2. Malcolm in the Middle
I didn’t really have any pictures of my own family, so when thinking of a
family to analyze the family from the show “ Malcolm in the Middle”,
immediately popped into my head.
In the show it never once mentions the families last name so I am simply
going to refer to them as the “Malcolm's.”
3. Story
Line
An offbeat, laugh track-lacking
sitcom about a bizarrely
dysfunctional family, the center of
which is Malcolm, the middle of the
two brothers who still live at home.
His eldest (and favorite) sibling,
Francis, boards at military school
because his parents believe it will
reform him and keep him out of
trouble. Malcolm often has a hard
time coping with his family life, but
he has more troubles to contend
with when he starts receiving
special treatment at school after
being diagnosed as an intellectually
advanced genius.
4. Characters
Malcolm- The “middle” genius
child
Reese- The moronic older
brother
Francis- rebel type oldest
brother sent away to military
school
Dewey- Youngest brother who
is a free spirit and marches to
the beat of a different drum
Lois- Crazy, short tempered
mother who does her best to
keep the family intact
Hal- Clueless Dad who is just
trying to make his way through
life
5. Family Type
The Malcolm’s are an example of
a two parent biological family.
I would guess that the parents
(Lois and Hal) have been married
anywhere from 15-20 years and
have 4 biological children.
Galvin, Bylund and Brommel
(2008) state that this is no longer
the most common type of family
6. Economic Issues
Having to support 4 kids and
working sub par jobs, the
Malcolm’s definitely suffer from
some economic issues.
“Economic pressures add
significant stress to the lives of
poor family members, and this
stress affects the ways family
members relate to each other.”
(Galvin, Bylund and Brommel
2008, pg. 15). This is definitely
true for the Malcolm's and it
portrays it in the show in comical
ways.
7. Communication Functions
The communication in the
Malcolm’s household is very open.
A lot of the time it consists of Lois
freaking about something and
yelling at the family, or a single
person for what they did or did not
do.
I believe that this develops a
meaning with the kids along with
Hal realizing that Lois runs the
show
8. Continued
Another communication process in
the family is Malcolm calling his
brother Francis (who is away at
military school) and talking
secretly on how to beat his
mother.
Francis being the not afraid to
stand up for himself rebel child
has never been afraid to go right
back at his mother and I think this
displays another meaning.
9. Family-of-Origin
Family-of-origin influences refers
to the family or families in which a
person is raised and is generally
be the earliest and most powerful
source of influence on ones
personality (Bochner & Eisenberg,
1987).
This is definitely true in the show
in the case of Francis, the oldest
brother. Although him and mother
clash, they are really the exact
same person.
10. Family Rituals
“Rituals contain a variety of meanings
and messages in patterned and
emotionally powerful forms; they serve
to remind members of who they are
and they reflect a family’s relational
culture.” (Galvin, Bylund and Brommel
2008, pg. 116).
Although there are not really any set
rituals in the family, the younger
brothers all look up to Francis
immensely. He teaches them all kinds
if different things, and they try to mimic
what he has done in the past. It is
kind of portrayed in the show as
passing down knowledge to another
generation.
11. Continued
One tradition that the
family does have is
that they always have
meals all together as
a family. Although it
is usually filled with
fights between the
boys, or Lois yelling
about something it is
a tradition
nonetheless.
12. Family Typology
“Consensual families are high in
both conversation and conformity
strategies with their
communication characterized by
pressure and agreement although
children are encouraged to
express ideas and feelings.”
(Galvin, Bylund and Brommel
2008, pg. 177)
This type is family is definitely the
case for the Malcolm’s. They talk
about everything but at the end of
the day Lois usually has the last
word. This, however is not without
backlash from the kids.
13. Family Conflict Types
The conflict in the Malcolm family,
usually occurs by Lois catching
the boys doing something wrong
and then punishing them.
Sometimes however she does
practice compromise in cutting the
boys deals to get them out of
trouble
14. Works Cited
FamilyCommunication: Cohesion and
Change (Seventh Edition) by Kathleen
Galvin, Carma Bylund, and Bernard
Brommel, Pearson. 2008.