The Educational Side of MITM

Amigo22

Super Moderator
I watched Hal's Friend tonight, and that episode illustrates the result of one consuming too much alcohol. Here is the transcript of that scene:
http://boards.safesearching.com/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=malcolm_in_the_middle
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Larry: Two hundred bucks! I mean, you take that, plus the interest over all these years, we'll roll in it!
Hal: Oh, if I had that money right now, I could afford to build a nursery. Thanks a lot, Dawkins!
Larry: You want a nursery, Hal? We could do it.Yeah! I got a contractor's licence. We could add onto your bedroom here, no prob at all!
Hal: What?
Larry: You knock out this wall, you extend out a little bit, we could do the whole thing for cost!
Hal: Well, we'll make do.
Larry: You're not being fair to the baby, Hal!
Hal: I know.
Larry: Come on, eye of the tiger! We create our own futures!
Hal: Well, er you know, you do what you can, and, I mean, we'll be ok, as long as - (Larry smashes dent in the wall) OH MY GOD!
Larry: Now you're committed. Let's get to work.
Hal: Larry! I invited you over for a couple of beers, and you punch a hole in my wall? This is exactly why I haven't seen you in all these - that little bat did all that.
Cut to Hal and Larry smashing down Hal and Lois's bedroom wall.
Hal: (laughing) This is great! Wait till Lois sees this!

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This is an important lesson for viewers who are underage (the legal age probably varies in different countries) that people can do really stupid things under the influence of alcohol.

A lot of people, after a night of drinking, are more concerned about what guy/chick they inadvertently hooked up with or "showed them something in the bedroom" while in a relationship with someone else, when there are far more serious consequences.

It may have seemed like a good idea to Hal and Larry at the time, but Hal was mortified when he woke up the next day, no longer in the drunken state he was in the previous night, to see the wall gone.
 

admin

Retired Administrator
There are a lot of things to learn from MITM.

One of the main things I feel that it portrays, is the fact that everyone can live together and be friends with whoever they like, no matter if they are different colours, rich, poor, uneducated, educated, disabled, clever or stupid etc. It really doesn't matter.

Another point that is shows, is just because your clever, ie Malcolm, doesn't mean to say that you don't have any problems, infact it portrays something I think is quite true. Malcolm is always more upset than Reese, why - perhaps its because he thinks of the consquences to much of his actions...

There are loads of other pointers, I am sure appanah, well have loads more things to say, especially since he's studying MITM for his theisis
 

tjpeople

Site Administrator
Staff member
Amigo22 said:
Speaking of clever, have any of you guys had an IQ test? I had one recently and scored 94
no, but there are loads of 'free' ones on the net however i think the only offical one is mensa.
 

tjpeople

Site Administrator
Staff member
what about the episode where in the cold opener hal drinks loads of beer the boys had hidden - thats a bit educational. However you could say there are some areas that could influance children (epecially) to do stupid things.
 

daniel1985

New member
I always found the show to be very educational in other ways. Like teaching you new and original ways of hurting your siblings, and getting away with awful things by manipulating your parents and so forth.:D
 

Dewey

Minimalistic
MITM and the intellectual discourse within the show’s context

There must be hundreds of examples of how MITM has reflected a positive message amongst its audience.

One at the top of my mind is that already suggested by Admin. The view that there are problems associated with being intelligent.

Last year, I read the Daniel Goleman book: ‘Emotional Intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ’. It really was a fascinating read, and I’m sure it is in a library near you! Within his chapters, Goleman argues that our IQ- idolising view of intelligence is far too narrow and instead makes the case for emotional intelligence being the strongest indicator of human success. He defines emotional intelligence in terms of self-awareness, altruism, personal motivation, empathy and the ability to love and be loved by friends, partners, and family members. People who possess high emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well as play, building flourishing careers and lasting, meaningful relationships.

This philosophy can very easily be applied to MITM. The show seems to have embraced it within their plots. For example, Malcolm may have the high IQ, but he lacks ability in social situations, and is therefore lacking in any form of happiness. He sees the negative in just about all of his situations.

In contrast, it is the character Dewey that seems to be the most successful in his abilities. This is mainly due to the fact that he strives in all social situations. In fact, I cannot think of a single scenario where someone has responded negatively to Dewey’s presence. He is affectionate, always positive and his personality has a direct effect on those around him. He is the ultimate optimist.

Goleman states that the way we perform in our studies and exams have no reflection to how we will perform in the real-world in later life. Most of the boundaries we face in our adult lives are not intellectual boundaries but those associated with social scenarios.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
Appanah, I really enjoy reading your arguments. Keep up the great work!

I've never really thought about this side of MITM. For me, occasionally Malcolm uses a word I've never heard of, so I go to look it up and begin to use it myself, but I've never really thought about how the series stretches farther than that.

