. Miguel would be extremely ridiculed
and his abuelita would be full of reproach if she caught him holding his guitar and singing.
Miguel is at an age where he is ready to individualize himself, to follow his own dreams and live
in his own unique character. He is realizing that he has a passion that separates him far from his
family’s values and interests. In result, there is a magnitude of conflict initiated by Abuelita. She
in in denial of his differentiation and refuses to accept (George, 2018).
Boundaries
The boundaries that are formed around and within the Rivera family are enmeshed. Enmeshed
boundaries mean that everyone’s personal boundaries are little to none, and everyone’s emotions
are everyone’s emotions (George, 2018). Each family member is close and connected, first
through the family shoe business. Valuing custom and tradition, they want each member of the
family to stay close knit by being a part of the family shoe business. The boundaries are also
very closed, meaning there are rules and it is not easy for family members to come and go
(George, 2018). This is something that is based way back in history, when Miguel’s great great
grandfather, leaves the family to play music and his great great grandmother refuses to have
music present anywhere in the family. Boundaries become closed and rigid, and this gets passed
down. Due to these familial boundaries being passed three generations, the family also exhibits a

great deal of morphostasis, which means it resists any form of change (Allen and Henderson,
2016). This is why when Miguel showed signs of familial change, Abuelita loses it. Over the
course of the movie, these boundaries start to drastically loosen up. During Miguel’s time in the
afterlife, he discovers the truth about his family’s history and his great great grandfather. When
his great great grandfather was going to return home to his family after he had already left for
music, he was murdered, preventing him from returning. Had this event happened, the zero
tolerance for music legacy that was passed down would not have existed. Upon Miguel’s
realization and mending of previously broken familial relationships, Mama Imelda and Hector,
music is once again welcomed into the Rivera household. These hard, closed off boundaries
formed before Miguel’s time begin to diffuse.
Maintenance
Maintenance tasks are those which accomplish the maintenance of the physical environment,
basic necessities, and the health and well-being of the family as a whole (Allen and Henderson,
2016). There are three main maintenance resources, which are: time, energy, and money. In the
Rivera family, these resources are taken care of by the family shoe-making business that Miguel
is so reluctant to be a part of. This is where the family places so much value and so to them, this
is well worth all of their resources. In the consistency of daily maintenance tasks, there is also a
hierarchy exerted by the family power structure. In the case of Miguel’s family, Abuelita seems
to be the fearless leader. She does everything she can to ensure the family legacy stays protected
by keeping the day-to-day family functions concrete. She is also seen in the film providing
Mama Coco and Miguel with food, which suggests that she takes control over that simple
maintenance task as well. She asserts herself over the rest of the family in assurance that
maintenance tasks are completed in a traditional Rivera family manner. It is because of Abuelita

that the Rivera family would also categorize as being over-organized, which means there is an
inflexible rigidness present. Each family member, throughout the course of their lives, has been
prepared for the day that they grab a shoe and learn their family’s only apparent skill, being that
this is how the family structure’s well-being is seemingly maintained.
Identity
The Rivera family identity largely can be described by just that one word: family. They love and
value family togetherness so much, which is something that is very visible throughout the
entirety of the film. It is centered around the Mexican holiday, “Dia de los Muertos”, or Day of
the Dead. This day aims at bringing together all family, living and deceased, to feel as one unit.
Ancestors in the afterlife get invited back, assuming their picture makes it to the ofrenda, to see
their families and watch them play with one another and engage in fellowship on this special
holiday. The Rivera family greatly cherishes its roots, desiring to carry family legacies forever.
In this family, reliability is part of the backbone. They fight for each other and protect one
another deeply, explaining Abuelita’s fierceness behind protecting Mama Coco from music. The
major story and theme of the plot is the fact that Mama Coco’s father left her and her mother,
Mama Imelda, to go and pursue his musician dreams of playing for the world, and then never
returned from his fantasyland. From this moment forward, music is no longer welcome, and is in
fact absolutely despised, by the Rivera family. This moment also propels the adamant surge of
the shoemaking business, and furthers the deep love that these family members have for one
another. The identity is fixed deeply within each individual member, and each member is
responsible for upholding the identity of the family. Miguel, as a young twelve-year old boy with
a burning passion and desire to make something different of himself, has a little bit of a different
identity journey in the film. Through music, he is able to create and dream. He finds so much

