This is indeed a huge topic. What you're really talking about is family melodrama which can be approached by country, time-period, studio, generic- blend, etc. You need to narrow it down a bit. You might start by reading some great general books on the subject like Gledhill's HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS. Good studies of 50's melodrama include Lang's work on Sirk, Minnelli, et.al. If I can toot my own horn, my book LIVING ROOM LECTURES provides a thorough intro. of the genre, and then a detailed study of 50's film and television examples (UT Press, next month). Ann Kaplan's great book on motherhood in film is a good source. Literally, there is tons of information on this -- as well as a lot of individual articles on ORDINARY PEOPLE and more recent fare. Good luck. N. Leibman ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]