ipl-logo

Marianne Hirsch's Reframing The Human Family Romance

460 Words2 Pages

Summary of “Reframing the Human Family Romance” In her essay, “Reframing the Human Family Romance,” Marianne Hirsch argues that family photographs are influenced by the American ideas of what a family should look like and that the gaze between the viewer and the individuals in the photograph is often one of unequal power. Hirsch points out that Western society has created conventions for family photographs that dictate the roles each member plays in the family as well as how a family is constructed (133). Hirsch claims that these photographs make such an effort to include, that they also exclude anyone who does not fit the mold of the standard American family (133). In addition, Hirsch argues that family photographs have a unique ability to alter differences by mirroring them to reflect the ideal …show more content…

Hirsch is critical of this “American family romance” where “everybody is the same” and everyone is supposedly included (133). Hirsch explains the term “familial gaze” (133), stating that when viewed with no context, a family photograph can reinforce the myth that a family is “stable and united, static and monolithic” (135). Hirsch then makes the connection between the nuclear American family and the global family, with the example of the Museum of Modern Art Exhibition, The Family of Man, created in 1995 (134). This art exhibit, composed of 503 family photographs from around the world, was created with the purpose to show the universality of everyday life (134). Hirsch points out that although the exhibit was created with the intention of uniting a world recently divided by war and strife, it was curated in a way that

Show More
Related
1403 Words | 6 Pages

The physical image of poverty portrayed by the family reflects The Great Depression’s toll on their livelihood. It is clearly and plainly displayed that the mother and her children are impoverished by the techniques of black and white color choice, and intricate, detailed texture. The hardship faced by the family is highlighted by the photograph being in black and white. This allows for the simplicity of their condition to be shown without the distractions a photograph in color would provide. The image is very detailed and defined by texture, to leave no question to whether the family lacks wealth or riches.

Read More
274 Words | 2 Pages

Family reunions are often used to dwell upon the past and reflect upon one’s life. Richard Rodriguez, in is his passage, goes to extreme lengths to explain to the reader his carefully taken observation of his family’s life. Looking deeper into the words and feelings of the passage, Rodriguez portrays a sense of strong family values. It is apparent (by his selective use of diction and narrative structure found throughout the passage) that Rodriguez is writing to a more mature, experienced audience. As a mature writer, Rodriguez knows that the best way to connect with his audience is through the one day responsible for some of their greatest childhood memories -- Christmas.

Read More
1135 Words | 5 Pages

A family contains young minds that are at first taught the building of personality or character and controlling the emotions of him or herself, while also being taught how to set goals for life (Ritter) But as new generations came of age, the family became a weakened and fractured unit as husbands and wives gave way to the human nature of adultery in a widespread manor. Here in America, the family has been under constant assault and broken marriages and broken households are now a normal thing to see. Few fathers show the guidance and teaching to their children that is needed often requiring the mother to take on both roles. As children grow up being more spoiled and pampered to, they are never learning to accept and recover from setbacks.

Read More
1154 Words | 5 Pages

Stone writes about three essential functions of family stories– to pass on the family’s standards, to identify family characteristics, and coping strategies. The first of the three functions is the standards of the family since the family act as the “first culture,” teaching people what their family values and their opinions on certain situations like marriage and illness, mental or physical (Stone 384). The second factor is the family’s characteristics and their traits that bind them together, which act as the family member’s confidence boost (384). Furthermore, this boost makes them value themselves more than the next family, so that the family members contently remain together (384). The third factor is influencing how families cope; these “teaching stories” tell each family how to function outside of the family (385).

Read More
1699 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout history, photographs have been known to depict and represent culture, character, information, and ideology. Through specific elements of form, and close scrutiny, photographs give a representation of the “bigger picture” by providing content and invaluable information that text, on its own, does not produce. Dr. Carol Payne, a professor of art history at Carleton University, wrote an essay in 2012 for the Oxford University Press. This essay focused on the relationships between photographic images, Canadian culture and identity, and indigenous people. Her thesis was to discuss how an image can present a sense of national identity (Carol Payne 310).

