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In culture, “inpidualism lies at the very core of American culture”(Bellah et al, 1996: 142), which stimulates inpidual creativity and self-motivation. Bellah have singled out four traditions that “is in a profound sense inpidualistic”(1996: 142) -- the biblical inpidualism, the civic inpidualism as well as the utilitarian and expressive inpidualism. The representatives of biblical inpidualism were Puritan immigrants. America's founding generation was the the representatives of civic inpidualism. Utilitarian inpidualism was influenced by Benjamin Franklin and became popular in the 19th century. Hereafter expressive inpidualism rose, and together with utilitarian inpidualism affected every aspect of American life. Although American inpidualism has different forms, the most basic things of the American cultural traits are as follows:
“We believe in the dignity, indeed the sacredness, of the inpidual. Anything that would violate our right to think for ourselves, judge for ourselves, make our own decisions, live our lives as we see fit, is not only morally wrong, it is sacrilegious. Our highest and noblest aspirations, not only for ourselves, but for those we care about, for our society and for the world, are closely linked to our inpidualism”(Bellah et al, 1996: 142)
Besides, Queer Theory in the 1990s and Kath Weston’s Families We Choose provided the homosexuality with theoretical basis (qtd. in Chen Xuan, 2008:78). In the joint action of the gay rights movement and improvement of the theory about homosexuality, homosexual families appeared in large numbers.
1.3 Thesis Structure
This paper explores the reasons of those persified family structures presented in Modern Family and analyzes the social values they represent. Previous research on the reasons for persified family structures in the U.S. has been mostly listing out above factors or similar factors. This paper held the view that the most fundamental link between these factors is the impact of American inpidualism.
The analysis unfolds in three parts. Part one will discuss Claire and Phil’s family and the evolution of the nuclear family. Part two will analyze Jay and Gloria’s family and the development of the stepfamily. Part 3 will explore Mitchell and Cameron’s family and the emergence of the homosexual family.
2 Claire and Phil’s Family: An Example of the Nuclear Family
2.1 Overview
Family of Claire, Phil and their three children Heley, Alex and Luke is a typical nuclear family. They live in the same way as most nuclear families in the U.S.: men go out to work and women stay home. While Claire is in charge of family affairs, Phil goes to work to support the family. 来~自^751论+文.网www.751com.cn/
What is facing Claire and Phil is not easy. Haley is a teenage girl who is popular at school and a busy party girl at night. While worrying about the eldest daughter’s study, Claire also concerns about Alex’s too much focus on the study. Alex is clever, but sometimes she acts like she has maturity beyond her years. Luke, a naughty boy in elementary school, often gets into troubles and leaves a mess for Claire to fix. Besides, Phil is just a big kid himself, even if he always has the best intentions.
2.2 The Characteristics of the Nuclear Family
The nuclear family emphasizes the responsibility of the family members to the family. Reasonable pision of labor is required to support the family. In Phil and Claire's family, Claire has been housewives since she got married to Phil so that she can have enough time to take care of the three children and maintain family harmony. As Stanley mentioned in his article, in the 1950, “only 16 per cent of” the married women “got a job outside the home”(Stanley, 2012: 11). This labor pision of men and women has a long tradition in history. However, according to Blossfeld and Drobniè, there is “increasing employment participation of mid-life woman”(Blossfeld & Buchholz, 2009: 608). That means, a lot of women will consider coming back to workforce after their kids are independent, as Claire considers finding a job after Heley’s graduating from high school in Modern Family.