The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: an Analysis of the Series from the Perspective of the Family Systems Theory

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: an Analysis of the Series from the Perspective of the Family Systems Theory

  • Submitted By: tahirz
  • Date Submitted: 11/27/2008 9:09 PM
  • Category: Psychology
  • Words: 1119
  • Page: 5
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The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: An Analysis of the Series from the Perspective of the Family Systems Theory
The Fresh Prince of Bel-air is an award winning television sitcom that premiered on NBC on September 10, 1990 (http://www.starpulse.com/Television/Fresh_Prince_of_Bel_Air/Summary/).The opening credits and theme song of the series explain the context of the show. The story opens in the western section of Philadelphia where the protagonist of the story, Will Smith, was born and raised. Most of his early teenage years are spent on the playground engaging in activities such as chilling out, relaxing and participating in basketball games. Suddenly trouble arrives and Will gets into a fight with several other young men. As a result Will’s mother becomes worried about his safety and sends him off to live with his rich relatives in Bel-Air. This is where the story truly begins; Will becomes a fish out of water and has to adjust to a completely different lifestyle. He also has to adjust to being part of a much larger family made up of his upper-crust uncle Philip Banks, a prosperous attorney, his Aunt Vivian, three conceited cousins, Carlton, Hilary and Ashley along with butler Geoffrey. The breezy, jive talking, Will proves to be quiet a contrast to his upper-class relations, but despite obvious cultural and attitudinal differences, everyone is able to take the adjustment well. While it was Will’s mother’s intent to get Will to learn some good old fashioned values from his successful relatives. It is Will who ends up teaching the Banks several important things about being a family, he causes everyone to make major adjustments to their way of living and their way of thinking, reminding them that the simplest pleasures of family life can’t be bought at any price.
It is This series and the Family it portrays can be best described by applying the Family system theory
The Family systems theory emerged from General Systems Theory by scholars who found that it could be...

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