Coco paper final

Analysis of family dynamics and systems in the movie "Coco". Apply information from class to the movie. Provide resources and examples.

1. RUNNING HEAD: Coco Family Systems

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Coco Family Systems
Milicent Bergey
University of Georgia

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Coco Family Systems
Introduction
The Coco movie depicts various topics we have discussed regarding how the Rivera
family functions. A genogram is a tool displaying family history over multiple generations. The
necessary information in a genogram is name, chronological age, and generational position of
each family member. A genogram gives insight into the existing patterns of a family and the way
they affect the adjustment of individual family members (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 66).
Significant dates, family beliefs and values, secrets, losses, and themes fall under the “Five
Clues” which are determined through a genogram.
To further the analysis of the family, there are four first-order tasks. These tasks include
emotional climate, boundaries, maintenance and identity. As stated by Anderson and Sabatelli,
“first-order task can be thought of as the essential business of the family—the objectives that the
family is charged with fulfilling in regardless of its particular composition, socioeconomic status,
and cultural, ethnic, or racial heritage” (2011, p. 11). The emotional climate of a family is
determined by strategies used to care for individual family members in the way cohesion is built
and conflict is taken care of (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 30). Boundaries define who is in a
system as well its subsystems and regulate how families interact with one another (Anderson &
Sabatelli, 2011, p. 47). Maintenance strategies are the ways families choose to provide basic
needs according to the resources they have to best promote health and wellness (Anderson &
Sabatelli, 2011, p. 14). Identity is the final first-order task which describes the construction of
family themes, socialization of family members and congruence of images for individuals within
a family. Identity trickles into family themes and traditions, making the family who they are
(Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 12).

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The final part of the analysis of Coco explores other main concepts we have discussed.
These concepts include family life cycle, ethnic influences, celebrations and rituals, rules and
values, stories, and philosophy of life. All of these sections are critical in understanding the
dynamic of the Rivera family from the movie Coco.
Part A: Genogram and Analysis of Genogram
Part A - Genogram

Figure 1. Rivera Family Genogram
Part A - Analysis of Genogram
Significant Dates
Significant dates are one of the “Five Clues” that can be seen in the Rivera family’s
genogram. Historically speaking, the Day of the Dead is the main topic in the Coco movie and is

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of importance to the Rivera family. According to History.com, the Day of the Dead (Día de los
Muertos) is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives
for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. The holiday is celebrated from
October 31 – November 2 each year. The origins of Día de los Muertos are congruent with
Mexican heritage around the world from some 3,000 years ago. On this day, people believe the
border between the spirit world and real world goes away (2020). This information adds to
understanding patterns in the Rivera family. Día de los Muertos has been celebrated in the Rivera
family for hundreds of years, going back to Mama Imelda and Papa Hector at the very top of the
genogram. Another influential date is the separation of Mama Imelda and Papa Hector. While the
specific time of this event is unknown, the relationship between Papa Hector and Mama Imelda
continues to impact the Rivera family for hundreds of years. Because Papa Hector left Mama
Imelda and Coco to pursue music, the ban of music has been passed throughout the Rivera
family tree, having been replaced by shoe making.
Family Beliefs and Values
Family values are depicted in the Rivera family as they are all expected to make shoes
and are prohibited from playing music. This is a value that has been passed down in the family
since Mama Imelda was left by Papa Hector. Mama Imelda blocked music out of her life and
pursued shoe making to support her daughter Coco. The way this practice of shoemaking has
thread through the Rivera family is evidence of firm family values. Miguel’s development is
impacted in the sense that his passion for music is not supported because it is inconsistent with
his family’s beliefs and values. At one point, Miguel states, “I think we’re the only family in
Mexico who hates music. And my family’s fine with that. But me…” (Anderson, 2017). Time
and time again Miguel fails to receive support from his family, specifically his Abuelita.