Read More
1794 Words | 8 Pages

Main Analysis The varieties in family structure are exposed in the television series Parenthood. The small families within the Braverman family give relevant examples of the change. Each of the children in the show has their own unique support system. All families prove relevance to prior research conducted on the topic.

Read More
333 Words | 2 Pages

The prettiest daughter had a life outside of where her mother was located. The less attractive daughter stayed with her mother and that was probably the best choice for her. “Everyday Use” allows readers to see the conflicts on how culture can be twisted and viewed differently by generations through the theme, characters and symbols. To begin with, there are three generations of culture that is

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

The narrator says the twins look like their mother and in that second, she realizes the family culture within her, which she did not understand before. She watches the photos together with her sisters, “eager to see what develops” (173). This is a wonderful part of the story, not only the quality of photos has changed, their family connection also develops. The people in the photos become closer and closer.

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

The modern day family lives behind a dark cloak made up of secrets and lies. There is the wife left with physical and mental bruises inflicted upon her by a “loving” husband. Next door, there is a child hiding in the closet, avoiding their parents emotionally charged civil war. Across the street, the family of three is sitting at the dinner table with a plate meant for a mother who left ages ago. A few blocks down, there is a young man lying on his bed, contemplating weather his parents would notice him missing.

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

As a photographer myself, the theory of punctum is not unknown to me; however, the application of the concept of punctum towards the perfomativity of a photograph is unchartered territory. The photograph I chose to analyze is Dorothea Lange’s renowned portrait Migrant Mother, which is a Great Depression-era photograph featuring a migrant farmer, and is among the most famous photographs from this turbulent chapter of American history. The raw emotion in the mother’s face, paired with her body language and grimy appearance, captivates viewers; however, it is not the mother that makes this image so powerful to me, but rather, the turned away children framing their mother. This detail adds a new dimension to the portrait for me.

Read More
117 Words | 1 Pages

In the essay “What Is This Thing Called Family”, Lee Herrick reflects his life as a Korean adoptee raised by a Caucasian couple in America. He suffered a difficult life when he was a child because of the differences of his physical attributes from his sister and parents. Through the essay, Herrick has a chance to express his ideas about family and what family means to him. Everyone has something called a family but whether the definition of the family of each person is the same or not is debatable. I also have my own idea about family which I think is similar to Herrick’s opinions in the essay.

Read More
1568 Words | 7 Pages

Families are said to constitute realities in which most of one’s attributes are constructed, based on the family interactions, beliefs, values as well as the behaviours that are seen in the specific families one is brought up into (Archer & McCarthy, 2007). However, even though most of one’s personal characteristics may be heavily influenced by their families; people do have a sense of individuality that makes them unique from any other person in the family (Becvar & Becvar, 2013). Therefore, one may argue that it is these differences that may cause misunderstandings in families.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

Modern Family is a popular primetime television show that airs Wednesday nights on ABC. This hit comedy presents the daily lifestyles of three separate but related families who reside in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California. The Dunphys are shown as the traditional white American family while the Pritchett-Tucker family are a homosexual couple with an adopted daughter named Lily. The Pritchetts are the last family who are an interracial couple with a large age gap. On the surface, this show seems to be one of the most diverse on television.

Read More
1217 Words | 5 Pages

Family members may or may not be biologically related, share the same household, or be legally recognized” (Raney, 2015:6). In the series Modern family, it shows the dynamics of a 21st century family and how traditions and culture has evolved over the years. As opposed to “nuclear family” “No longer does the traditional family consist of two parents and two children; instead, more diverse and shifting family structures are becoming the norm.

Read More
1100 Words | 5 Pages

“The Changing American Family” by Natalie Angier states, “Fictive families are springing up among young people, old people, disabled people, homeless people, and may well define one of the ultimate evolutions of the family concept, maximizing, as they do, the opportunities for fulfillment of specific social and economic needs outside the constraints of biological relatedness.” The ever changing social dynamics and circumstances of this life have opened the definition of family to encompass individuals who can fill those deep-seated needs

Read More

More about Marianne Hirsch's Reframing The Human Family Romance

Related Topics

Open Document