Angelina
Gutierrez
WMST 205:
Mondays 2:30 to 5:20 pm
Blog # 3: The Brady Bunch/Montano Bunch
The Hero Episode
The Broken Vase Episode
The cultural artifact on which I am reflecting is The Brandy Bunch; this television
program is one of the first programs I could relate to as a child. My mother and father had six children between
them three girls and three boys. My
mother was married before and had four children and then she married my father
and had my sister and me. I am the
youngest of six children. As a child, I
remembered watching The Brady Bunch with my older siblings. I would ask my oldest brother Sam, “Why he
likes this show so much” and he said, “It reminds him of our family”. He would
call us the Montano Bunch.
As I got older and understood more of the television show,
it did remind me of our family. My
father worked and my mother was able to stay at home and take care of her
family. Of course, my father worked
multiple jobs because he wanted his wife to stay at home a raise their
children. My father loved all of the
children equally. He never showed my
sister and I any special treatment because we were his biological daughters, he
treated us all equally. The Brandy Bunch children were very
close and were typical children who have their disagreements but at the end of
the day will show love for each other.
This was so my family, we would fight at times but we always apologize
to each other. My parents embedded in us
that family is the most important thing and we need to stick together. We were the typical mid-class family that loved
each other unconditionally. I was so
excited when the Brandy Bunch would come on and we would watch it as a
family. My mother would discuss episodes
with us and reflect the message that was being conveyed.
I remember the episode of the Broken Vase, it was such a
great educational lesson for my siblings and me because we could all
relate. One day when my parents went to
the store, we were playing in the house with a ball and broke one of my mom’s
lamps. The lamp had a little crack
because my brother was able to catch it on time before it fell to the
floor. My dad was such a handy man so of
course he had carpenter glue. My oldest
brother glued it together and we never played ball again in the house. The episode when Greg threw the football and
boke the vase. The Brady children stuck
together and took the blame individually.
They did not want one person to get in trouble so they decided to
support each other. My mother noticed
the crack on her lamp while she was cleaning.
I remember my older siblings were scared that my dad was going to be
upset. After my mother talked to us as a
family, she made sure that we learned our lesson and made it cleared that
playing ball in the house was forbidden.
I am not sure what was worse, getting in trouble or seeing the
disappointment on her face. I know my
oldest brother was disappointed that he cracked her lamp and he saved money to
purchase my mother two new lamps for Christmas.
Of course, we all pitched in and with the help of my dad, we were able
to surprise her with the new lamps. My
father made all the children help my mother with chores around the house. My mother taught my brothers how to cook and
clean as well. The girls had to assist
my dad with yard work. My parents wanted
us to be a tight family and be responsible.
Another episode I can remember that affected me as a child
when Peter saved the little girl climbing a shelf. Peter was the hero, received
many gifts, and was in the newspaper.
His act of heroism went to his head and his parents had to talk to him. One should respond as an act of kindness and
not what you received in return. I
remember my mother telling us if you cannot do anything from your heart, you
should not do it at all. I remember we
would help each other with our chores and if one of us would complain, my
mother would tell us not to do it at all and expect anything in return. My parents were the glue to our family and
taught us values, responsibilities and morals just like The Brandy Bunch.
As I reflect on The
Brady Bunch now with my “critically vigilant” lenses, I recognize the Brady
Bunch was used to promote the white middle class family and not all race and
class could relate. Obviously, I come
from a mixed race family (Mexican/Italian), I knew there was different outcomes
in my life from the television show. There
were not any positive television shows representing Latino families during my
childhood. The only reason why I could
relate to the Brady Bunch is because my parents had six children and installed
values in morals in our household. Men
and women of color did not has many positive role models on television. We were either house cleaners, gardeners,
construction workers and/or any other lower class job that a typically white
person would not be doing. However,
while I re-watch certain episodes, I strongly believe The Brandy Bunch can help any race and class because the moral to
each episode are strong family values and lessons to be learned in order to
become successful in our society today.