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Miguel’s family shuts down his desire to play music by ending any conversation surrounding the
idea of it. Miguel eventually gathers the courage to play music for his family and is immediately
shut down again when Abuelita smashes his guitar. Another Rivera family value is quality time,
specifically on Día de los Muertos. Miguel’s family prides themselves on togetherness and
family first but, in the midst, Miguel feels alone and overlooked. Therefore, instead of Miguel
desiring to be a part of the family, he is restrained in his own development and ultimately runs
away.
Secrets
Family secrets exist in the make-up of the genogram. The Rivera family does not know
who Mama Imelda’s husband (Miguel’s great-great grandfather) really is or what happened to
him because he is never talked about. In fact, Abuelita refuses to even say his name. In the
absence of a full story, Mama Imelda lives her life thinking her husband simply abandoned her
and her daughter Coco. The truth of the story is revealed when Miguel is in the Land of the Dead
and learns that Ernesto de la Cruz actually poisoned his great-great grandfather, Papa Hector, as
he was returning to Imelda and Coco. This unspoken facet has been kept a secret up until
Miguel’s discovery of the truth in the Land of the Dead. This has the most critical impact on the
Rivera family, influencing communication patterns down the entire tree of life. Everyone who
was born after Imelda and Hector communicated that Miguel’s great-great grandfather left
Imelda for music for good. Therefore, the entire family has turned to shoe making in support of
Imelda’s pain. Due to this event, the keeping of this secret has clearly influenced the drawing of
boundaries against anything pertaining to music.
Losses

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Losses cover a wide range of topics in relation to the Rivera family. The most significant
loss I would like to discuss is that of the deceased family members in the genogram and the way
the Rivera family holds onto these pictures, both in the Land of the Living and the Land of the
Dead. The living side of the Rivera family has experienced a loss of older family members. On
the opposite side, the dead have a fear of the living losing their photo or losing their memory of
them. Additionally, Mama Coco has a depleting memory which impacts Hector’s ability to come
back to the living world. This event may be perceived as significant by Hector, of course, and by
Miguel as he was able to travel to the Land of the Dead. On the other hand, the severity of
memory and photo loss may be far less significant to those in the living world. While the
genogram goes all the way back to great-great grandparents, there were people who proceeded
them. The loss of memory by those who were once living impacts the dead in that they are
fearful of being forgotten but eventually will be passed on from the dead world due to loss of life
and ability to be remembered for more than a few generations. The people in the living world
versus the people in the dead world view loss in very different ways.
Themes
Themes that clearly run through the Rivera’s genogram include the identity of Miguel’s
family as shoemakers. They behave in a way that shuts down the pursuit of any kind of music
and are drawn in to be supportive of family, period. Not family passions. This guides their
occupation in the past, present and future years and heavily feeds into the prohibition of music.
Another evident theme in the Rivera family is their faith and celebration of Día de los Muertos.
This family believes the souls of their deceased relatives return on Día de los Muertos which
guides their celebration and theme of family being very important. Miguel’s family behaves on
the basis of their long-lasting tradition to pursue shoe making, ban music, and value family.

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Part B: First-Order Tasks
Emotional Climate
In terms of supporting individual family members, the emotional climate of the Rivera
family is not very nurturing as they lack positive strategies for managing emotional expression
(Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 30). For example, Abuelita loves Miguel but shows her love for
him in a way that is not relational. She lacks nurturing skills and the ability to listen, cutting him
off and making assumptive statements like, “sweet little angelito, perrito, cielito! He wants no
part of your music” (Anderson, 2017). Abuelita fails to see that music is all Miguel really wants
to take part in. In relation to Miguel’s development and age, instances like this tighten
boundaries for managing emotional expression. Miguel grows in hesitation to share his passions.
Abuelita expresses control and domination in a way that is not a legitimate and caring way of
using power (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 31). Although Abuelita loves Miguel, her actions
clearly depict a less healthy emotional climate.
Family Boundaries
In the Rivera family, there is a presence of clear boundaries in terms of the role of each
member, but they are very rigid and hierarchal. These firm boundaries result in disengagement
and the formation of coalitions, which can be seen in the way Miguel’s family takes sides against
Miguel’s pursuit of music (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 47). The Riveras display morphostasis
as they “resist change in existing strategies” (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 15). The Rivera
family does not foster growth and development for Miguel but rather restrains it. The family is
extremely set in their ways and exhibit closed boundaries when Miguel expresses his desire to
play music. For example, when Abuelita smashes Miguel’s guitar, we can see a tightening of

