Codependency Roles in Addict Families
The TV show Shameless follows the Gallaghers, a poor, dysfunctional family living on Chicago's South Side, and heavily shows the effects of addiction and alcoholism. The parents are Frank and Monica, who are heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol. Before the events of the show, Monica left the family to pursue her addiction. It can be argued that the show's main character is Fiona, the oldest daughter of Frank and Monica. When Monica ran away from the family, Frank was just as much of an addict as she was, leaving the family with little money and a father addicted to drugs and alcohol. Fiona chose to step up and care for her little siblings, Phillip (Lip), Ian, Carl, Debbie, and Liam. Shameless uses the Gallagher family to show the codependency roles often seen in families affected by addiction: the addict, the hero, the scapegoat, the lost child, the enabler, and the mascot. (Raele)
The addict role is, as expected, the individual who is addicted to substances and/or alcohol. They are the root of the problem and the “creator of chaos and drama.” (Family First Intervention). This role is taken by Frank and Monica since, as I mentioned earlier, they are the parents of the family, and they are severely addicted to drugs and alcohol. Then there’s the hero. In the codependent family system, the hero looks a bit different than you would think. This individual is usually an overachiever who feels that they must be the one to fix everything. They often try to redirect the attention from the chaos of the addict. The oldest daughter, Fiona, takes this role. She dropped out of high school to be the one to take care of her siblings, considering Monica’s disappearance and Frank’s addiction. The enabler is exactly what it sounds like. They are the member of the family who enables the addict. This role would be taken by the youngest sister, Debbie. She is always excusing Frank and Monica’s actions. She sees the best in them. For example, there are multiple instances throughout the show where Debbie goes out of her way to try to explain to the family why they should forgive him and treat him better. This shows how, despite all the chaos he inflicts on her life, she still cares for and makes excuses for Frank. Next, we have the scapegoat.
The scapegoat’s role is about doing the opposite of the hero to get noticed. They see that the addict gets all the attention, and that the hero’s perfectionism doesn’t work to take the attention away from the addict. So, the scapegoat acts out with bad behavior, hoping this will make the focus on them. Two members of the Gallagher family take this role: Lip and Carl. Lip is the oldest brother and is also the most book-smart of the family. He tends to get himself into trouble, especially by being a violent person, and tends to scheme his way out of it. In the earlier seasons, Carl could take a different role, but for most of the show, he takes after his older brother Lip. He is consistently getting himself into trouble. For example, he got caught up in drug dealing, and when he got caught, the whole family stopped to be at his side, taking the attention away from Frank’s drunken craziness. The lost child hides to see who really cares, even if they sometimes push others away. They are often very self-destructive. Ian takes this role. He is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, on multiple occasions, purposefully doesn’t take his medication. He also disappears for months at a time on multiple occasions throughout the show, and instead of trying to find him, there always seems to be a bigger fish to fry within the family. Because of this, he often falls into the background and is forgotten by his siblings. The Mascot typically uses humor to make things seem okay and distract from the family's problems. This helps for a while but stops the family from facing the real issues and can hurt the Mascot later. This role would be the youngest brother, Liam. By showing each sibling in a specific role, Shameless reflects the impact addiction has on family relationships and individual development, which often isn’t discussed. The codependency roles show how children of addicts all have their own problems and quirks. Shameless provides a direct and honest look at how the entire family adapts, often in unhealthy ways, to the chaos of addiction.
