Comparing Duncan Family And Good Luck Charlie

Television families nowadays are usually portrayed as happy, open-minded and the typical family. They attempt to represent the lifestyle and situations that real-life families go through; however, their depictions are not always accurate. An example would be the Duncan family and the Lee family. The Duncan family plays on the children’s television show, “Good Luck Charlie”, in which it focuses on their life as they adjust to the births of their fourth and fifth children. The Duncan family consists of seven household members including the mother and father. On the other side, the Lee family is a real-life family that has an average income and consists of four household members. The Lee family can be considered a typical nuclear family. The similarities and differences of these two families can be distinguished under family roles, social interaction, and behavior.

The parental roles in both families are very similar. The mothers are the care takers of the family. They do the cooking, shopping, and cleaning, while the fathers provide the family with money and adequate house care. However, unlike the Duncan family where the mother is

the one in charge and is the head of the household, the father in the Lee family is the one in charge of the household and has more say in financial matters. This television family tries to show the mother in a new light and present woman in a more domineering fashion in comparison to the older customs in which the husbands were the ones asserting the power. This is very unlike many typical household today. Although nowadays, more women have equal or more control over the household than their husbands, a vast majority of men still assume their position as the head of the household.
The children in the household also play distinct roles. The children in the Duncan family, from oldest to youngest, include PJ, Teddy, Gabe, Charlie, and Toby. Teddy is the oldest girl in the Duncan family and she has the most responsibilities among her other siblings. She is charged with the task of watching over her siblings and taking care of the baby when her parents cannot. In the Lee family, Lily is the younger sibling in the house so she isn’t placed with as many responsibilities. Although both Teddy and Lily do not have the same amount of responsibilities, they both can be said to have less independence in their family. They both have earlier curfews and more chores to do. On the other hand, the older boy siblings have a lot of freedom and fewer responsibilities in the family. Parents tend to be more overprotective of their daughters. For example, Lily cannot stay out any longer than 6pm while her brother has a very flexible curfew and occasionally stays out as long as he wants. Lily is also restricted from being around boys and she is always expected to be tidy and neat. This is apparent in many families since parents expect more from the girls than they do from the boys.
The Duncan and the Lee family can be distinguished through their social interactions. Real-life families are much more disconnected now than ever before because of the existence of technology. Fewer families enjoy dinner together and are mostly seen on their cell phones or other electronic devices. In “Good Luck Charlie”, the Duncan family is always eating breakfast and dinner together. They spend their time as a family and discuss what has happened in their life. The Lee family, however, does not eat together and rarely have any family interaction. The children usually ate separately and are accompanied with an electronic device. Another social situation that can be compared is their neighbors. The Duncan family has a neighbor that they are not particularly fond of. Their neighbor, Mrs. Dabney, is always complaining and has a deep annoyance for Gabe. Gabe and Mrs. Dabney’s fights are exaggerated and sometimes involve the cops. The Lee family doesn’t hold any strong feelings of dislike towards any particular neighbor. The Lee family is mostly neutral to their neighbors but there may be some minor cases that could cause annoyance. This is a pretty typical representation of an average family. Although there may be discord around neighbors, it is not to a strong extent as how some neighbors are portrayed on television.
Television also presents a picture of the relationships among siblings. Sibling relationships generally emphasize efforts to resolve conflicts and to maintain positive emotional ties. The siblings in the Duncan family are always at odds but eventually they are able gain a better understanding of each other and resolve their problems. On the other hand, the siblings in the Lee family are quite distant. They don’t have many problems to solve since they don’t interact very much. This can be true to a few families. Some siblings don’t make much of an effort anymore to maintain positive ties.
In addition to family roles and social interaction, behavior is another main contrast between the Duncan and Lee family.

The Duncan family is open minded and does not discriminate people based on their ethnicity or those affiliating themselves with the LBG. An example would be from one of the episodes on “Good Luck Charlie” where Charlie’s friend brings her two moms over for a playdate. The moms were received with open arms by Charlie’s parents. This is also true for the Lee household; they are unprejudiced and unbiased. Another behavior aspect is problem solving. The conflicts in the Duncan family are always quickly and cleanly solved. The fight starts off with disagreeing parties and ends with a clean happy ending. In real life, family conflicts are not solved so smoothly and efficiently. Conflicts take time and sometimes go

unsolved.
To summarize, families in television shows do not authentically illustrate real life families. Both the Duncan and Lee family contrast in family roles, social interaction, and behavior. Although television families are not representative of real life families, they do try to present ideal families. Television, in a way, is a source of learning on how families are supposed to behave and resolve problems.