Is the family disfunctional?

Garbage Kills Megan

parties with your mom
Allison said this in another thread:

allison said:
BTW Bryan Cranston said that he doesn´t even think that the Wilkersons (or whatever their name is) are a dysfunctional family. They always have dinner together, they care about each other (in their own special way) and things like that.
...and it made me wonder what everyone else thinks. Since it was sort of hidden away in the TV, Movies, and Games board in the Grotto, I thought I would make a separate post for it. Would you consider the Wilkersons to be disfunctional?
 

Jimmy Junior

New member
In an obvious way they are - Malcolm is an all-round genius, Dewey is a musical genius, Reese is some kind of half-boy half-dog who's a whiz in the kitchen, Francis was the teenager from hell (and the other boys can't help getting into trouble), Lois shouts a lot, Ida is an evil, embittered old woman, Hal skived off work every Friday to go out enjoying himself and they are so poor they have to eat 'leftover parfait' and the boys haven't got their own beds.

But on the other hand like Bryan said, they all sit down every day and have breakfast and dinner together (I don't think I've ever had a 'sit-down' breakfast with my family), Lois and Hal are still a happily married couple who love their children, and they all go on holiday together.

I think rather than being dysfunctional they're just an extremely 'average' family, but with an amusing twist - if Lois and Hal were divorced and took turns to abuse their children it wouldn't be funny, it'd be depressing.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
It's a very interesting question, because I agree wtih Jimmy; in some ways they are, but in other ways, they're a heck of a lot more unified than most other families.

They certainly have their intra-family disagreements and I think that in that way they are a bit dysfunctional--but average, like Jimmy Junior said--most famliies are dysfunctional that way. What sets MITM apart is this: They can hate each other as much as they want, but god forbid anyone outside their family hate them.

Example: Red Dress: Reese is aloud to beat up Malcolm because they're brothers, but no one else can beat up Malcolm; Reese protects him.

Example: Family Reunion: This one's been used a lot, but it goes like this: Lois is the mother; she's supposed to be hated. The boys can hate her as much as they want, but no one else can hate her.

I could go on and on with more examples, like Lois' Birthday and the clown, but I think you get my drift here. They're dysfunctional in a normal sort of way, but they also have developed an unlikely unity that no one outside the family can break.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
I'll try and remember that. I occasionally play a game in the chat room where I try and match everyone's real names up to their usernames; I'm not always very good with names. Mental note: Jimmy_Junior=Adam.
 
yardgames said:
I'll try and remember that. I occasionally play a game in the chat room where I try and match everyone's real names up to their usernames; I'm not always very good with names. Mental note: Jimmy_Junior=Adam.
You're quite bad at it- may i draw your attention to vincent- lol
 

Wemboy

New member
I agree with the general drift of this thread, they are in some ways "dysfunctional", but every family has it's problems and the Wilkersen's show a lot more unity than most others.

I think the way they get classified like this is more to do with how the TV industry often describes any family that isn't stereotypically perfect in every way as dysfunctional. Matt Groening doesn't accept that the Simpsons are dysfunctional; as he says, the parents are happily married, they go to church every week, they eat meals together and generally look out for each other. The Wilkersens are the same minus the going to church bit. Like Adam says, true dysfunction would consist of the kids being left to care for themselves, or some kind of abuse in the family unit. Needless to say this isn't particularly funny, so it doesn't happen in many comedies, the McCormacks in South Park being the only example I can think of.

To be fair, most comedies that focus on family life get most of the comedy from some kind of dysfunction, where else are the jokes going to come from? I think shows like MITM are good because they present a more realistic portrait of family life. They let people realise it's ok if they sometimes fall out with siblings and parents, or if the house isn't spotlessly clean, because there really aren't any "perfect" families, and pretending that you're family will never be a bit dysfunctional is stupid.

One more thing though, I think it's fair to say that, particularly in MITM, family mealtimes are mainly used as a device to move the plot forward, and it's also often a time when conflict arises. They often use breakfast time to introduce general themes for the episode, and dinner was the first time the family found out about Malcolm's IQ, for instance. So the fact they eat meals together shouldn't necessarily be used as an example of family unity.
 

Malcolm

New member
It is not a disfunctional family. They are just a little neurotic and extravagant, but not disfunctional.
 

Garbage Kills Megan

parties with your mom
I guess it all depends on what you consider to be disfunctional. Just from the nature of the word, I think the question "Are they disfunctional?" would be similarly put as "Do they function as a family?" I think they do. A family is started with a relationship between two people, and Lois and Hal have a strong bond. And in a functional family, the parents need to raise and support their kids. Hal and Lois do this. So, I think they do function as a family, and are therefore not disfunctional.
 

NeCoHo

Retired Mod
Garbage Kills Megan said:
"Are they disfunctional?" would be similarly put as "Do they function as a family?" I think they do. A family is started with a relationship between two people, and Lois and Hal have a strong bond. And in a functional family, the parents need to raise and support their kids. Hal and Lois do this. So, I think they do function as a family, and are therefore not disfunctional.
That pretty much sums up my opinion on this subject.

Maybe sometimes a wrench is thrown into the works in the Wilkerson family, but they always end up better for it.
 

CJman327

New member
I think that the Wilkerson's are quite nice together. It is true they have dinner together, they care about eachother, if something great happens to them they congratulate them. They are actually a pretty nice fmaily. The brotherly love is funny and Hal and Lois are a good couple. As Lois said in "Flashback":"You know, I wouldn't give up a single on of them.":)

-CJMAN327:D
 

samboo1

New member
I dont think the family are as disfunctional as every puts it. Like they are actually quite normal, for a family with 5 boys (inc francis). I dont think there is a family with 5 boys (3 being teenagers) who dont fight and get into a considerable same amount of trouble as the wilkersons. Well there will be the odd family who are perfect but, even my family , and im an only child, are disfunctional!
 
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