Category Archives: Families in Society

Families in Society, Human Growth and Development, Internal Dynamics of Families, Interpersonal Relationships, Parenting

Freaky Friday

Title: Freaky Friday

Date: 2003

Media type: Film

Rating: PG – Parental Guidance Suggested

Audience(s): Children Under 12, High School Age, College Age, Adults, Parents, Couples, Families

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Tess is a middle-aged widow getting remarried soon, and is in constant conflict with her 16-year-old daughter Anna, who is unhappy about her mom trying to replace her dad with her new fiancée, and fits the typical angsty teenager stereotype.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: I would use this clip to teach about conflict in a parent-child relationships, and how understanding of “the other side” aides in resolving that conflict. We think we can look at someone from the outside and know their life and know what is best for them but sometimes we understand a lot less than we think we do, and need to get very close with that person’s life to understand what they are going through.

Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Itunes 

Contributor: Sarah Kuboushek

Ethical Issues and Dilemmas, Families in Society, Internal Dynamics of Families, Interpersonal Relationships, Parenting

Jane the Virgin

Title: Jane the Virgin

Date: 2014 – Present

Media type: Television

Format: Episode

Rating: TV – 14

Audience(s): High School Age, College Age, Adults, Parents, Couples

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Jane the Virgin is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on The CW on October 13, 2014. The series follows Jane Villanueva, a hard-working, religious young Latina woman whose family tradition and a vow to save her virginity until marriage is shattered when a doctor mistakenly artificially inseminates her during a checkup. To make matters worse, the biological donor is a married man, a former playboy and cancer survivor who is not only the new owner of the hotel where Jane works, but was also her former teenage crush. Jane the Virgin also explores issues of immigration, raising children, and parent-child relationships between adults of all ages, and young children.

Places to view: Youtube, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Jane the Virgin, Hulu

Contributor: Mikayla Perrault

Families in Society, Internal Dynamics of Families

This is Us

Title: This is Us

Date: 2016

Media type: Television

Format: Episode

TV Season-Episode: Season, Episode 1-4

Rating: PG 13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned

Audience(s): High School Age, College Age, Adults, Parents, Couples, Families

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: This television show follow the lives of a couple, Rebecca and Jack, and their three children. Two of them, Kevin and Kate, are twins. They were triplets but one died in child birth. The third sibling, Kyle but later Randall, was adopted and is a child of color. We see how Rebecca and Jack raise the children and who they become as a result. The series shows us flashbacks of the past and tells the story in the present to have a better understanding of the family.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: I suggest discussion questions related to adopting a child of color, raising more than one child together, family communication, and how death of a family member impacts the family.

Places to view: Vudu, Hulu

Contributor: Linda Thao