Aaron Dempsey

As societys interest changes, so do the themes of our television media. Several years

ago, one would find shows and commercials that focused on individual action and adventure, or

things that made us laugh. In recent years, however, society has begun to realize the importance

of family and the things that make them unique or important. Now, media aims to reach its

viewers through scenarios that provide a strong emotional response in its viewers. The most

successful shows, such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Guy, and Drake and Josh, center

on one common theme: family.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air stars Will Smith as the main character named Will who is

from West Philadelphia, born and raised. On the playground is where he spent most of his days.

Chillin out, maxin, relaxin all cool, and he was shootin some b-ball outside of the school.

When a couple of guys that were up to no good started making trouble in his neighborhood. He

got in one little fight and his mom got scared and said Youre moving with your auntie and

uncle in Bel-Air!. Once Will arrives at Bel-Air the show follows him and his family,

consisting of his Uncle Phil, Aunt Vivian, cousins Carlton, Ashley, and Hillary, as well as the

family butler Geoffreys wacky adventures. He also has his good friend Jazz who is always

causing trouble and bringing new and fun adventures to Wills life. Over the course of each

episode Will would be faced with some conflict involving either the family, one of his many love

interests, or some kind of life struggle he has as far as his education, highlighting some of the

unique struggles that African American families face in America. The episode would then

progress to the conclusion in which Will would learn an important life lesson and gain closure

from the events thus concluding the episode. This show demonstrates how the strength of the

family and friend group is the most important part of life, and keeping that bond strong keeps life
much better for everyone. It provides a relatable family comedy for African American families

that emphasize values and morals that are unique and important to their families. It provides

insight for other races to understand the mannerisms and characteristics that define an African

American family relationship. This show places family life high on the priorities list and gives

everyone in the family a voice, while still maintaining the typical social construct of families

where the parental figures have more of a voice. It is a wholesome family show that gives advice

subtly to the viewers and provides a connecting point between different races by showing core

dynamics that all families respect.

Second is Family Guy. Family Guy incorporates several different individual political

concerns or issues within families while still promoting core family values. This show follows

the Griffin family, consisting of the dimwitted father, Peter, his stay-at-home wife, Louis, their

three kids, Meg, Chris and Stewie and their beloved anthropomorphic dog Brian, on all their

outrageous adventures as they learn what it truly means to be a family and how they as

individuals are uniquely valuable to the family as a whole. The show displays at times a more

patriarchal family where Peter is the final decision maker who sometimes treats Louis as a

trophy wife and has little to do with his own kids. Their oldest child, Meg, is often mistreated

and neglected as the child they didnt want to have, while Chris is unhealthily overweight and

struggles with many unaddressed self-confidence issues. Stewie, the youngest, is diabolical and

villainous, constantly plotting to kill Louis whom he fails to realize is the only reason he is able

to survive in his infant state. While this show strongly emphasizes the individual and sometimes

touchy political issues that individuals face within their family, it provides a very relatable

family scenario that refuses to portray families as picture perfect or without their own individual

battles. Despite their struggle to understand their identities and see eye to eye, they still defend
each other and eventually learn to work with their differences to come together and appreciate

everyone for who they are individually and who that makes them as a whole. Family Guy

displays almost every question or struggle a family in modern society can face today, from a

child with psychological issues to a possible transgender child to a father who doesnt always

know the best thing for his family. This broad display is what makes Family Guy so successful

as it not only focuses on a core interest of society but provides at least one character that

everyone can relate to.

Finally is Drake and Josh, which is a tv show from the early 2000s that shows a different

type of family dynamic. In this series, the two boys are brought together as step-brothers when

their divorced parents marry each other. The two boys grew up in very different households and

thus struggle to understand and get along with each other all while facing the many challenges of

high school. Drake, growing up in a relaxed household, presents himself as the stereotypical jock

who doesnt see the importance of school and grades and would rather just play music and hook

up with all the cute girls. Josh, however, growing up in a more strict household, presents himself

as the stereotypical nerd who worries constantly about his grades and is unbelievably awkward in

the presence of any attractive female. The boys go on many adventures, often thanks to Drakes

careless, testosterone-fueled actions or ideas, and have to work together to get themselves out of

the situation. However, despite the boys efforts to get along, they are often thrown into

arguments or situations thanks to their younger, conniving, evil-masterminded sister Megan. Her

role is extremely important as the typical annoying younger sibling but also as the source of

many of Drake and Joshs arguments by discovering their pet peeves or quirks and exploiting

them to the other brother through traps or manipulation. Though she often acts to pit the boys

against each other, she still looks out for their best interest, and refuses to let anyone other than
herself else stir the pot with her brothers. Though the parents play more minor roles in this

show, acting more as comedic relief than role models, they do offer words of wisdom about

families and the importance of values that the boys must learn through their many adventures.

They may not always see eye to eye, but they would still do anything for the members of their

family and will always have their best interest in mind, no matter how different they may be

from each other.

While looking at these three shows there is a lot of contrast between the styles as stated

above. The struggles faced in Family Guy are for much more adult audiences, but do not have as

much impact usually due to the comedic nature of the show, whereas in the Fresh Prince the

issues are much harder hitting and meaningful as even though the show gives plenty of comedic

relief, it takes a very obvious break from this style to deliver the message. With Drake and Josh it

more closely relates to the style of Fresh Prince, but does not give as much of a break from the

comedy to deliver its issues and message. I feel that these television shows are very good

portrayals of how the more modern families deal with their issues and struggles as opposed to the

more happy-go-lucky family shows of the past as these truly show struggles and how those

events affect not just the individual, but everyone within the family and friends social group.

Through these shows many people have been able to see and understand ways that everyone

struggles, people of other races, cultures, and backgrounds, and even how to deal with a lot of

the issues that many people are presented with in life. I do know that Family Guy is a more

comedy based show, and that some of the resolutions in this show are unrealistic or completely

asinine, yet the Griffins do struggle with actual issues within their lives and can honestly give

decent advice on how to deal with some issues. As for the others, the same could be said that the
resolutions are asinine at times, however they are much more realistic in their approach to the

solving of their problems.

Overall there are many differences and similarities throughout these shows, but as a

whole these shows aim to deal with the same issues. Their approach to each issue is different,

and they even cover separate issues from one another, but they all try to lend a helping hand to

the viewers that could use guidance in certain situations. These shows also give insight into

different family units and how they face the struggles they do as well as how different their lives

are from ours. It is a very unique way to demonstrate these struggles in most of these shows,

however for the most part it is extremely effective when conveying their message to the

audience.