Bound by Love

What does it mean to be bound by love? In some cases bonds imprison and restrict, forcing captives to fight for survival. In others they promise unconditional love and acceptance, an eternal link from one soul to another. By tracing the historical lessons that have been taught in film and television about love, marriage, and parenthood, Bound by Love compellingly demonstrates a popular cultural dialogue about the changing nature of the American family over the past sixty years. The essays in this book interrogate the representations of familial bonds in film and television since 1950, engaging with a variety of social issues across multiple genres. Careful consideration of the relationship between text and historical context is central to each author's perspective, and as a result this book navigates the changing terrain of American popular culture that has emerged over the past several decades. Especially salient is the way in which ideas of race, feminism, and social mores about sex and love have affected these narratives over time, and how the changing nature of these cultural issues in society has fostered how they are represented in film and television.