One of my favorite things about MitM is the episodes where each subplot is juxtaposing two characters. Some examples:
Season 2, Episode 13: New Neighbors
Showcasing different parenting styles that still lead to children that act out. In this case, Lois is a strict authoritarian (not to be confused with authoritative), while the neighbor practices permissive parenting.
For those who don't know, there are four parenting styles that psychology recognizes, but we're going to focus on authoritarian and permissive parenting styles.
Authoritarian - These parents set strict rules, usually with little to no input from their kids, and expect them to do as they're told. They are usually controlling, shaping their child to what they think is best. They use punishment and discipline to enforce rules. These punishments usually consist of corporal punishment, which is any punishment that causes physical harm (hitting, forcing them to stay in uncomfortable positions, forced ingestion, etc.), and also yelling, belittling, humiliating, threatening, etc.
Children of authoritarian parents are good at following rules and are obedient, but they struggle when no rules are set or there is no authority figure around. Low self-esteem and poor social skills are also present. They can also be aggressive and rebellious.
Permissive - Though these parents are warm and loving, they give in to their children. They do not set or enforce boundaries or limits. They let their children make their own decisions. It's considered "less active".
These children often have good self-esteem, but they could also end up feeling insecure due to lack of boundaries/limits. This parenting is also linked to poor social skills and a lack of self-control. They have problems listening and following directions. These children also have a tendency to be "rebellious", though, in this case, they're not rebelling against anyone. They're doing things because they haven't been told they couldn't. They have little knowledge of what's okay and what isn't, because their parent lets them do whatever they want.
In this episode, Lois hates this neighbor. She mentions that she "hasn't seen her parenting yet", pointing to the fact that the neighbor lets her kids do whatever and dismisses their bad behavior as playful.
The permissive mom sees her kids in a positive light, which is important to note. She thinks they have only good intentions, and she also believes her kids when they say things. For example, when the boy says that Malcolm was looking at his mom's chest, she believes it to be true. Lois, however, doesn't believe Malcolm when he says that the boy is lying.
The permissive mom says that Lois' kids are monsters (or something along those lines). Lois starts to correct her, but she instead agrees. She says that at least they're not as bad as her "brats". The mom is offended, clearly not believing this about her kids. This is important, because it showcases how Lois truly feels about her children, which contributes to their low self-esteem and bad behavior.
It's also funny that this episode adds a family that's seemingly just as bad as the Wilkerson's, if not worse, bringing the family together to get rid of them.
Season 3, Episode 7: Christmas
In this episode, Lois takes away Christmas after the boys mindlessly and carelessly destroy Christmas ornaments by throwing them at each other. On the flip side, it's revealed that Lois' mother, Ida, has been hoarding presents over the years from people that have pissed her off.
This episode is very intriguing. Lois feels guilt and shame from taking the presents away from her family. She feels like a monster, and like she doesn't deserve to be a mother. Whether what she did was right or not doesn't really matter; it's not really the point. We see that Lois feels bad about what she did, to the point where she doesn't even accept comfort from Hal.
Then, there's Ida. She has hoarded over $1,000 worth of presents over the years. It was mostly for small, petty reasons. Francis, a literal child, calling her "poopy", or Hal refusing to help her with something. She holds no remorse, and she never told anyone she was doing it either. Instead, her family assumed that she never bought them anything. This is, almost objectively, worse than what Lois did. Lois made it clear to the boys that they would get Christmas back when they learn to behave, while Ida stuffs it away and seethes in her bitterness. Her family goes through life believing she just doesn't like them enough to buy them anything. Somehow, what she really does is worse. Francis said it right: it's crazy.
Season 5, Episode 15: Reese's Apartment
For this episode, I'm not sure if it was intentionally meant to be a juxtaposition, but I saw it while watching. In this episode, Reese does a terrible act and gets kicked out of the house. He finds an apartment after lying about his age, and he becomes more responsible. He cooks, cleans, and even passed his science midterm with an A. We see what happens when Reese is left on his own, without his toxic family environment.
This episode also includes a subplot with Ira, a dumb jock. Malcolm is forced to help him write a college essay. But it turns out that Ira is actually pretty dim. Malcolm ends up writing the whole essay, and Ira takes it before changing it to be in his own words or voice. Malcolm then encourages Ira to do it himself, because no one has ever believed in him. Everyone has waited on him hand and foot, so he needs to do something for himself. His essay turns out poorly. He didn't even mail it in and he got into every college he applied for! As a cherry on top, he handed it in for his math midterm and got an A.
What I want to point out about this episode is the difference between children who aren't given a chance because of their labels. Ida is coddled and privileged, and is clearly a great athlete, but he isn't smart. No one helps him with homework; they pass him regardless. When he was a given a chance to prove himself, he unfortunately still proved everyone right.
Reese is underprivileged and under constant scrutiny, is labeled as a thug and as dumb, and people don't let him get away with it. When Reese was finally outside of his household, his grades improved SIGNIFICANTLY. He was a failing student that all of a sudden got an A on a SCIENCE MIDTERM. The judgement placed on Reese keeps him down, because those are the expectations set. Of course, Reese still made poor decisions with credit, and it's revealed that he isn't washing his clothes. But I still think there's something to compare here.
If you read this far, I appreciate it. I didn't expect it to be a long post. There's probably other examples, because it's a common literary device that the show uses.