purpose and self-validation in strumming a guitar. His adventure into the afterlife is one of self-
exploration and a desire to find a missing piece of him, which he does in the most unlikely of
ways. He knows that he cannot be the only person in his family that has a heart for music and for
sharing it with others, and his goal is to strive to make this fact prove to be true. His personal
identity exploration is one that will ultimately serve to shift the Rivera family’s holistic identity
for the rest of time (Allen and Henderson, 2016).
Rivera Family Case Study
Family life cycle
Miguel is very free-spirited and individualistic, as opposed to the rest of his family’s
conventional ways of living. He has given himself the freedom and the means to create
something different with his life. This is made clear by the way he sneaks off to his own hideout
and plays Ernesto De La Cruz, his biggest music idol and inspiration, videos while playing the
guitar. Here, he feels at home, peaceful, joyful, purposeful. When his mama and papa were
growing up, they did as their family preferred. They were raised in a traditional Mexican
household, valuing familial togetherness, and eventually stepped into the Rivera shoe business.
However, it is a major goal of Miguel’s that no matter the amount of internal conflict between
obeying his family or following his dreams, he wants his passions to be respected by his family
members. Although his mama and papa are not seen in the movie as younger adults or younger
kids, it can be assumed that they followed familial rules and traditions set and didn’t drift deeply
into their own exploration. They are adamant about Miguel following Abuelita’s orders and
respecting the family law, as they are generationally closer to Abuelita and Mama Imelda. These
differences can be attributed to the difference in generational times, as well as a difference in
passions. His mother, father, and grandmother might not have possessed that deep, internal love

for music that he does. Also, his generation has a boldness and steadfastness that fosters
individuality and the desire to differentiate.
Ethnic Influences
Miguel’s family is a very traditional Mexican family. This is their proud ethnicity. Ethnicity is
shaped by to what extent one identifies with their place of origin. This is something that can
greatly influence a family identity. His family is close natured, which is largely fostered by their
relation to their ethnicity. They have imbursed themselves in Mexican culture, valuing the
importance of family and of creating an unbreakable familial bond. Miguel enjoys going to the
town square and interacting with people because he values a communal aspect of living and was
raised to be a relational person, all of which tie back to his ethnic background. He is also a little
bit different from his family in the fact that his family hates music, and might be alone in that
category. Mexican culture loves the creativity of music, just as Miguel does. He deeply embraces
this part of who he is and how it connects him to his home.
Celebrations and Rituals
In Mexican culture, “Dia de los Muertos” is a huge traditional holiday full of rituals and
practices that keep ancestors close. The ofrenda holds pictures of deceased family members in
order to ensure they are not forgotten and that they are remembered in honor and dignity.
Abuelita feels very strongly about this holiday, expecting that every family member be at the big
supper. The family will commune at the big supper at the end of the day, and the ancestors will
be spiritually present, getting the opportunity to be a part of the family even if they no longer are
physically. It represents that family members and their legacies proudly stay with the family
generation after generation. Ancestors in the afterlife experience great joy in seeing their family
members carry out these legacies. When it comes to the Rivera family weekly traditions, they are

