RTF Blog 4 - Sitcom Families

ABC’s hit comedy show “Modern Family” and the 70’s well-known “All in the Family” both portray the lives of American families in their respective eras. They are similar in their function of depicting social and cultural issues, while they differ in the stances and portrayal of the issues themselves.

Both TV shows play off of day to day high jinks in order to entertain their audiences. They also deal with social issues such as sexuality, minorities, and religion. Both shows cast narrow-mindedness in an unflattering light.

A significant difference between these two shows is the makeup of the families themselves. Archie Bunker’s family in “All in the Family” consists of a father, mother, their adult daughter and her husband. “Modern Family”, however, is made up of three separate family units that are all related. There is the “classic” family – Two white parents and their three children, a gay couple raising their adopted Asian daughter, and an older man married to a younger Hispanic woman with a young son. This difference shows that the idea of a traditional family unit is not necessarily the norm anymore. The issues of homosexuality that pushed the envelope during the 70’s certainly still exist. However, nowadays issues of intercultural relationships, divorce, gender roles and age differences are taking rise.