Throughout the seasons, they've addressed some pretty serious issues. We've seen all sorts of conflicts with society, not just through Malcolm, but through the entire family. They're all social rejects, but as we found out in Block Party, Malcolm seems to be the one that worries about it. Reese doesn't have any friends (Forwards Backwards) but he can still sing his toothpaste song (Stupid Girl) and go on with life.

We've seen what happens to Malcolm when he shuts off his brain several times. It's usually because he's going crazy for a girl.

But we've also seen how, even though the family is different, they all fit together as a whole. If they aren't all operating, nothing happens (Funeral). In general, the family may hate each other, but people outside the family aren't allowed to hate them (Family Reunion).

In conclusion, the show is educational in some ways, but I also feel it addresses some of the serious issues with society. Maybe we would be happier if we didn't have to deal with each other. Has the interconnected Internet really made us a happier people?
 

NeCoHo

Retired Mod
The Wilkerson family is like a well tuned machine, if one part breaks, soon the whole thing breaks. Whenever they go on vacation, the machine breaks.

if the fail safe for the machine (Lois) leaves chaous is ensured to win.

If the scapegoat, that emerengecy back up (because we know he can be useful if and only needed) is Hal.

Although separated, Francis had to leave for this machine to work, he was he thing that broke Lois, that means we could assume when Francis is home, the house is a mess (as proved in Home Alone 4, Francis Escapes, and other episodes involving Francis)

Reese's I.Q. is rising. That means he is starting to think now. Which also means he plays an important part in the show. He is much more responsible now. (Although i would not consider trying to teach a baby to smoke intelligent) he is learning.

Malcolm has evolved into that constant nagging that Lois does and if he were to leave, no one in the house would have any common sense. He brings his family back to reality, a bit like Lois does.

Dewey has hope. He hopes to do something great with his life. But he can't his life is his family, thats all he kows.

Jamie came to pester and annoy reese(Tiki Lounge).

see what happens when my brain works.:)
 

arach

New member
Well, I don't agree with MitM being educational with the alcohol issue. For example, it was funny seing Malcolm drunk and it was fun for the kids seing Hal drunk after drinking a sixpack of beer. I have to agree with tjpeople there.
On the other hand, the alcohol issue isn't a problem because they don't make a big deal about it. Although they all are social rejects (thx to tjpeople again for that phrase :D) in some ways, they don't have to drink alcohol to be cool or something (I assume the Malcolm-case as a one-time-exception).

Anyways, Malcolm in the Middle IS educational. The main message - the sentence the whole series is built around - is told us everytime we watch the show:
Life is unfair.

You already mentioned the examples, like Malcolm, although being the smartest, has the largest problems. The fact that he is smart puts a pressure on him, because he is the only one who knows that life isn't easier with being smart. He fears to fail the only test he isn't good at, he fears to fail in life.
And for Dewey, despite the fact that he is floating through life, everything turnes out well.

That's how life is, and that's the good thing about Malcolm in the Middle. It doesn't show us a family like Reverend Kemdon's oh-so-nice little kids, for whom all turnes out good if they are nice to everyone. That's not how it works. Life is unfair and you have to deal with it. I think that's probably the most important message I got from the show.
 
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Deleted member 1693

Guest
Great symbolism and connections here... I really like threads like these.

Just felt the need to bump it.
 

MalcolmFun

New member
Goleman states that the way we perform in our studies and exams have no reflection to how we will perform in the real-world in later life. Most of the boundaries we face in our adult lives are not intellectual boundaries but those associated with social scenarios.

AS someone not totally unlike Malcolm I think this is mostly true For example I always got pissed when students talked professors into giving them a better grade then what they deserved. Happened all the time. I think it is quite unfortunate society works this way because it is a reflection that people advance by cronyism, patriarchy and even con-artistry as much or more so then merit. Social skills trump merit. Learning how to corral others to do tasks for you is seen as more valuable then actually being able to do anything.

This is reflected in the show quite a lot. There is one very notable exception. There is just no way Malcolm will ever get elected to anything. This is 100% opposed to this philosophy and Lois makes a huge mistake there.
 

rzombie1988

New member
There is one very notable exception. There is just no way Malcolm will ever get elected to anything. This is 100% opposed to this philosophy and Lois makes a huge mistake there.
This is a really good point that nobody mentioned. Malcolm could never win a popularity contest, which is basically what elections are.

Malcolm would probably fit best as something like a scientist, or that job that Lois turned down for him in the last episode. He needs something secluded and something that he can do somewhat by himself, or anything else besides being in the public eye and kissing up to officials.
 

AlexTheMartian

New member
what can't he win a popularity vote? i don't want to being politics onto this board, but i think we can all agree how silly it is thinking that George W won twice (that was no criticism, i did happen to vote for him *hides in corner now*)
 
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Deleted member 1693

Guest
Well, Alex, he technically could, but it isn't really in his nature.
 
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