Free Essay with a Critical Analysis of the Myth of Model Family; Rereading America

The paper aims at examining the myth of the model family as suggested by Colombo et al. A family is a basic unit in the society. The myth of a nuclear family greatly stressed by the media offers one a perspective of starting a family. With the realm of change being experienced in the modern society, the perception of the myth in the community is also undergoing change as the myths continue to provide hope for a traditional and better life. Imposing the myth of an ideal family which is happy and does not entail any rifts impacts negatively in the society as no one should set the standard of the family they desire (Colombo et al. 29). The aspect is eminent in Soto's childhood reflection of his working-class family. The ideology was fueled by television shows the "Leave it to Beaver" which influenced the desire of a nuclear family for his Mexican American household an aspect viewed on TV. Despite the desire for the ideal family, the realization of the appealing middle-class family as the idealistic family for Soto was difficult. This is on the basis that his mother was a single parent that worked hard to place food in the table.

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Based on the misconception of an ideal family, the notion has been deep-rooted in the society as it is the ultimate goal for most couples who want the best for their children. This is displayed by Gary Soto desire for change in the family based on the need of acting like white families as portrayed in the show. This raises the question of why does the media need to create an image of the perfect family? During the childhood of Soto, he tried to convince his family on improving the way based on they would get a better life and white people would like them more (Colombo et al. 30). This indicates that the myth of the family is characterized by qualities that create a false sense of reality hence the underlying principle of why most of the couples begin families of their own.

In the beginning, the narrator appears cherished and carefree in the pursuit of work, but from his perspective, work seems like an effort of conforming to the programs he watches on television. At the end of the chapter it appears that there is a change in the manner in which he views things thus the inception of enjoying oneself rather than trying to fit in. The narrator becomes himself and is not looking to fit in in the white people domain but instead being contented with himself thus work serves as a potential opportunity. With most of the individuals agreeing to the myth of the ideal family as a model for their homes it is hard to blame Soto's perception of the perfect family sitcoms, and his desire of turning his family into one was it not the realistic domain.

We encounter Soto drinking Kool-Aid and at the same moment watching "Father Knows Best." Drinking of Kool-Aid suggested the aspect of conformity as displayed by Soto when he indicates the desire for his family to dress up during dinner, he down a bowl of cereals before embarking on finding a job. This suggests that Soto displays childhood characteristics intertwined with his adult desires. In the reality domain, it is eminent that Soto had a normal environment experience that everyone can relate to. The presence of a little brother who indicates the dire need of being involved in crazy adventures with his brother, his little sister is always trying to be fun and spontaneous and finally, the mother is like any mother who indicates the desire of wanting the house to be still clean kids outside thus the presence of peace. There is also the presence of neighbors and finally best friends that the narrator hangs out with and in certain instances, he gets into trouble with his best friend. It is imminent despite the praise on the imagery of an ideal family I greatly believe that the normative live of Soto is an aspect that most of us can relate to.

The narrator introduces a comparison of the 1950's to the modern realm. The narrator explores the two periods on the notion that 1950's served as the golden age of the family setting through exploring the aspect that we miss about the 1950's. This comprises of the family-oriented economics and an enabling social environment which resulted in long-term prosperity. The two domains serve as an aspect of the endowment of the family age as compared to the modern realm characterized by races of gender and race inequalities, spousal abuse and incest. There is also the inclusion of the government in the family domain citing that the government introduced welfare programs where veterans received lots of benefits, the minimum wage was enough for most of the families to live on and provision of higher education by the government. This indicates that in comparison to the modern realm the 1950's served as the golden family age. The age did not need praise on the ideal family setting but the involvement of the various aspects in the society thus leading to the presence of a more magnificent family-oriented lifestyle.

As Soto reflected on his nine-year-old self, he did not know that most of the people did not view the shows based on seeing their own lives reflected, but they watched them observe the manner in which families were supposed to live. For instance if a couple did not know the number of children they desired they would reflect on the idealistic myth which considers two as proposed by Colombo et al., which describes an ideal family comprises of the father, mother, kids, a pet may be a dog living in the suburban home (18). Despite the acceptance of the domain of the family of being between a man and a woman in the modern context, it is eminent that there are families of the same-sex couples. The myth of the ideal family does not incorporate same-sex couples as part of its definition based on holding the perception of the traditional nuclear family strongly. As stated earlier the ideology is ingrained in the society as expressed in Harmony at Home (Fisher 18).

The myth of the modern family is loosely entangled in the society. Events that marked the entrance of same-sex marriages are challenging the domain of heterosexual relationship presented by the myth. In the past decades, it is a modern notion that gender equality is an aspect of the increase. In the contemporary realm, the treatment towards children is on the element of independent individuals that have a voice in their households. In addition to that, the ideal modern family entails not only Christians but also the various races. The narrative evokes nostalgia as the unrealistic imagery of the family depicts how a perfect a family should be an aspect that is not attainable for everyone in the society.

In the television program "Leave it to Beaver" as depicted in the Rereading America, The Myth of Model Family, the families of mixed color that is the African Americans as well as the Mexican Americans, they were viewed as disorganized thus weaker family relations. This is not the case taking into consideration that most African Americans and Mexican Americans families are in the lower social class hence there is a greater reliance on the extended family as opposed to the standard nuclear family. Therefore being viewed as disorganized, the notion isn't fitting the reality aspect as they are engaged in strong family ties and engagement in lots of practical assistance for kin more than white people.

The social class realm is of the great essence as opposed to race in trying to understand the family realm. This is because most of the Whites, Blacks, and Latinos that earn the same amount of income and same education expertise have a similar pattern of involvement in extended families. For wealthier families, they tend to offer more funds to their kin and advice to the personal issue while for low-income families they rely on practical help from their kin thus living closer to their kin to assist them in fulfilling their needs.

As viewed in the golden family age, social policy should be used in rectifying the economic disadvantages rather a resilience extended family which does not compensate for lesser economic conditions. The idealistic family is not on the basis of the number of kids or the nature of lifestyle but how well the relations in the family are defined and the presence of social interventions that back the family domain.

Works Cited

Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, & Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013, pp. 17-102.

Fisher, Tim. Harmony at Home. 1st ed. Greenville, S.C.: Sacred Music Services, 1999, p. 18.