Modern Family Analysis

No matter what background you come from or how you were raised, family is extremely important. According to Malinowski, “Family is a necessary institution for fulfilling the task of child rearing in society”(Conley, 2013). Society has come a long way when it comes to family and it is much different than it was in the 1950’s. Not all families are nuclear families. A nuclear family is having a mother, father, and children that are all biological (Conley, 2013). This kind of family is what some would call more “traditional.” Today in the twenty first century it is getting harder and harder to find families that have actually stayed together. There are so many different kinds of families in today’s society, and more and more families are becoming blended families. A blended family is when two families come together (Conley, 2013). Many families today have single mons, single, dads, and even same sex parents. Family is not always the people that live in the same house as you, family also consists of extended family. An extended family is a network that goes beyond the main “nuclear” family (Conley,

The Brady Bunch were the ideal families in the 1960's and 1970's, and in the 80's, it was Family Ties. When the 1990's approached us, television shows took on a whole new outlook on American Families. There were shows such as Full House, which was about a single father raising three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend. Roseanne was also another show that showed the "dysfunctional" side of families. American Families keep changing, and they will continue to change in our future.

Once again, in the 1970s, changes in the structure and dynamics of the American family are present in the popular 1970s TV show “The Brady Bunch”. Perhaps the biggest change that is present is the structure of the family portrayed. The Brady’s, the TV shows main subject, would be considered a blended family. Mike Brady, the father in the show, has three sons from a previous relationship; he marries Carol, who has three daughters from a previous relationship, there marriage brings both families together. I would classify the family as an upper middle class family, based on the appearance of their house and the presence of a full time maid at their house. Similar to TV shows from previous decades the children appear to be submissive to the authority

The show was launched on February 23, 2009. Jay Pritchett sits at the head of a large and unique family full of drama, love, and compassion with good times and not so good. Jay is now in his second marriage. He marries a young beautiful woman. By the name of Gloria she has a 12 year old son whose name is Manny. There are many misunderstandings and culture crashes between them. But also “sweet victories”. Jay has a grown daughter Claire who is married to Phil. They have three children Haley who is the eldest although they try to have an open trustworthy relationship with their children it is not always easy. This is because Haley is growing up a little too fast and her love life is humorous at times. There middle child is Alex she is way smart. Then there is the youngest who is all over the place Luke. Jay’s Son Mitchell also Claire’s brother is busy with life raising his adopted daughter Lily with his partner Cameron. As they have a very different personality these men try their best to keep family close and solve issues with love. The fashion in this show is very diverse everyone has their own way of dressing it all depends on their personality. Although it is nothing like the 70’s show The Brady bunch it shows that people have always been able to express themselves in color and pattern. The role of men in modern family is very different than in the Brady Bunch this is because Modern family Bring out the new culture and

There are several shows that portray both social and political messages. While answering this question, I can’t help but focus on shows that have exhibited what the “American” family should be like. The Cosby Show, a social message, is an American sitcom--the show focuses on the Huxtable’s, an upper middle-class African American family living in Brooklyn, NY. I think the show set the standards for how African American families should live, although many of us don’t live that way.

From the time moving media was first introduced it has used powerful techniques in order to persuade multitudes. Propaganda is one of the strongest and most influential tools when trying to persuade an audience. Over centuries propaganda has been an effective method of persuasion for many in order to alter and influence the chosen audience’s perspective. As media developed many social and political matters both morally and ethically have been propagandized in order to modify and adjust perspectives that were once unquestionable or simply nonexistent. One in particular being the modification of the typical “American Dream” family.

Modern Family depicts three different families all of which are commonly seen today and in every family there is at one partner who stays home and is the “caretaker.” Modern Family has adapted notions from society today, for example showing a gay couple, but has not fully adjusted to the typical family structure that is society normally accepts. In this episode in particular the roles of the gay couple are defined in terms of femininity and masculinity. This episode, in particular, portrays Cam as being overly sensitive about his figure which is more common among women than men; he is seen overreacting and stressed. Mitchell, the breadwinner and the more masculine of the two, acts as though it is such a ridiculous topic to complain about.

