Family Systems Analysis of “A Family Thing” Movie

Introduction: Definition of a Family

The family is the smallest basic unit of the existence of any populace. It is a social group of people who share the same pedigree. This group could be related based on birth, adoption, or marriage and therefore considered to be members of one family. In the 1950s, Dr. Murray Bowen, a renowned American psychiatrist, postulated a model known as the family system theory, upon which other systemic family hypotheses have been built over time, as cited in the book “Bowen Family Systems Theory” by Rajaratnam. In his theory, Bowen highlighted several principles that can be used in family system analysis and will form the basis of discussion for this paper. References to the movie, “A Family Thing,” have also been made in every applicable section.

The Family System

In a family, each member is obliged to fulfill certain roles and responsibilities while observing a set cluster of rules. Members of the system are required to interact with one another in a specific way based on their roles, which are established by relationship agreements. Within the system boundaries, patterns emerge when one family member’s behavior influences the behavior of the others in predictable ways. Maintaining the same behavioral pattern within a system can contribute to family equilibrium, but it can also lead to a disorder. For instance, if the husband is depressed and unable to get himself together, the wife may need to take on additional responsibilities to make up the difference. The shift in duties may help to sustain the status quo thus restoring the balance. Successive generations can be delineated in a single diagram called a genogram.

Combined Three-Generational Genogram

This is a diagrammatic representation of a person’s family history and relationships for one or more generations. It goes beyond the typical family tree in that it allows one to identify and explain patterns and psychological characteristics that influence relationships and mannerisms in a given lineage.

Dickson Grusha Peter Mitchell James Rachael

The illustration above clearly summarizes data for three generations that have been essential in compiling the family’s chronology included in this paper.

Family Chronology (Three Generations)

The analysis of the first generation starts with Catherine’s family.

1. Her father James and her mother Rachael are represented by the square and circle respectively. She had an elder sister named Janelle, who is positioned to the left of her. Janelle died in a tragic car accident three weeks after her college graduation.
2. Catherine fell in love with Trevor Donovan, the son of Peter Donovan and Mitchell. Trevor and Catherine sired lovely twins, Jakes and Cate. Trevor later divorced her, moved to California, and lives independently while pursuing his business ventures.
3. Larry Winston and Brittany Waters decide to adopt Jakes while Dickson Whiteman married Trevor’s mother after Larry’s mother died.
4. On the other hand, Robert Pearson and Betty Hughes adopt Cate, and she takes Pearson as her surname. Jakes feels his father walked out on them. He maintains an inimical relationship with him and the two dispute every time they see each other.
5. Darrell Gift, Jake’s pal, is married to Cate Pearson and has a son named Richard, whose sibling is Grace. Gift later dies on the eve of New Year after fighting cancer for almost half a decade.

In the following section, Richard’s and Grace’s nuclear family structure serves as a reference point to ascertain the implication of Dr. Bowens Theory on family systems.

The Family System Theory

The conjecture, comprising of eight interlocking concepts, states that the family is an emotional unit and individuals cannot be understood in isolation from each other but as part of it. It emphasizes the ideology that all families are systems of interconnected and interdependent persons, neither of whom can be understood separately from the structure. According to Bowen, the complex is dynamic in its operations such that if a particular family pattern becomes dysfunctional, members can identify new means that will easily bridge the family’s goals and their eventual fulfillment(Noone, 2021). This implies that families can examine their processes and set specific goals autonomously regardless of the pre-existing norms within which they should operate. The theory’s core pillars are useful in studying and explaining patterns and trends among individual family members and their previous generations hence blending well with the objectives of this paper.

The Triangles

This was the first fundamental assumption to be highlighted in this theory. Dr. Bowen argued that the two-person connection is the primary basis of every emotional complex. The two-person system, on the other hand, is unstable in the sense that it tends to draw in a third person to stabilize when hit by stress, resulting in a three-person system of two-against-one or two-helping-one. When anxiety levels in one dynamic triangle reach a certain level, it spreads to adjacent triangles, eventually affecting the entire family structure. As a result, triangles arise when dissatisfaction in a two-person relationship escalates and spreads to other family ties, tying family members to a series of recurrent interactions and roles. These encounters can lead to undesirable behavioral patterns in the triangle’s participants. This tenet is based on the fact: when two people are in disagreement, they often try to solve the problem by forming a triangle with a third person and the habit tends to recur.

