"Friends" and the Media

The Media shows families in many ways subtle and obvious. I am sure most of you remember the show Friends. This show originally fallowed the lives of 6 people, 3 guys and 3 girls all in there mid to late 20's. As the show went on these people changed and grew and so did there relationships. In this show many people Married, Cohabited or had children together. I am sure if you think of friends this is not the first thing you think of. However, when I think back to the show I can think of an example of most of the things we covered from babies to relationships. I will now list some of the characters and the events in there life that correlate with the class discussions. 

I will start with Ross-the Nerdy Paleontologist.

*He marries his first wife and has a son with her and then he later found out that she is a lesbian. This means he is married, gets divorced and has a child with his ex wife. 

* His next relationship is with an International women named Julie. This covers relationships with people from other places. 

* His third wife is his child hood love. His friend Rachel. They get married when they are drunk and late divorce and have a child. Rachel and Ross take care of there child and live there separate lives.

* To sum up Ross has been with 3 different wives all in different situations. 

Phoebe is this creative free spirited kind hearted women. 

* She marries a friend from Canada who she believed is Gay, he later divorces her because he realizes he is straight. This sub plot is a bit more far fetched but this does show that people marry for different reasons. And some times people end up leaving there partners of the opposite sex for one of the same sex. 

*Later Phoebe becomes the surrogate mother for her brother. Through in vitro fertilization i believe and ends up giving birth to triplets. 

Monica and Chandler are friends who end up falling in love and getting married. They are in capable of having children so they adopt one.

Joey the last friend is bachelor and loves every moment of it.

It is funny how family and relationships can sneak into a show. This show was a popular show in america and it ran for many years. I believe that show found a way to show the diferant sides of america and the different families. It made it light and made all kinds of love and relationships and love excepted. They would have the characters vocalize the issues and express different opinions. Every character had a happy ending so in a sense they gave hope to the rest of the world. 

I hope that this opens your eyes and makes you take a closer look at the shows you watch and how they show family. 

Thanks for your time, Justine Gilbane