S1E1 - Parentification As a Punchline

Before the debut of Roseanne, television shows depicted children without parents as a tragedy. But the Conners made light of the parentification of their children, even when the situation was objectively grim. The general theme of the show was "putting the fun in dysfunctional", which meant normalizing a lack of boundaries. Each one of the Conner kids display the long-term impact of parentification, but because it's viewed in a comedic light, viewers aren't invited to examine the damage.

And the normalization of making parentification a punchline can be seen in many subsequent television shows. For example, Gilmore...