Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hollywood Families: Entirely-Too-Functional

Having recently seen Easy A, I am uncomfortably aware of a new Hollywood trend:

1. I am not the target audience
2. The abuse of the dysfunctional family card

Although we all get a laugh out of weird families, Hollywood isn't capturing what is at the very core of "funny" families. The families in Easy A were depicted as naked, oversexed, concerned with their daughter's lives, or adept at one-liners. Families - in reality - are not good at any of those things, especially the naked, oversexed, and one-liner parts.

Real families, though they are not good at anything, are effective at wanting to be (at least) better than other families. For instance, Birthdays, Christmases, Fourth of Julys, and related holidays, are used to signal to other families how good they are at being a family.

Though most families euphemize this were terms like "bonding" and "growing closer," my own extended family is more upfront about it. We partake in an ongoing battle of "Who Are the Good Kennedys?" (The competition was made FaceBook Official a few years ago.) I recommend this type of framework and hope that, one day, Hollywood will too.