Research Paper On Shameless

Words: 1093
Pages: 5

The idea of a nuclear family is generally considered the ideal household situation to raise a child in. One father to act as a disciplinary force and teach hard life skills, one mother to nurture and care for the children and one child to inherit what both of their parents taught them. Society has molded the idea of both parents in the household as a norm that should not be violated because it can be harmful for the childrens’ development. Society reinforces this idea in media by portraying families like in the Simpson to depict how a normal (although comical) family should look like. One TV show that violates this norm is the U.S. version of Shameless. Shameless follows Fiona Gallagher, a twenty-one year old high school dropout, parenting …show more content…
Although her family life is chaotic due to unethical ways of acquiring money to pay bills and what some consider “white trash,” Fiona applies the same love as a mother, although she is in a dysfunctional family. Yes, a single parent household may not be ideal, but why is it considered an inherently bad thing? Although single parent households may be considered “unstable for the child(ren)” by society, one thing in most of these families is certain. They want the best for their child. The season three episode of Shameless begins with the main character, Fiona Gallagher, fighting for the custody rights of her siblings. Acting as their parent, Fiona attempts to get their real father excluded from guardianship and herself appointed as the sole guardian (Shameless). Fiona does this because she knows that the alternatives of the children remaining in Frank, the father’s care, or ending up in foster care would be much worse for their well being (Shameless). She does this because she cares and she wants what is best for her family. Hope Edelman in her article would agree with Fiona in her article “The Myth of Coparenting: How it was Supposed to