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boundaries in the way she destroys the tool he needs to play music. Towards the end of the
movie, the boundaries shift towards openness and acceptance of Miguel’s music.
Maintenance
Maintenance tasks pertain to a family’s ability to sustain a healthy environment and
promote the health of the family as a whole (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 14). These tasks
occur daily in the Rivera household as the family makes shoes to provide resources such as food
and living conditions. Additionally, women, like Miguel’s mom Luisa, help to maintain the
physical environment and well-being of the family through cooking, cleaning and caring for
other family members.
Identity
The identity of the Rivera family consists of a reinforcement of Mama Imelda’s story
from years ago. Due to her story, making shoes, not listening to music, and focusing care on
deceased and living family members are three main things that make the Riveras who they are.
Miguel’s identity is restricted by the things his family identifies with as they do not align with
what makes him, him. This is unhealthy and hinders development. While there are negatives to
identity in this family, Miguel is positively rooted in valuing his relatives and can grow into who
he is as a Rivera.
Part C: Case Study
Family Life Cycle
Miguel is in the school-aged stage of the family life cycle where the family must
reorganize to fit the developing worldview of school-aged children (Allen & Henderson, 2017, p.
88). Down the line of family members, the Riveras have been instilled with the idea that music is
bad. Raised to follow traditions, Miguel accounts that his passions vary from those of his

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relatives and that his passions are not pertinent to his parents. These differences are accounted
for through Miguel’s growing desire to play music and his courage to continue to follow his
dreams. Eventually, the rest of his family comes around to support his developing view of the
world and what is important to him.
Ethnic Influences
Science Direct defines ethnic influence as, “a sense of belonging based on one’s ancestry,
cultural heritage, values, traditions, rituals and often language and religion” (2020). Based on
this, Miguel’s ethnic identity is Mexican. His family has lived in Mexico for hundreds of years
and they celebrate Día de los Muertos, which points to his family of origin and established ethnic
background. In this ethnic identity, music is important to a lot of people. Before Mama Imelda’s
generation, music ethnically influenced the Rivera family. Due to the change in values and
lifestyle, the nature of his current family’s ethnicity does not include music.
Celebrations and Rituals
The special occasion highlighted in the movie is Día de los Muertos. Rituals surrounding
this holiday are celebrated by decorating an ofrenda with food for lost ancestors’ spirits to return.
Daily, Miguel’s family shares meals together. Celebrating Día de los Muertos and eating
together on a daily basis are two rituals that have been going on for years in the Rivera family.
Both of these gatherings demonstrate the importance of gathering with family.
Rules and Values
Some of the common values found in Miguel’s family are that music is prohibited, family
is important, and every family member will be a shoemaker/homemaker. Miguel’s family
attempts to incorporate these into Miguel’s life, but Miguel discards the value of becoming a
shoemaker and instead wants to pursue music. This causes Miguel’s family to feel as though he

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does not view them as important. While there may be covert or implicit rules within his family
system, these rules are clearly stated and therefore are overt (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, p. 10).
Miguel chooses to disregard all of these overt rules as he pursues music, turns away from
becoming a shoemaker and, in the process, causes his family to feel uncared for.
Stories
Miguel tells the story of his family at the beginning of the movie. From his perspective,
we can see the importance of knowing about his extended family and how music has been
prohibited for years. This is important because although music is not allowed, an underlying
message is that the family stands up for one another throughout the generations. Thus, the story
of Mama Imelda and her ‘unknown’ husband influences the occupations of all who succeed her.
Philosophy of Life
Philosophy of life points to the purpose the Rivera family gives themselves for their life.
This family “makes meaning” of the world by making shoes and caring for their family over
anything else. Miguel wants to be different and his passions are influenced by a desire to break
away from such a consistent pattern in his family’s history. He admires Ernesto de la Cruz’s
phrase, “seize your moment”, discarding the philosophy that a meaningful life is about your
family and shoes. His current situation is breaking away from this and instead implementing a
philosophy to chase his dreams of becoming a musician.
Conclusion
The Rivera family is demonstrative of the reality of the way families function. Through
the analysis of their genogram, first-order tasks and Miguel’s family of origin, this family gives
insight into family dynamics. The existing patterns of the Rivera family clearly influence Miguel
as he grows and develops.

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References
Allen, Katherine R. & Henderson, Angela C. (2017). Family Theories: Foundations and
Applications. John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Anderson, Darla K. (Producer), & Unkrich, L. (Director). (2017). Coco [Motion Picture]. United
States: Walt Disney Studios
Anderson, S. A. & Sabatelli, R. M. (2010). Family Interaction: A Multigenerational
Developmental Perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Ethnic Identity. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2020, from https://www.sciencedirect.com
/topics/psychology/ethnic-identity
History.com Editors. (2018, October 30). Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos).
Retrieved February 10, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/day-of-the
dead