The article "The American Family on Television: From Molly Goldberg to Bill Cosby”
by Muriel Cantor, does not only talk about the typical mother and father figure,
but also the way that siblings interact with each other. A younger viewer might
not realize how big of an influence television has on them and might start treating
their siblings like the characters they see on TV. As the 80’s approached, siblings
on television started dealing with more conflict then they had in previous years.
Not all comedies presented problems between siblings but the ones that did were
mainly between younger sisters and older brothers. The older brother always
portrayed certain traits, the most athletic and dominating over the younger siblings.
Though on the other hand, even though the older sister also appeared to be smarter
sibling, she never had the same dominants as the older brother. The older sister
would have to take on the motherly roll compared to the older brother who learned
how to take over the family business.
The older sister DJ, from Full House does not
even compare to the older brother Mike, in Growing Pains. Mike never showed
responsibility within the household when DJ, had to be like a second mother to her
younger sisters, giving examples of stereotypes portrayed on how different genders
act towards their siblings.
Cantor, Muriel G. "The American Family on Television: From Molly Goldberg to Bill Cosby."
Journal of Comparative Family Studies 22.2 (1991): 205-216. Academic Search Premier.
EBSCO. Web. 7 Nov. 2010.