"Marriage-- Just a Piece of Paper?"
A National PBS Documentary on What Happens When Marriage Disappears.

Valentine's Day, February 14, 2002
10pm EST, 9p.m. CST

This provocative documentary goes beyond conservative and liberal battles over the state of the American family and address the difficult question of marriage itself.

Is marriage disappearing? If so, what are the personal and social costs to children, families and communities? Has the "M" word become a subject unfit for polite company, neglected… perhaps shunned… in the halls of government, academia, family-related professions and even in houses of worship?

Narrated by Cokie Roberts and written by marriage and family specialist Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, the documentary is based on dozens of intimate, revealing interviews with adults and children about the complexities of their loves, hopes, disappointments and heartbreaks.

A companion book to the documentary brings to life the full insightful and emotional stories of many of the mothers, fathers, children and experts who were interviewed.

"Americans love weddings," Cokie Roberts tells us, "but marriage, that's a different story."

• The divorce rate is nearly 50 percent.
• One third of all births today are to single mothers. In some communities, it is two-thirds.
• The United States has the highest number of single-parent households in the developed world.
• 50 percent of the children who do not live with their father have never-not once in their lives-- set foot in their father's home.

If marriage is disappearing, should we care? Would it make a difference to anyone?

With both humor and compassion, the documentary and the book untangle facts, opinions and historical research and pursues questions like, "What about the children," "Is there a new inequality for women," "Why did marriage evolve in the first place," and "Has this ancient bond simply dwindled to a private, casual agreement.

The compelling stories are anchored by the observations of leading experts on marriage and the family. From government are U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman and Sam Brownback, Clinton Administration domestic policy adviser William Galston and Bush Administration Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Wade Horn. From a wide range of disciplines are Judith Wallerstein of the Wallerstein Center, William Julius Wilson of Harvard University, Linda Waite of the University of Chicago, Ron Mincy of Columbia University and many others.

More than simply a collection of warring opinions, the documentary and the book take us into the lives of real people and their joys and struggles with relationships.

Historically, marriage tried to achieve a reasonable balance between the desires of adults and the needs of children. Perhaps, as Galston suggests, for marriage to be successful in the 21st century it must be reformed as well as revived.

The documentary is produced by Brian Boyer Productions, Ltd., the University of Chicago and WTTW. It is funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. The book is published by Eerdmans Publishing.