Family Illustration

Richard and Grace grew to become best friends as well, especially during their early teenage years. They had a friend, Allan, who lived in the neighboring apartment. Although Allan felt like an outsider at times as he is not part of Gift’s family, Richard frequently sided with him for support in times of disagreement, making Grace the outsider. When the two siblings disagreed, the relationship’s stress would automatically relocate to Richard and Allan’s association. Conversely, if there was a quarrel between Allan and Grace, the tension would switch back to the siblings. At any point in time, there was always a two-party relationship that balanced the third conflicting one. It is observed that the side with tension shifted among the three sides in a manner to preserve the overall equilibrium among the trio.

Larger Family Perspective

While the above relational trigon may appear to be a unique occurrence, examining Cate’s family’s generational interactions brings about patterns that repeat themselves. For example, Larry and Brittany decided to sacrifice their marriages and family relationships to help Cate get over her husband’s death while developing strong bonds with their children, especially Richard. Larry offers Richard a shoulder to lean on when he needed and eventually helps him turn around from his pubescent misadventures.

“A Family Thing” Movie Based on Triangles

Earl Pilcher (Robert Duvall) discovers he is half-black after the death of the white lady he thought was his mother. Pilcher, shocked by the untimely revelation after decades of deceit, journeys to Chicago in search of his biological family, where he encounters Raymond, his half-brother. Unfortunately, Raymond does not confirm that he is related to the elderly man from the South. Mr. Duvall strives to get Murdock’s approval, desperate for a connection. Pilcher, Raymond, and the lady form a triangle in this story that disintegrates when the women die. He moves to Chicago, trying to restore balance by confirming the validity of the information he received.

Differentiation of Self

This second tenet of the model can be defined as individual differences in their proclivity to rely on others for respect and recognition. It is a basic notion of Bowen’s approach which probes a person’s ability to separate thoughts and feelings, respond to worry and manage with life’s vagaries while pursuing personal goals. People with a high level of distinctiveness find it easy to maintain their individuality while being emotionally connected to the community (Noone, 2021). Due to a lack of interpersonal boundaries between family members, a person with a low level of differentiation is more likely to experience emotional fusion. People with a strong sense of self are more likely to find fulfillment by their efforts, whereas those with a weaker sense of self may seek approval from others.

An Opportunity for Bravery

After the death of his father, Richard maintained his frame even though it was a devastating moment for him. He felt the urge to man up and take responsibilities by putting her mother and sister at top priorities. Jakes had previously advised him to call off his current academic semester, but he did not agree with him. Instead, he applied for an inter-college transfer and moved to the local campus branch. He wanted to pursue school politics and ended up being elected as the congressperson in their school of Economics. This made him very popular and slowly recovered from his father’s untimely death by surrounding himself with different people. Based on the movie in question, Pilcher’s going to Chicago is a perfect example of how that portrays a brave personality in him.

Nuclear Family Emotional System

The third pillar in this family system framework is founded on Bowen’s idea that the nuclear family faces challenges in four primary areas namely, intimate partner conflict, problematic behaviors or anxieties in one spouse, emotional distance, and decreased functionality in children. He suggested that fights, disputes, criticism, under-or over-performance of obligations, and/or alienating behavior are directly attributed to anxiety among the couple. Though a person’s unique belief system and attitude toward relationships may have an impact on the development of trauma according to relationship patterns, Bowen believed that the familial emotional setup was the primary cause.

Cate’s Divorce

A recap of the marriage between Trevor and Catherine brings forth moments when the duo lost balance and understanding. Catherine became condescending and judgmental towards his husband Trevor, who on the other hand, did not find the environment conducive anymore. As a result, the tension and loss of harmony between the two later led to a divorce. Jakes and Cate were left with their mother who became very strict on them to the extent that they could tell she was venting out her frustrations through them. In most cases, people prefer running away from their troublesome partners or parents to escape toxicity to making the effort towards fixing the issues at hand hence spreading emotional distress to all the parties concerned.

