How far does the representation of a particular social group change over time?

How far does the representation of a British family change over time?

Alfie
Inbetweeners


Past media representations of family (i.e. the film Alfie) show society striving for the 'nuclear family' ideal, shown through the characters of Gilda and Humphrey. Gilda gives up her love for Alfie to go and have a life with Humphrey, going along with the social 'norms' of the time, thus following Stryker's theory of social expectations.

An Education presents the nuclear family ideal at the beginning. However Jenny rebels against this norm and tries to further herself with her relationship with David, however her parents would have allowed her to give up all her education at the age of 17 to have a married life. This follows Althusser's theory as society has drummed the idea of marriage and Jenny's parents comply.

The characters in Inbetweeners are part of a younger age group, therefore their view of marriage and family is drastically different to one in the 1960s. They strive for sex, not marriage. This is shown by the constant sexual references throughout the show. Whereas Gilda in Alfie is seen to be wearing a false wedding ring in the hospital so as to hide the fact that she is an unmarried mother.




Improvements
1) Analyse the theories to show that you actually know what the theorists say and link it to your TV and film examples.
2) Analyse your points and examples more to explain how they intercept with each other and the theorists.