The family dynamic as enduring form in United States media culture

This thesis explores (1) the way that family entertainment plays a mediating role between individuals and reality, and (2) how family entertainment mediates the family form. Family entertainment presents the family as an important institution no matter what form it takes. Defining the family as a particular but pliable form through which social life must pass— reproduction, the gendered division of labour, economic and consumer relationships, and intimacy—the thesis examines U.S. films and TV to demonstrate how this pliable family form exerts itself upon the cultural imagination. Since a comprehensive coverage was not feasible, this thesis is largely confined to the close analysis of five primary case studies and twenty-two secondary case studies. The primary case studies are all twenty-first century U.S. media texts: the feature films The Incredibles (2004); Incredibles 2 (2018); Moana (2016); The LEGO Batman Movie (2017); and the television series My Little Pony (2010-2019). The secondary case studies were released between 1954 and 2024. The main argument of my thesis is that the family is a vital and enduring form for the mainstream global entertainment industries. The importance of family can be signalled via its presence or absence.