Summary Of Two American Families

The Frontline video “Two American Families” was about two families, the Neumanns and the Stanleys, and their experiences with raising a family during times of economic hardship. It followed the families through trying to make ends meat, financial concerns, and poor job availability, beginning in 1991 until 2013. The families were similar in many ways. Both were married couples with children, had well paying jobs, allowing them to become accustomed to a certain way of life, then to be laid off by their employers and having to struggle to find work. With the sudden decrease in income, both families faced similar stress and hardship, including having to decide which bills they would be able to pay, services being shut off or declined, as well
The mother in the Neumanns family, Terry, was originally a stay at home mother whose job was to care for the children, attempted early to make additional money through an investment in beauty products to be sold. Her children helped minimally with the sales and production, and money ended up being lost in the attempt. Throughout the film, Terry continued to pursue work to try and contribute financially to the family, taking jobs as she could which pulled her from the home. The children were then to come home and be self-sufficient during the middle school and high school ages while both parents worked. One of the children seemed to suffer from the stress the family was under, as he became withdrawn and depressed. As the documentary progressed, it was apparent that Terry and Tony struggled under the stress as well, and divorced at the end of the film. Following up with the children, one of the sons dropped out of school to work and raise a family, and another son was looking for work was unemployed and looking for work as a mechanic. The daughter of the family remained in school, received a degree and is employed and supporting