Hum-TV and The American Family questions Name Class Date Professor Hum-TV and The American Family questions 1. For Lois and Virginia, family photographs are very important: moments fixed in time. What about their families makes these mothers yearn for these moments? Lois and Virginia are middle aged women that realize that moments in time are precious because they go by so fast and so does time. Pictures are an important documentation of these memories is past memories that can never be recaptured. Even though Lois and Virginia have chaotic lives they long for the times they spent with their children when they were younger and less jaded. Their children are older and they no longer need their mothers as they did in the past when those memories were made. Family photographs show the times when the family was together making memories, good or bad. Lois and Virginia yearn for these times because these moments are fleeting and can never be recaptured. 2. Which of these two programs (Malcolm in the Middle or Raising Hope) is more straightforward and naturalistic? Explain. Malcolm is the middle is more straightforward and realistic portrayal of the American family. In Malcolm in the Middle the family consists originally of four sons and two parents forced to work long hours at menial jobs to feed and clothe these children. The children are not properly supervised which leads them into getting into all types of mischief. The trouble the boys get in ends up affecting their parent negatively. In Raising Hope the family is caring for a baby born out of marriage and an elderly parent which can be a part of a typical American family but the show is less naturalistic and has more fantasy than Malcolm in the Middle. For example the episodes when they thought the baby was going to become a serial killer like her executed mother. 3. Malcolm in the Middle: In "Sleepover," it is obvious that Stevie has "helicopter parents." What does this term mean? What are the possible ramifications of such behavior? Helicopter parents are parents that constantly hover over their children not giving them an opportunity to do anything for themselves. The helicopter parent is always worried about their child and will rarely take their focus of the child. Many helicopter parents deny their children the opportunity to do things other children do with normal parents. Lois and Hal are not helicopter parents but they are the complete opposite. The helicopter parent will over-parent while Hal and Lois under-parent. The way the helicopter parent is excessive. They are over concerned, over controlling, and overprotective (Bayless, 2014). When a child is constantly shadowed by their parent they do not learn to become independent and act for themselves. It is important for parents to allow their children to try thing and make mistakes so that they can cope as independent individual when out in society without their parents. If not they will grow up depen.

1. Hum-TV and The American Family questions
Name
Class
Date
Professor
Hum-TV and The American Family questions
1. For Lois and Virginia, family photographs are very
important: moments fixed in time. What about their families
makes these mothers yearn for these moments?
Lois and Virginia are middle aged women that realize that
moments in time are precious because they go by so fast and so
does time. Pictures are an important documentation of these
memories is past memories that can never be recaptured. Even
though Lois and Virginia have chaotic lives they long for the

2. times they spent with their children when they were younger
and less jaded. Their children are older and they no longer need
their mothers as they did in the past when those memories were
made. Family photographs show the times when the family was
together making memories, good or bad. Lois and Virginia
yearn for these times because these moments are fleeting and
can never be recaptured.
2. Which of these two programs (Malcolm in the
Middle or Raising Hope) is more straightforward and
naturalistic? Explain.
Malcolm is the middle is more straightforward and realistic
portrayal of the American family. In Malcolm in the Middle the
family consists originally of four sons and two parents forced to
work long hours at menial jobs to feed and clothe these
children. The children are not properly supervised which leads
them into getting into all types of mischief. The trouble the
boys get in ends up affecting their parent negatively. In Raising
Hope the family is caring for a baby born out of marriage and
an elderly parent which can be a part of a typical American
family but the show is less naturalistic and has more fantasy
than Malcolm in the Middle. For example the episodes when
they thought the baby was going to become a serial killer like
her executed mother.
3. Malcolm in the Middle: In "Sleepover," it is obvious that
Stevie has "helicopter parents." What does this term mean?
What are the possible ramifications of such behavior?
Helicopter parents are parents that constantly hover over
their children not giving them an opportunity to do anything for
themselves. The helicopter parent is always worried about their
child and will rarely take their focus of the child. Many
helicopter parents deny their children the opportunity to do
things other children do with normal parents. Lois and Hal are
not helicopter parents but they are the complete opposite. The
helicopter parent will over-parent while Hal and Lois under-
parent. The way the helicopter parent is excessive. They are
over concerned, over controlling, and overprotective (Bayless,

3. 2014). When a child is constantly shadowed by their parent they
do not learn to become independent and act for themselves. It is
important for parents to allow their children to try thing and
make mistakes so that they can cope as independent individual
when out in society without their parents. If not they will grow
up dependent and incapable of running a healthy, happy life.
Bayless, K. (2014). What is helicopter parenting. Retrieved
December 14, 2014 from
http://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/what-is-
helicopter-parenting/
4. "Poverty and deprivation are unsuitable subjects for comedy."
Do you agree?
Poverty and deprivation have been proven to be great
content for comedy. For some reason the despair of others can
be funny especially if the audience relates to what is happening.
There are many different television shows that use the topic of
poverty to get a laugh from audiences. Comedy is about making
light of topics that can be dark. The topic of poverty is dark and
many comedians will not touch it but other comedians that grew
up in poverty or even that experienced childhood abuse will use
these past experiences for material for their comedic shows. For
example Louie Anderson used experiences from his childhood
where his family was very poor and his dad was an abusive
drunk. There is always someone that can relate to comedy bout
poverty if it is approached in the right way.
5. Malcolm in the Middle: Malcolm and his brothers are the
ultimate latchkey children—in other words, children left to their
own devices between the end of school and their parents' return
from work. There's no evidence that daycare has ever been a
part of their lives. What are your opinions on this subject?
When lower middle class families have two working parents the
end result is usually that the children will be less supervised.
When the children come home from school their parents are not
home and they must fend for themselves until they get home
from work (Deam, 2014). This is known as the latch-key kid.
Latch key kids are far more likely to get into some type of

4. mischief during the hours of 3:30pm and 6:30pm when parents
start coming home from work. While it is not ideal for parents
to leave children to their own devices, especially children like
Reese, Francis, and Malcolm, in many cases they have no
choice even if the parent could afford after school services or
daycare they are not available for children ages 12 and up. This
leaves the parent with no options for proper supervision.
Deam, J. (2014). The New Latch-Key Kid. Retrieved December
14, 2014 from
http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/tips/new-latchkey-kids/