The reason for this is because family is an experience that virtually all viewers can reflect on and get ideas about family life. The definition of a family was depicted as a social unit characterized by one or more of the following elements: dependent children that had an adult who was the head of the household, dependent children with married couples, adult children with married couples, and dependent children with adults that shared their housing with others. Furthermore, this definition of family had not been limited to a legal marital arrangement, nor was the dependent children status limited to natural or adopted circumstances. Thus, adults who performed parental duties as the head of a household were coded as a representation of family, regardless of their legal status (Robinson & Skill, 1994).

The Dunphys are a typical family like you would see in the 1950’s with a white picket fence in the front yard. Phil Dunphy is the father/husband who is very odd and crazy where it’s the exact opposite with his wife Claire who is a stay-at-home mom. They have 3 children, Haley, who is the attractive and the partying type of girl, Alex who is known throughout the show as the intelligent and unsocial daughter, then their son, Luke who is seen as the clumsy kid. The second family is the Prichett family that consists of Jay and Gloria Prichett and their son Manny; Jay is Claire’s biological father. Jay is a wealthy divorced who owns his own company.

Looking back at the episode, it seemed clear to me that the three families that were presented in the Modern Family episode ‘Chirp,’ had dilemmas. Each family had to face their own conflicts, which in different ways gets resolved in the end. These family problems in this episode includes couples not listening to each other, son not getting attention, and even the husband who struggles to show his manly side. Although the episode talks about all three families, they mainly had their own story line.

Modern Family TV shows have been a very popular comedy series, which introduced a show that sounds like an attempt to portray a more “Modern” contemporary view of American families. In both shows I watched: “Do Not Push” and “Marco Polo”. Modern Family deals with the traditional family as portrayed by the Dunphys with a mom, dad and three children; a homosexual family with one adopted daughter, the Printhett-Tuckers and a mixed marriage family with one child, the Pritchetts, an older white male remarried a much younger Colombian trophy wife who had a son from her first marriage.

Modern Family sitcom is a disguised attempt to influence how people view certain behaviors. The title of the show mimics the American ideology of what a modern family consists of. For example, the American modern family consists of a heterosexual couple, hard working dad, a stay at home housewife and their adorable two kids. This show attempt's to mold the perception of the viewers and try to change the ideology of what a regular family looks like. Unlike, the show Modern family is centered on three controversial families.

Additionally, television shows on the late 80’s through the middle 90’s, present the same family concept but with a different topic. Comedy shows like “Married with Children” which illustrates a “white” family of four members living in a Chicago suburb area with an antisocial personality disorder, is a typical example of

Today society displays greater diversity within households. Most American households are now non-traditional or unconventional. Non-traditional or unconventional families include; single parenthood, singlehood and LGBT relationships. Modern family is a comedy exploring the different “modern” families. This show explores a huge unconventional family through a gay couple, made up of Mitchell and Cameron, and their adopted daughter Lily; a straight couple comprised of Phil and Clare, and their three children, Luke, Alex and Hayley; and a multicultural family which is comprised of Jay and his much younger wife Gloria and their son Manny. Modern family explores how the present day family is defined and , modern America means for family members. Despite Modern family’s groundbreaking success in representing non traditional families, the show continues to reinforce heteronormative values through stereotypes of queer identity in regards, gender roles within the relationship, gay adoptive parents and gay marriage.

It is my belief that recognizing any family structure or definition is important, as the traditional version may be skewed in so many ways, without knowing or recognizing the “family” that people we run across may come from. We can also learn from other family definitions to build upon our own themes, rules, and beliefs. Adding stigma and prejudice toward families different from our own not only alienate the members, but can add unnecessary stress upon that family system. Stress in any family system can be seen as either an adaptation potential or a negative force. Many effects on the