Media Analysis: 7th Heaven

Media Analysis: 7th Heaven

The American family drama series, 7th Heaven, started in 1996 and ran until 2007. 7th Heaven is considered the longest running season that the WB has ever aired. The show has captured a large audience of all ages because of its witty, charming and heartwarming stories. The seasons of 7th Heaven are about a minister and his wife who have seven children, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, who experience their everyday drama as a family. The father, Eric Camden, is a full time minister, who balances his time between the needs of his church and his family. His wife, Annie, is a stay at home mother who takes care of the house and their children. The children, from oldest to youngest are - Matt, Mary, Lucy, Simon, Ruthie, David and Sam. Adding to their large family, they have a dog named Happy, who is very loveable.

Every episode consists of a life lesson or an everyday family problem that is addressed. These life lessons and family problems range from dating to teen suicide to cheating to stealing to sibling rivalry to parent disagreement to gang violence. These problems are either resolved as a family, the parents stepping in, friends giving advice or the siblings helping out. The family encourages and motivates each other to be honest and to do what is right.

An Agent of Socialization

7th Heaven is an agent of socialization because the show is based on family, which is the "most important agent of socialization in the United States, especially for children" (Schaefer 89). Eric, Annie and their children have a home full of wonderful memories and upsetting heartaches. The show shows that the support of a family is very important when you are going through the up's and down's of everyday life. Eric and Annie also help show and guide their children into the appropriate gender roles. Eric and Annie do not believe that only women do the cooking or only men work, but they raise their children showing them the gender roles accepted by society.

School, another agent of socialization, is a major part of 7th Heaven. Eric and Annie encourage their children to try hard and to succeed at school. They both help their children with their school work and their struggles in the subjects they are not good at. Schools "fulfill the function of teaching children the values and customs of the larger society" (Schaefer 91). The Camden children learn many valuable lessons at school - through their teachers and their peers. I believe that 7th Heaven is also an agent of socialization because they teach their children responsibility. They do not just hand money to their children when they want it. When they are old enough they encourage them to obtain a job and learn "to behave appropriately in an occupation" since it "is a fundamental aspect of human socialization" (Schaefer 91).

The last reason that 7th Heaven is an agent of socialization is because of the importance of religion. Since Eric Camden is the minister of a church, religion is an important part of his life and his family. Throughout many episodes, Eric helps members of his church and others in the community. He reminds the community, the members of the church and his family to continue to have faith in God and to follow in His footsteps. Family, gender roles, school, workplace, and religion are all shown in the episodes and qualify 7th Heaven as an agent of socialization.

Sociological Concepts

7th Heaven shows many sociological concepts throughout the episodes. Family is the biggest concept that is shown in every episode. The producer of 7th Heaven wrote these episodes to gear them towards the importance of family and how a family as close as the Camden's is there for each other. I believe that the functionalist view is the best way to explain how 7th Heaven relates to sociology. The functionalist view "focuses on the ways in which the family gratifies the needs of its members and contributes to social stability" (Schaefer 302). According to the functionalist view, there are six functions that the family performs. The first is reproduction - "the family contributes to human survival through its function of reproduction" (Schaefer 302). The Camden's have seven children and love each and every one of them. Eric and Annie did not come have a large family like theirs but they continued to have children. They become grandparents when their middle daughter, Lucy, had a baby girl with her husband during one of the later seasons.

The next function that the functionalists