The Role of the Family
The family is the cornerstone of the society. It is a patterned structure throughout the society and is the foundation and model for love. Interrelationships in the family depict this through the love between a husband and a wife and their children. The family is responsible for the development of morals and character in the society. Throughout history, people have depended on the family and the kinship system for their survival. The four films ‘Raising Victor Vargas’, ‘Crash’, ‘Real Women have Curves’ and ‘Ping Pong Playa’ highlight the diversity of the family set up in different societies.
In the film, ‘Raising Victor Vargas’ it is evident that both intentional and unintentional forces have greatly changed family roles in the modern society. Victor lives his teenage life precariously in Manhattan under the care of his strict grandmother. Family morals in the modern generation and respect for the elderly have been degraded and compromised. In the film,Victor’s grandmother is worried about the bad influence his siblings Vicki and Nino may acquire from their brother. There is need for the society to realize the importance of nurturing the growth of children into responsible adult members. Children no longer listen to advices from their parents, a contributing factor to the loss of most of teenagers into drugs and other deviant behaviours. Victor illustrates this when he does not listen to his grandmother and instead introduces his sister Vicki to a boy. This illustrates how the role of women in uniting the family has also deterioratedwhen in the end Victor’s grandmother is overwhelmed by his unchained maturity and drive for desire (Leiden 225).
The film ‘Crash’ on the other hand features a clash between race, gender and discrimination. Mothers are always caring and concerned about their children.This is emphasized in the filmwhen Graham’s mother shows a deep interest and concern in the well-being of his brother who is a street criminal. It is the role of parents to take care of their children and make sure they have a stable adult life (Jeffrey & James 48). The fact that Graham is African-American, and Ria is Hispanic creates an emotional distance between the two because of their racial differences. Social differences often affect the growth of many societal relationships and disintegrate communal unity and peace. Daniel similarly helps to highlight on the important role of parents in a family. He is a hardworking locksmith and a dedicated father illustrating the importance of care and concern for children in the family from fathers and mothers. Children grow up to become responsible and caring parents when they are shown the same.
Ana in the film ‘Real Women have Curves’ grows up in a strict family with tough parents. The themes of power, authority, rights, privileges, duties and responsibility are all explored in the film. After graduating from high school, Ana is not able to pursue a higher-level education since her mother Carmen hears nothing of it and prefers she tailors the family clothing business with her sister. Parents should realize that their authority and influence should not be used against the growth and development of their children. Children should be allowed to follow their dreams and interests for a worthy cause. Parents who are domineering and insensitive to their children’s needs often affect the relationship between them and the children. In the film, Ana and Carmen are therefore featured to have an unstable relationship (Leiden 226).
‘Ping Pong Playa’ similarly explores the family relationships between the two siblings Michael and Christopher together with their parents. Christopher lives in the shadow of his older brother who is a successful pro-athlete. He has no choice but to abandon his lifelong dream of making it to the NBA championships to take up the job of teaching ping pong lessons when his parents are involved in an accident. Unity in a family is often achieved when there is a strong relationship between children and their parents. Christopher in the film sacrifices his interest in basketball to save the family’s investment in Ping Pong training. Family is a symbol for love, care and concern, which are important and keep the family close together. A strong and connected relationship in the family is also essential in defining the interests of all the family members. In the film, this is evident since all the family members are Ping Pong champions.
It is therefore apparent that social family role dimensions are important and comprise of a number of different aspects including father, mother and children. These roles identify the family’s rules, responsibilities and authority structure. Different cultures often have different cultural family rolesas illustrated in the movies (Jeffrey et al., 48). A diverse number of forces that either strengthens or reduces the bonds that connectthe family members often affect the relationships within the family.In this respect, it is the role of the family to promote a morally upright behavior and raise children with values and respect for the society. One of the most important roles of the family; however, is to show the significance of love in the society. This is a model of great importance in the society for individuals to imitate.
Works Cited
Jeffrey, E. Nash & James, Michael. Institutions in the Modern Society: Meaning, Forms and
Characters.New York: Rowman& Littlefield. 1992. Print.
Leiden, Brill. The Changing Position of Women in Family and Society: A Cross National
Comparison.Hungary: The Netherlands. 2002. Print.
