Egypt

The Malfunctions of the Black Family

When people think of the word “family”, the most demonstrative definition is members satisfying ones emotional and financial needs. The denotative definition of family is a social unit living together whose function is to socialize individuals. African American families are known to socialize individuals differently as opposed to individuals of the dominant race. The 1960’s film A Raisin in the Sun illustrates the struggles of an African American family who try’s to live up to the standards of the American dream. Orlando Patterson, Daniel Moynihan, and Robert Staples are authors who relate to the effects of the black family during slavery and within the media, which impacts African American families in today’s society.
African Americans are rarely viewed from a positive perspective within the media. Instead, they are viewed as dysfunctional, and unorthodox. On the contrary, The Cosby Show is one of the only black television shows that gives off a positive image. The Huxtables were unlike other black families portrayed in the media because they were a successful, upper-middle class family, which was rarely seen on television amongst blacks. It’s not often that we hear about problems of black middle class families because much of the concern over American families is distorted in the media (Staples, 20). Most shows demonstrate African American families as lower-class, and female dominant. The vast majority of the time, there is no man around to challenge or dominate the woman. This is reflected throughout the movie A Raisin In The Sun, as the mother was the head of the household.
A fundamental fact of the Black American family life is the often reversed role of husband and wife (Moynihan, 8).   In the film, Lena Younger, the mother, was the matriarch of the family household. Even though there was a male figure present in the home, she took the dominant role, leaving her son, Walter Lee Younger to question his masculinity. She... [continues]

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