The Fosters: One Of The Most Influential Shows In TV History
On June 3, 2013 when The Fosters first aired, they had no idea just how influential their show would soon become. But since carrying on five seasons, and ending on June 6, 2018, they have soon realized just how much their show impacted its followers based on the numerous comments and articles that they have received. Through following the lives of a strong lesbian couple, their one biological son, their adopted set of twins, and their two foster children; the show emphasizes the strong importance of social change in our world today, and all of the problems that come along with the foster system, the LGBTQ community, and so much more.
By setting up the opening scene this way, and understanding how it would draw in the attention of the audience, the producers knew they were immediately setting up drama for the first season of the show. As we keep moving throughout the episode, we see Lena (one of the mothers) talking to one of the Juvenile detention officers about taking Callie into her home for a few weeks until they can find a more permanent place for her. Callie keeps talking about Jude (her younger brother), but she never mentions who he is, or why he is important to her, until later on in the episode when she rescues him from their abusive foster father (Figure 1. 2).
Once Callie gets to their home, she is quickly approached by other family members with a barricade of questions, however, she is very stern and rude, not opening up about anything from her previous experiences. As the episode moves on, we see Callie attend Anchor Beach High School, which is where all of the other children in the family attend, as well as come to realize who this family is as a whole, and decide if she wants to stay here permanently or not. Once she comes to the realization that she does want to stay, just not without Jude, she discovers that she needs to rescue him. With the help of Brandon (her foster brother), they go to the house where Callie was previously removed, and successfully rescue Jude, and bring him safely to the Foster’s house, where he will remain for the entirety of the show. By following Callie throughout the whole first episode, the producers of the show are really able to portray how they will set up the drama for the remainder of the first season.
The audience is able to understand that Callie and Jude are the main characters that we will get to know first, however by having them stay with Stef, Lena, Brandon, Jesus and Mariana; we will also get to know those characters better in the process. The drama that takes place, always revolves between two of the family members, or a potential significant other/ friend who is causing problems within the family, allowing the audience to understand what the true meaning of family is like and how they should consider that in their own lives. As previously mentioned, the whole first season mostly revolves around Callie and the hardship that she is going through in adjusting to a new, more permanent foster home, but as the seasons go on, we will come to follow all of the characters more heavily. The story line is truly revealed episode by episode in the first season, but the audience is fully able to gain perspective on who these characters are and what goes on in their lives by following along with the rest of the seasons, as the show continues on. By the very ending episode, S5. E22 “Where the Heart Is”, the story line has been fully developed, and we see the show come to a close. In the opening of this episode, we see the entire family sitting at a dinner table in Turks and Caicos celebrating the soon to be marriage of Brandon and Eliza. In this scene where they are at the table, we see Eliza’s parents knowingly bash on Stef and Lena for being lesbian and disagreeing with their beliefs, something the show has struggled with throughout the entirety of its airing. However, as Hannah Garcia, staff writer for The Talon states, “Even though they go through hard times, they still remain together. They show that females can, too, raise their children without the help of a male” (2018), to prove that the show does an amazing job at proving the hardships that they go through.
Having Eliza’s parents comment on this, was truly just the icing on the cake. As the show progresses, we see this episode as a closing chapter for all of the characters, where they all tie up their loose ends and mature to move on with their life. In this final episode we go through flashbacks of the most important scenes (Figure 1. 3) throughout all five seasons, where Stef and Lena are stating that “most of the time they feel like they have five separate hearts running around outside of them”, and that “DNA doesn’t make a family, love does”. In having these flashbacks, it forces the audience to reminisce on all of the good times that brought the family together throughout the past five seasons. These are the scenes where they went through the hardest times, but came out stronger because of it, the scenes that truly develop the whole story line. Its where Callie and Jude got adopted into the family. It’s when they went through a school shooting that Mariana’s boyfriend set up. It’s when Jesus survived getting a nail accidentally shot into his skull, and recovered from his traumatic brain injury. It’s when Brandon gets accepted into Julliard School of the Arts. It’s when Stef and Lena finally get married because gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states. It’s where each and every character gets to mature and grow stronger through the family dynamic. The very ending scene of the show, is all of the family sitting at the dinner table for the final time (Figure 1. 4), deciding that they are all going to move so that Lena can run for the state assembly. The dinner table is a significant scene throughout the entirety of this show because it is the one time a day that the family can come together and talk about their lives and understand how sacred it is to have a loving and supporting group of individuals who all care for each other. In the end, all of the characters are standing in front of the house before moving out where we see the show come to a close (Figure 1. 5). All of the memories over the past 5 years fade away and the narrative that was once known as the Foster’s is now over. However, there is hope that it will pick up (somewhat) where it left off, because of the spin off show titled Good Trouble, that will premiere in January of 2019, to follow the lives of Callie and Mariana in their move to Los Angeles, while also having all of the other characters guest star within the plot.