fairly simple. Everyone makes shoes every day, to provide for the family and to constantly
experience community within the family. Miguel’s family works hard in making shoes,
meanwhile Miguel is going around town speaking to musicians, listening to music, enjoying the
sounds of Mexico that his family so desperately despised. He also would sneak away to play the
guitar in a place where no one in his family could hear him, so that he would not get into trouble.
Miguel’s weekly traditions for himself differ greatly from that of his family, just as his character
and personality do.
Rules and Values
The Rivera family, just as any other family, has sets of rules that help the family function to
operate. There are two main types of rules found in Coco, overt and covert. Overt rules are
openly stated and clear. Covert rules are implicit, understood but do not need to be spoken aloud.
A large overt rule present in this family is the extreme non-tolerance for music, not even
something as simple as tapping a foot or lightly humming a song. Abuelita was so stern about
this rule that she not only openly, and angrily, stated it often, but she also broke Miguel’s guitar
when she continuously finds him attempting to pursue music. A covert rule that was found
within the family is the expectancy of every family member to prioritize family. Every family
member must value Dia de los Muertos, and they must be all present and attentive on that
holiday because this was a very important piece of culture. Everyone was to be closely connected
and intertwined in love, however everyone was also supposed to do whatever was in the best
interest of the family unit. While Miguel valued the covert rule here for the most part, he did not
incorporate the overt rule of zero music.
Stories

Due to the magnitude of intergenerational ties in the Rivera family, stories are powerful and they
get passed down generation to generation. A big story told from the beginning is the story of
Mama Imelda being left by her husband, Papa Hector, for his music passion. This story was the
initial influencer of the hatred of music, and gave Mama Imelda the idea to introduce a new
passion to the Rivera family name. As the film unfolds, it is revealed that Mama Coco, who has
severe memory loss, used to be sung to by her father, Papa Hector, which gave Miguel the idea
to sing and play the guitar to her in hopes that she would regain some pieces of her memory.
Mama Coco then recalls stories from her childhood, positive stories that include music and joy.
However, a very important story that contributes greatly to the plot as a whole is the one that
reveals that Ernesto De La Cruz is Papa Hector’s murderer, which ultimately prevented him from
going back to be with his wife and daughter and focus on them. This act alone changed the
course of the Rivera family forever. Had Papa Hector been able to return to his family, there
would not be a negative stigma around music and Miguel would be completely free to be who he
was. The underlying message present in the majority of Miguel’s family stories is that families
are of the utmost importance and deserved to be valued wholeheartedly, but it is also important
to live your passions.
Philosophy of Life
Miguel’s family made meaning of life by keeping people the most important thing. A strength of
their family is intergenerational relations, which is exemplified in Miguel’s wonderful
relationship with his great grandmother, Mama Coco. Miguel enjoyed talking to Mama Coco and
being around her. At the end of the movie, he experienced great and proud joy in sharing Mama
Coco to his baby sister upon placing Mama Coco’s picture on the ofrenda. The world outside of
the Rivera family could be an unreliable place, but the closeness within the family would never

be characterized as unreliable. With the reiteration of the shoe business, this was how they
believed the family would work. The Rivera family also made sense of the world in which it
occupied by also pulling in wisdom and spiritual guidance from the world of the afterlife.
Miguel’s situation in the movie represented the Rivera family’s philosophy of life in the way that
he is physically connected to both the afterlife and the land of the living – which means he is
able to form relationships with multiple family members, living and dead, and learn from them
(Anderson and Sabatelli, 2010).
Conclusion
Family Systems Theory can be found in multiple ways in Disney Pixar’s Coco. Miguel’s family,
the Rivera family, makes an ideal family to do a case study on because of strange circumstances,
a family member longing to differentiate himself, and a family identity that is longing to be
altered. This family was holistically examined through an analysis of its genogram, as well as a
case study and an observation of the four first order tasks present.

References
Allen, K. R., & Henderson, A.C. (2016). Family Theories: Foundations and Applications. Wiley.
Anderson, S.A.., & Sabatelli, R.M. (2010). Chapter 4 Intergenerational Models. In Family
interaction: A multigenerational developmental perspective (pp. 56-71). Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.
George, J. (2018). Issues in Family Systems [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from TopHat
Unkrich, L. (Director). (2017). Coco [Motion picture on Netflix]. United States: Walt Disney
Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios.

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