The author analyzes how U.S. cinema touches upon challenges, problems and conflicts concerning the American family and its values. As a patriarchal institution, Hollywood has long supported the dominant model of the family structure – the nuclear, and its ideals – including social, political and religious. More recently however, the culture wars and radicalized agenda put Hollywood's devotion to traditional family values to the test. Concerns about gender equality, gay rights, and race and ethnic relations put cinema at the forefront of public battles between liberal and conservative worldviews. Using social and psychological theories, as well as film and gender studies, the author examines the current Hollywood representations in the light of their relevance to the socio-political situation in the United States. After analyzing the latest examples of American film production, the author comes to the conclusion that the family values promoted by Hollywood, maintaining their traditional basis, show a clear tendency to liberalization. First of all, it concerns the demonstration of a variety of family practices, including same-sex and interracial marriages, as well as families with single parents, growing female emancipation and agency, including through the mother image, criticism of hegemonic masculinity, gradually giving way to a relaxed version of masculinity, which is especially noticeable in the fatherhood image. At the same time, being a multibillion-dollar global industry, focused on world markets, including countries where patriarchal traditions are still strong, and largely dependent on its predominantly traditional mass audience, forces Hollywood figures to refrain from unnecessarily abrupt movements in its break with dominant models and established family values.