Family Projection Process

Within the emotional triangle discussed in the preceding section, the transmission of a parent’s mental agitation, relational troubles, and emotional concerns to the child, may induce the development of emotional issues and other related concerns to the latter. The parent(s) may first project anxiety or worry onto the child, and then, when the child responds with worry or anxiety, the parent(s) may try to solve the problem or seek psychiatric help. However, as the minor becomes more impacted by the issue, he/she puts pressure on the parent to fix it. This can have a detrimental influence on the general behavior of the child. The managing of the child’s psychological struggles by the parent is usually what improves the child’s condition.

Richard’s Breaking Point

Richard tried to make his mother happy every day by dressing up as a clown to engage her and cheer her up. During weekends, he traveled back home to spend time with Grace because she was lonely and stressed. However, he couldn’t handle it when news hit him that her sister had been diagnosed with the cardiovascular disease just two months after Gift’s death. He had to separate himself from his peers and compromise preparing for the coming exams to spend more time comforting his mother and sister. His mother hadn’t told him about his sister’s illness until six days later, which made him feel cheated out of the opportunity to fend for his sister, with whom he had a close relationship. Following his sister’s condition and his father’s death, Richard became distraught, had nightmares, and suffered stress disorders. It was Larry who helped him overcome the emotional trauma in due course.

Multigenerational Transition Process

According to Bowen, this tenet portrays how individuals seek mates with similar levels of distinctiveness, potentially leading to the transmission of specific behaviors and circumstances through generations. In a marriage where either of the spouses has low degrees of self-assertion, it is equiprobable that the children might have even lower levels of differentiation (Malvig, 2021). These children may grow up to produce descendants who are worse off in the future. However, people who enhance their self-actualization may be able to break this cycle, find relief from their low esteems, and prevent similar weak manifestations from recurring into other family members.

Relevant Family Example

Parents’ involvement in their child’s early life, the child’s response to the parent’s effort, and parents’ conscious teaching of values to their children all have a substantial impact on a child’s differentiation of self. A child’s self-growth is comparable to that of his or her parents, with minor differences. If Richard later marries a person with a similar level of reverberation, it is probable that his children, under the tutelage of the two, will have a higher insofar of confidence and assertiveness in life. When such a family grows, the differentiation of self becomes more distinct, resulting in wider gaps between the progeny.

Interpretation

In the above genogram, Jakes hates his father because he abandoned them and relocated to California. His children might imitate the same disrespect for their parents in case the situation repeats itself. His child may interpret the contempt as normal and an ideal way to treat parents before creating a behavioral pattern in the life of the children. Similarly, Richard might end up hating her mother for being very weak to the extent that she couldn’t take care of her family anymore after the demise of Gift. This type of behavior can be passed down through lineages and cultivate considerable negative impacts on many facets of a person’s life, including health, schooling, marriage, and career.

Emotional Severance

This sixth pillar describes a scenario in which a person decides to emotionally distance oneself from other family members to better manage emotional troubles or other concerns within the family system. Cutting emotional ties may be intended to relieve restlessness and apprehension in the relationship and address unsolved interpersonal issues. However, it is always guaranteed that the outcome will be favorable because the relationship may still experience conflicts. Bowen believed that people would value new relationships more if they were emotionally cut off, which would reduce stress in those relationships.

Cate and Richard

Cate broke down so badly after Gift’s death, and went from crying, withdrawing into herself, grinding her teeth at night to smoking and alcoholism. Richard’s life also transformed as he felt overburdened especially when her sister became sick. He transformed into a party animal, driven by chance, shaded by fatalism, and he couldn’t delay his adolescent mischievousness anymore. He transferred to the nearby college and established a reputation for himself there for his wild socializing, partying, and partial drug dependency. He kept up with his learned roles of entertaining and engaging others by throwing little parties at his friends frequently as a strategy of avoiding stress-related disorders. Most of these times, Grace was left at home to be cared for by neighbors and extended relatives.

