In the spring of 2010, previews for Parenthood were all over NBC. I remember being excited to see Lauren Graham because I used to watch her on Gilmore Girls when I was younger. Like Gilmore Girls, Parenthood is a a realistic, relatable portrayal of modern family life. It focuses on the Bravermans, a large family living in California. The fourth season ended on January 22, and addressed many issues relevant to everyday American life. Three particularly interesting situations addressed were PTSD, adoption, and cancer.
In this season, Zeek, the patriarch of the Braverman family, goes out to volunteer at a veterans’ center and meets Ryan, an unemployed young man who has done two tours in Afghanistan. The two men become friends, and soon Zeek introduces Ryan to the rest of the family. At a kids’ baseball game, Ryan meets Amber, Zeek’s granddaughter. They hit it off and soon start to date. One day, Ryan tells Amber that he is going to an army friend’s funeral, and she decides to go with him. Ryan tells Amber that his friend died in an accident, but after Ryan gets into a fight with another former soldier, Amber finds out that his friend actually committed suicide. This is the first time that Amber and the audience see how being a soldier has impacted Ryan’s life. He has a lot of pent-up anger and confusion, and his friend’s suicide only adds to that. Even after seeing Ryan get into a fight, Amber stays with him because she loves him.
In another episode, Amber’s uncle hires Ryan to work in his construction company, and Ryan ends up breaking a window and storming out. Amber suggests that he apologize to her uncle, but he gets drunk instead. After seeing him so drunk and angry, Amber decides to end the relationship. She grew up with a father who drank and saw how her mother struggled in the relationship. Amber doesn’t want the same thing for herself, and she also feels that Ryan needs time to heal.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not addressed all that often on television, and this show does a great job of showing how it can affect not only a soldier, but the people around him. Many Americans do not support the wars that have go on in the last decade, and thus find it difficult to connect emotionally with the soldiers who have fought in those wars. Parenthood presents a character that is relatable and makes the audience sympathize with him as he struggles with PTSD, unemployment, and finding love.
At the end of the season, Julia, Zeek’s daughter, and her husband bring a new child into the family when they take in Victor. They struggle to connect with Victor and make him feel like he’s a part of their family. He frequently becomes angry with them and says that they are not his real parents so he does not have to listen to them. Julia, in particular, struggles to gain Victor’s trust. At one point, Victor even calls the police to report Julia for abuse. Julia is horrified, and begins to doubt whether she and her husband, Joel, should go through with the adoption. In the last episode of the season, Julia and Joel decide to officially adopt Victor and, to Julia’s happiness, he finally calls her “Mom”. Adoption is becoming more frequently addressed in television, but it’s still a difficult issue to portray. With this storyline, Parenthood shows how the adoption process is usually far from smooth, and how challenging it can be for the child and adoptive parents to connect and become a family.
One of the biggest issues to be addressed this season is cancer. Kristina, Zeek’s daughter-in-law, finds out that she has breast cancer early in the season. In a touching storyline, the audience sees how she and her husband, Adam, struggle to deal with the most challenging time of their lives. The audience sees how Kristina must shave her head because she begins to lose her hair because of the cancer treatments. She struggles to deal with her new appearance as she feels judged by everyone around her. In one of the most heartbreaking moments of the season, Kristina gets sick and is rushed to the hospital. Adam is scared that he is going to lose her, and watches a video that she made for her children if she dies. The video is hard to watch and incredibly touching. Cancer is a sensitive topic, and Parenthood portrays it with stunning realism and care.
With so many shows on television, it can be hard to find a show that is realistic, centers on family, and deals with everyday life. Parenthood is well-written and does a great job of bringing the struggles of ordinary people into the spotlight.
