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Contemporary family structure
Diversity of contemporary family structure
Changes in family structure in modern age
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The popular television show Modern Family is unique in the sense that it opposes what people usually see on TV and correctly portrays real and modern families. This TV show does not depict the usually incorrect and outdated gender roles that are quite common on TV in our world today, it depicts real families not within what might consider the “social norms”. This popular TV opposes the regular taboos and gender roles society has implemented and depicts the lives of normal and modern people. Modern Family, as the name implies, depicts the lives of modern people in our society today, not the usually perfect happy families with two kids, two parents, and a pet. The show portrays the lives of three families, one of them being the Dunphy family. The Dunphy family consists of Phil Dunphy, the father of the house, Claire Dunphy, the mother of the house, and their three children: Alex, Luke, and Haley Dunphy. What is amazing about the Dunphy family, especially when they are set aside any other “TV family”, is …show more content…
The third and final family is the Pritchett family which consists of Jay Pritchett, the father of the house, Gloria Pritchett, the mother of the house, and their two sons, Manny Delgado and Joe Pritchett. Jay is Manny’s step-father and it quite common for people to assume that their relationship might not be so good, but Modern Family challenges that idea. Society frequently portrays men as rough and tough people who only occasionally show affection, but in real life that is certainly not the care. Many boys have great relationships with their fathers and are quite affectionate with them, showing their love and care for one another. Jay and Manny have a great relationship and get along very well, their characters do not conform to the “social norms” that are quite common in the media
In the article “TV’s Callous Neglect of Working- Class America” written by Noel Murray explains the modern day TV shows un-relatable plots to Americans today. Murray describes how shows in the ‘50s through the ‘90s were relatable to Americans and how they lived their lives. The TV shows then were able to get such great reviews because the jobs the actors had in the shows were average money making jobs. The characters are meticulously when it came to how they used the money they earned. However, as the years have passed, the shows that are on today are not as relatable to Americans. The shows express the fantasy, perfect life that everyone strives to have, but in reality, it is not possible for every family. The programs on today do not convey the difficulties that average Americans face each day, causing the shows to become more and more relatable to average TV viewers.
The main social issue the Brady Bunch really tackled was the idea of blended families after a divorce. While the show may have focused on Carol and Mike Brady bringing their six children together, it was inspired by a statistic in The Los Angeles Times that 30% of marriages in the US at the time had a child from a previous marriage (Merritt). Mike Brady “was one of TV’s first stepfathers, and his blended family of six kids was a far cry from mom, dad, 2.5 kids and a dog” (Goudreau). Modern Family also tackles the issue of divorces and blended families but with its own twist. The family’s patriarch, Jay Pritchett, remarries despite the fact that his children from his first marriage are grown. Except instead of the family blending together seamlessly as the Bradys do, they struggle with the fact that Jay’s new wife is the same age as his own children and his new step son is the age of his grandchildren. Modern Family also showcases many other modern day issues, such as biracial couples, as Jay’s second wife is Colombian, and homosexual couples in Jay’s son, Mitchell, and his husband Cameron. Modern Family reflects many of the social movements of the current day. As feminism builds, TV moms have began “overshadowing TV dads, who [play] the part of the well-meaning idiot” (Goudreau). With the way TV explores social trends in society, “there's a family for just about everyone on TV today”
Since the beginning of time itself, Television has been one the most influential pieces of media that the world has ever encountered. The beginning days of television depicted stereotypical mothers cooking and cleaning their homes for their husbands and children. Yet, as the decades passed, television took a dramatic turn, leaving the days of drama free entertainment as a vast memory. Now a day, however, when one hits the power on button to Bravo, the screen lights expand to ritzy socialites dealing with their everyday lives as “housewives”. Bravo TV’s hit number one reality television show, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, deals with the everyday lives of modern-day housewives. When speaking of these women and their family life, the reality series shows its viewers that family life in modern times is dramatic, full of misrepresentations of how people are perceived, and that fame comes at the cost of family.
American families depicted in television comedy shows outwardly appear as stereotypical characters. Extreme contrasting types are used to exaggerate real life: wealthy or poor, urban or rural, and sophisticated or naïve. This is not only for entertainment value, it seems: the characteristics of these families can represent the diversity within the families across our nation. As a show develops it can reach out to the audience by touching on more realistic values. A demonstration of how a television family deals with an issue can make that family appear to be even more similar to each other and comparable to real American families as well. In this paper, the Cosby show and Rosanne will be compared.
In the last fifty years television has evolved tremendously, especially sitcoms. For example, in 1969 The Brady Bunch aired a show that featured two broken families coming together to form a seemingly ‘perfect’ blended one. The television show emphasized the importance of appreciating your loved ones, as well as surmounting challenges that teenagers face in everyday life. In 2009, the perhaps ‘modern’ Brady Bunch aired on ABC, Modern Family. This show focuses on three families, and highlights non-traditional families, illustrating that there is no ‘perfect’ family. In the forty nine year gap between the two programs, social and cultural issues such as gay marriage, adoption, and multicultural marriages have made
Though not immune to criticism, Modern Family and Full House still claim glimpses of societal pressure when showing aspects of the “American family.”
