Monday, April 12, 2010

The Nuclear Family

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDu5s309Ouw

As you can see I am a big fan of Modern Family considering both my blogs have been about this show. However, during the show I cannot help but notice how episodes relate to themes from class. The show as a whole represents the idea of the nuclear family while also opposing it. They provide three families and each of them have their own representations of what family is. Claire and Phil have a nuclear family while her brother Mitchell is with his partner Cameron. Their father used to have a typical nuclear family but than remarried a much younger woman Gloria. While it still would represent a nuclear family, it is slightly different from what we were brought up to think of as an ideal family situation. Often time marrying someone much younger than you can seem sleezy or not right, despite the reasons behind people will often judge. We are given this idea of what a family is suppose to look like or consist of and unless you grew up with a non-nuclear family, it can seem weird to find a family living any other way. Even though most people do not live in a nuclear family and life has provided a wide variety of situations, media does not portray it that way. It is fairy uncommon to see a show or movie not use a nuclear family and if it does not it is a drama or comedy about their personal situation. The days of Leave It To Beaver seem long ago but shows still seem to want to give you that family feel even if it is full of disfunction for effect. What is nice about Modern Family is that it gives you the nuclear family feel with their trials and tribulations but they also show two other types of families. A gay couple that represents and challenges stereotypes and a nuclear family with a Columbian flair. While they use comedy to show the variations families come in, it is still nice to see something other than a mother, father, and children. Families do come in all shapes and sizes and representing them in the media will help break this idea that the nuclear family is the standard family.

1 comment:

  1. First, watch clarity in your writing. Second, good point. I think this show does do something really interesting regarding its presentation of family. Why do you think it's important that they do these things (this consideration of family) in this kind of comedic and somewhat satiric format. What does that MEAN?

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