Emotional Attachment Through The Screen: The Found Family Trope

Every devoted viewer experienced the sentimental feeling of grief over characters they have gone to be completely attached to across the screen. The days that were spent fixating on every trailer that is released and every fandom content that pops through one’s socials while scrolling and tapping on every post and reel. This is the first step towards a tender connection that not only fulfills a void, but makes one feel included in a world that is disconnected both virtually and physically.

And when disconnection is the choice taken in the world, entertainment productions never fail to make viewers feel alive, included and emotionally fulfilled. The found family trope is the warmest and most welcoming of all production narratives. It gives viewers a sense of relief and enjoyment when their reality is consumed by the darkest of thoughts. The success of this trope is not a new phenomenon in the entertainment industry and viewers choice, what we view in recent productions from movies and shows are nothing but an extended connection and a continuation of what started long before most of us were even born.

From exceptional old black and white rom-coms like It Happened One Night (1934) all the way to Jumping The Broom (2011) and Disney’s Lilo and Stitch (2002). Yet, there are unforgettable productions that viewers continue to rewatch for the 10th and 20th and are marked as the ultimate comfort delight despite knowing every line and plot by heart, but the essence of it makes it worth the run and time. And thats because the trope that the story revolves around. Despite the genre and classification, the found family trope continues to be the ultimate choice for to rewind.

Whether you love your job and the working environment you’re in, or feel out of place,  you can always escape to The Office of your dreams in the environment that you had planned once that contract was signed. Yes reality can be harsh sometimes and what we planned in our head is nothing close to our reality, but entertainment productions are always here to bridge that void. The Office is every fan’s favorite choice for a comfortable night to escape. Escaping your life at home, work or even reality as a whole. The Office promises to keep your mind occupied by following the story of every character and their personalities that do not align. Through comedy sketches and heart-warming scenes, all seems to be well.

With every interaction and dialogue that characters have with one another, the story tells another hidden tale within every featured emotion and plot. It simply illustrates the idea of how the once annoying colleagues who want to kill each other, are actually fond of one another and have each other’s backs. Not only that, but their office is not only considered as a place of work, it’s their escapism and the family they found when they are far away from their own. And that’s the whole purpose of the show, to showcase how family relations are not only based on blood. Sometimes and most of the times, family are strangers who you thought you hated at first, but as time passes by, you tend to feel that no day can pass without seeing them, messing around with their stuff and laughing at their dad jokes. And of course, this is what The Office is all about.

But in case a viewer is adventurous and loves the chase and race of police shows and what goes on in every station, Brooklyn99 is the answer for all the questions. Brooklyn99 serves as a guide to every curious mind who wonders about the behind the scenes of every chase and case within the federal law. A puzzle that is solved through funny plots and interactions of the characters who go through their day by solving cases that are serious enough to create a bond of mystery and fondness too. Not only cases are solved and days are saved, but connections are also made and love evaporates through every episodes in different ways and forms that shapes one’s mind about the definition of love and family.

And recently, a new show has been released and it’s taking everyone’s breath away that having a back to back marathon of rewatching it, is as normal as having another cup coffee after a long day. Off Campus, is a book-based adaptation that continues to captivate every viewer’s attention. It’s the romance of the couples, the friendships, and the connections that are formed unexpectedly. The found family dynamic in this show is based on multiple factors and meanings that define what love really is. And it came to every viewer’s attention that love is not only platonic and romantic. It’s more of an umbrella that encompasses every aspect of life and personal connections. It’s the love of strangers who come to be one of the most important people in your life, the love of a team and a sport that connects everyone and creates a new family when one is away from it. It’s the love of friends who are more of family than one’s own. This is the love that every audience member is feeling and not wanting to leave behind.  It’s more of creating a home base when one is foreign. And this is why off Campus is and will continue to be the most watched recent production when it comes to found family. Because love in the context of this particular hockey romance is illustrated in more ways than one can possibly imagine.

With that, choose wisely and pick precisely. For a show and a movie is not only a 90 minute break from reality, it’s a packaged production of entertainment that is equipped with much needed life lessons and a push to move forward in life.  And one shall make sure that the choice is the right option to come back to when life is heavy and reality is unbearable.