Sibling Position

This hypothesis was previously based on psychologist Walter Toman’s study, which Bowen incorporated into his phenomenon. Due to variances in expectations, parental discipline, and other variables, the eldest, middle, and youngest children tend to adopt certain roles within the family(Cepukiene,2021). Within the home situation, older children, for example, maybe expected to perform like miniature adults. The sibling position of parents and relatives may influence these responsibilities.

Additional Information

Sibling position has an impact on other elements of people’s lives, such as their marital choices. If two individuals have played complementary roles in their respective families, and the oldest sibling of one family is married to the youngest sibling of another family, they will typically operate in harmony. However, if two spouses are the oldest in their separate families, there is a high risk of conflict because both of them were leaders in past roles and are now attempting to play the same role in their married lives, which can lead to frequent disagreements.

The Trendsetter

As discussed in the earlier sections, Richard embraced responsibilities with open arms since he was the eldest child in the family. He encouraged her mother to attend therapy sessions for adult learners that were being offered by one of his psychology professors virtually every Tuesday and Thursday. He also took care of the garden with had been abandoned for several weeks. Even though Larry played a big role in paying family bills, Richard could occasionally chip in his little savings to be used in running the house. In addition, the fact that Richard also helped his father when he was under home-based care to take his pills on time and observe a balanced dietary habit cannot be overlooked.

Societal Emotional Process

This is the last abstract developed by Dr. Bowen. It can be defined as the tendency of members of society to develop anxiety and become unstable during certain times. Groups of people, just like families, can also operate on an emotional level. This is triggered when cohorts of undifferentiated individuals triangulate and make sentimental decisions, throwing society into chaos (Hui, 2020). During moments of regression, individuals in society may experience increased anxiety and instability. Population explosion, acute scarcity of natural resources, and economic crises like recession and other external factors can contribute to regressive times. Some of these predisposing factors cut across societal and familial emotional frameworks. However, it is possible to develop strategies that can divert irrational thinkers back to logical reasoning.

The Degenerate Phase

Cate ended up becoming a drug addict after the loss of her husband. She entered a degenerate phase, giving little or no attention to her two children. As a result, Richards also followed the same path and got carried away by adolescent misdemeanors. Even though Grace tried to maintain her reputation as the brave, young woman she was, it is evident that she suffered the instability of her mother. She did not get the necessary emotional support from her anymore and this could have contributed to the deterioration of her health condition. Larry and Brittany had to step in fully when Cate became promiscuous. If the situation was not restored on time, Grace could have died because her condition was so critical at that time.

Further Reading

The Bowenian hypothesis further posits that socio-cultural forces have a great impact on families as well. How different families respond to these changes molds the entire pedigree. As parents strive to raise disciplined children; there are many instances where they give in to their demands to relieve temporary stress. These children gradually learn to recognize times when parents are in their precarious position and take advantage of that, becoming increasingly rebellious. In the long run, cases of crime, drug abuse, and divorce rates among other social upheavals tend to spiral. As a result, society experiences a period of regression. When parents adopt principled disciplinary measures, however, they can save society in its entirety from regression times.

Conclusion

The analysis of these eight aspects gives insight into intensive familial interactions and boundary patterns of Richard’s family based on their structure and position in the progeny. However, to understand family ties, it is important to first identify triangle patterns, in which two family members cooperate against a third party. Families have a lot of influence on people’s lives as relatives get together to rejoice and to help each other through difficult times. The idea of a family as a continuous entity with laws, ideas, and values that shape people overtime is also emphasized by the family systems theory as highlighted in this paperwork.

References

Cepukiene, V. (2021). Adults’ psychosocial functioning through the lens of Bowen theory: The role of inter-parental relationship quality, differentiation of self, and satisfaction with couple relationship. Journal of Adult Development, 28(1), 50-63.

Hui, N. (2020, May). On the Influence of Original Family on Individual Mental Health—From the Family System Theory. In 6th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research (ICHSSR 2020) (pp. 234-236). Atlantis Press.

Malvig, B. (2021). Healthy Parenting in the Family System.

Noone, R. J. (2021). Family and Self: Bowen Theory and the Shaping of Adaptive Capacity. Rowman & Littlefield.

Rajaratnam, R. S. K. (2021). Bowen Family Systems Theory: Developing an Effective Congregational Care Paradigm. Virginia Union University.