The Fosters has always been known as a very liberal show, discussing all of the hard political topics we face today, and taking a very left sided approach. Throughout the entire time that it aired, there was an underlying feel of liberalism through the topics of the LGBTQ communities, female empowerment, and the U. S. Foster system. These topics are the underlying tone for the entire show, as they deal with Stef and Lena being lesbian mothers as well as heads of the household, teaching their children that their truly can be beauty and brains, as well as having all of their children except one be adopted from foster care. In having these ideals, the show really emphasizes the fact of social change, and wanting to prove all of the negative stereotypes wrong through a liberal eye. The audience can gather that the producers of this show, are proving that there are many negative topics in our world that don’t allow for everyone to be treated equally. While there is no strict guideline as to how to solve these issues all of the time, the producers feel as if there is something special in demonstrating their opinions through a television show, and using it for the greater good. While watching the show as it premiered season through season, there were two very specific episodes that stuck out the most regarding social change; S4. E1 “Potential Energy” which deals with gun control, as well as S5. E9 “Prom” which deals with the idea of DACA.
Regarding the concept of gun control, the show does a good job proving that there is a very controversial debate. This episode aired on June 20, 2016, just one week after one of the worst shootings in U. S. history. After finding out that 49 individuals were shot and killed in the Orlando nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016; producers of The Fosters knew that the first episode of season four, was now airing at the perfect moment. They had already knew that gun control in our country was becoming a rising epidemic, however, this just confirmed the beliefs that they already had. As stated by Shelby Ames in her article on CELEBMix, “The Fosters helps us to experience what it’s like when people are under the influence of guns and how it can affect families massively. The new season explores the effects of a school shooting, which, unfortunately, is quite a popular shooting range in the real world” (2016), she proves that the show does a good job in proving real, raw emotions to display the effects of a school shooting. Throughout the episode, the audience comes to find that Mariana’s boyfriend is the one who brought the gun to school, in hopes to successfully go through with the school shooting. This causes a lot of stress on all of the characters, causing them all to be separated and on lockdown for the entirety of the episode. All of the students have been accounted for, except Mariana, who got locked out of a classroom and forced to hide in a bathroom (Figure 2. 1), causing everyone else in the family to begin to worry as well (Figure 2. 2). In having the angle of Mariana in Figure 2. 1 be from the ground up, we can truly see the terror in her face and understand how she is feeling emotionally. This image provides the full effect of her crouching in the bathroom stall on top of the toilet, and covering her mouth, to ensure that she is not found. In creating the storyline like this, and showing the school shooting through the eyes of the students, and everyone inside of school, the producers are able to display the effects on each and every person that is involved in a school shooting. They show that anyone has access to gun, as the current gun laws stand, so the fact that students can easily bring one to school comes as no surprise. In creating this episode, they are able to effectively portray that they feel the gun laws do not do a sufficient job at protecting every citizen of the United States.
The next social issue that had the most impact on the show, was regarding the idea of DACA. This episode aired just a few months after President Trump made his decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which caused serious amounts of stressed at the time the news was released, and still to this day for some. In the episode of “Prom”, we see one of Callie’s friends protesting against a hate-speech activist on her college campus. Even though Ximena’s (Callie’s friend) DACA status is allowing her to get her education, a run-in with the law could easily get her deported and separated from her entire family. According to an article on TVGuide by Megan Vick, executive producer Johanna Johnson explained that “DACA is not a pathway to citizenship. It is not a green card. It’s a work permit and a student permit, in other words, to allow kids that were brought here as children by their parents and who really identify as Americans to remain here and study or work in the only country that they knew” (2017), in order to prove that The Fosters absolutely do not agree with the DACA decision, and that they will proving through this specific episode, the hardships that it causes on any individual who has to face these problems. In the very end of the episode, we see the ICE agents coming after Ximena, as Callie attempts to help her escape them, pulling her into a church, due to the fact that the ICE agents are not allowed to go in (Figure 2. 3). They show this figure as eye level, medium close up, to make it seem as the audience is running with the characters. By giving this viewpoint it makes the situation feel very real, and understandable, as if we were all to be standing right there, as the situation continues on. As the season goes on, and this story develops more, we see Ximena hiding out in this church for weeks on end, as Callie fights to get her DACA status renewed. In the end, she is able to stay in the U. S, however her parents and sister are forced to go back to Mexico, which destroys Ximena’s emotional well-being. Therefore, in this episode, the producers do a great job of displaying how hard it can be to have your DACA status in question, and how terrifying it can be to feel like you are not free in a country who preaches freedom.
All in all, The Fosters does a great job with displaying social issues in the future, and how they hope to see the world change as time passes. By discussing LGBTQ communities, female empowerment, and the U. S Foster system, they create a pathway for change, and display seven people who they feel embody the right beliefs, successfully living their lives in peace. By discussing very current social issues such as gun control and DACA they are able to show how they feel on these topics, and once again display the emotional hardship that it causes individuals who are presented in these situations. They very successfully pave a pathway, for how they feel the future should be.
