Family Documentary

Description

Watch the documentary “Two American Families” ( https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/two-americ… ) and write an analysis paper. This documentary traces the stories of real two middle-class families in Milwaukee as they cope with economic hardship. Your paper should demonstrate your understanding of the documentary and discuss the effects economic hardship can have on families. MLA FORMAT

The paper should include an introduction and a conclusion, and address the following questions.

1. What factors led to the economic hardship of the Neumanns and the Stanleys? To what extent was the hardship driven by structural conditions, and to what extent, if any, was it attributable to the individuals in the families?

2. How did the economic hardship impact the adults of the two families? Potential Issues to consider include work, marriage, physical and mental health, life plans. The film traces the families over time, so this discussion should factor in the transitions that adults went through.

3. How did the economic hardship impact the children in the two families? Think about how the conditions shaped their childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Please factor in the considerable variations between the children.

4. Here is where you do the work of conceptualization, that is, moving from the concrete to the abstract. What general lessons about economic hardship and family conditions can you derive from these two cases?

5. What could have been done to help the Neumanns and the Stanleys? Think about both the financial and non-financial assistance that can benefit these or similar families. The help may exist in the form of government policies, community-level programs, or other assistance at the family level.