Are they like YOUR family?
I watched Brothers & Sisters the other day and thought about how interestingly they portrayed the family. This Walker family is claimed to be a modern American family. The family is composed of Nora and William, the parents of Sarah, Tommy, Kevin, Kitty and Justin. I enjoyed watching this show because of the seemingly chaotic family. It made a crazy family back home seem normal. This show contrasts many of the family shows that I grew up watching.
Sarah and Tommy both work at their Father’s family business but they run into trouble. Nora finds out that her husband has been cheating on her with Holly for twenty-something years. When William dies, surprisingly of a heart attack, the Walkers’ find out that that William and Holly had a child nearly twenty years ago. Sarah is trying to figure out how to balance being a mother and run the family business. Tommy is trying to start a family with his wife Julia and also start a new branch of the family business. Kevin is a gay lawyer trying to find out how let others love him and how to love them back. Kitty is a right wing politician whose opinions are in opposition to the majority of the rest of his family. Justin is dealing with post war trauma and addiction. Each member of this family is dealing with their own issues.
I think that this family really drew me in initially because it was a big family. The first episode that I watched, I thought that it was one big loving family. Much to my surprise, I found out that the family was full of its quirks. I enjoyed learning about the personality of each person and what each person was dealing with. Despite all of the complications that the family member endures, the family really comes together to when anyone is in need.
I think that one of the biggest reasons that the dynamic of this show is so different from so many of the other shows that focus on “typical” family life is that the children of the family are all grownup. The dynamic changes because the children don’t all go to school together; they make an effort to see each other. The members of the family are extraordinarily different, yet all come home for the same reason. The sarcasm and the humor of the family are also particularly interesting and catchy.
I enjoy the show because it doesn’t portray an “ordinary” family as 5 siblings who fight only on the surface. I enjoy seeing families who resemble a family more like the one I grew up in. The family is portrayed as a family with lots of love to give and plenty of bitterness to go around. This family conveys my image of a modern American family much better than any other TV drama I have ever seen. I enjoy the effort that is being made. Of course, the show is not flawless, but it is a step in the right direction!