Throughout the evolution of television shows, one thing that is evident in them is that the families follow some sort of sociological theory. By observing these shows, it is easy to perceive what the struggles and achievements these families may experience. Specific examples of television families that display a sociological theory is: Switched at Birth showing conflict theory, Full House presenting symbolic interactionalism, and finally, The 100 which showcases feminist theory. In all of these shows, the families involved each go through their own issues with themselves and each other as well as barriers that may get in the way of their success. Analyzing families through the sociological perspectives open up opportunity for people to better
Most people’s lives in the 21 century are in some way affected by media and it is affecting the way individuals preform daily tasks. Television shows are a great example of this; they show the development of characters over a period and display how greater social forces shape what they have become. C. Wright mills uses a term the sociological imagination, it is the theory that people’s lives are shaped essentially by greater social forces and society’s expectations rather than biology and genetics. The show Modern Family is a good example of the sociological imagination because it has a diverse cast and the characters have many personalities, wants, and desires. Modern Family is a television show that has stories of separate individual families who are related. Claire and Mitch are siblings and Jay is their father. The families are Claire, Phil, Alex, Hailey and Luke. Mitch, Cam and Lilly and Jay, Gloria and Mani.
Television families nowadays are usually portrayed as happy, open-minded and the typical family. They attempt to represent the lifestyle and situations that real-life families go through; however, their depictions are not always accurate. An example would be the Duncan family and the Lee family. The Duncan family plays on the children’s television show, “Good Luck Charlie”, in which it focuses on their life as they adjust to the births of their fourth and fifth children. The Duncan family consists of seven household members including the mother and father. On the other side, the Lee family is a real-life family that has an average income and consists of four household members. The Lee family can be considered a typical nuclear family. The similarities and differences of these two families can be distinguished under family roles, social interaction, and behavior.
Effective parenting is an example of how positive attitudes and interactions attribute to the future behavior of children. For example, Jay’s interactions with his sons, Manny and Joe, can be significant in socializing them and making them aware of what society values are expected so each family member can be a functional role in society. Jay and Gloria’s marriage is also another example of how family structure is diversified and the symbolic meaning of how a married couple behaves and interact. Although this is Jay and Gloria’s second marriages, they still hold positive attitudes towards the symbolism of marriage and commitment to one another. Their love is portrayed on the show as a romantic, partnership that includes trust, family, and respect. The individual within the marriage and both individuals as a couple undertake purposive actions to determine each person’s social
This paper explores the nuclear family within the context of the sociology of gender. Michael Kimmel and Jacqueline Holler (2011) indicatethat conservative social groups such as REAL Women of Canada define the nuclear family in terms of the 1950s gender norms reflected in popular television shows such as of Leave it to Beaver(Kimmel & Holler, p. 141).In this type of traditional family dad goes out to work to support the family and mom stays home to watch the children and take care of the home. Kimmel and Holler reference the view that the nuclear family involves “a legal lifelong sexually exclusive, heterosexual monogamous marriage, based on affection and companionship, in which there is a sharp division of labour with the female as full time housewife and the male as primary provider and ultimate authority” (Kimmel & Holler, p. 141). Atraditional or nuclearfamily such as that described by Kimmel and Holler is typically made up of the father,the mother and atleast one child. The relationship between the man and the woman is heterosexual, they are legally married and their children are ideally produced through sexual union rather than adoption (Class Notes, 01/28/14).
How can a simple six letter word be so complicated to define? Family is a single word that is open to many interpretations depending on the individual. If you try to condense this ideal to a single clinical definition you end up excluding numerous members of society. What comes to mind when you think of the word family? While in the most broken down and literal sense, family means a relative with a blood or legal bond, the word family can encompass blood relations, adoptions, and even intentional relationships such as friendships. Economies, cultures, and backgrounds can further differentiate what one’s perception of a family is. For many people, including me, a family is so much more. It is the amount of commitment, cohesiveness, and importance
The television sitcom Modern Family produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd shows the many different types of a modern American family. According to Andrew Hampp, “The show is among the most-viewed scripted programs in prime time in its second season, averaging 11 million viewers during original airings and often ranked as the most DVRed program most weeks” (2). The television show is a frequently watched show and is liked by many viewers. Modern Family's storyline helps the families of viewers by being an influential and relatable show to different types of families. The show is about the lives of three different families that are all related. In the show there are Jay and Gloria, an intergenerational couple with two sons-- Manny (from Gloria’s previous relationship) and Joe, their new baby. Jay’s adult son Cameron is married to his gay partner Mitchell, and they adopted Lily from Vietnam. Finally, Jay’s daughter Claire is married to her heterosexual partner named Phil and they have three children. The show is influential to our culture today because it shows these different types of families and addresses controversial themes such as gay adoption, the different family connections and communications, intergenerational coupling, and acceptance of diversity within an extended family. The family is easy to relate to while watching because it is based off of real family situations.
Everyone seems to define family differently, however, the significance of family is the same. For you, family means everything. You can always count on your parents and siblings for help and love. Family is very valuable and important to you and should never be taken for granted. No one can deny that family is the foundation of our generation. A family is where we all start our life journey and helps us grow to be successful throughout our lives.
There are so many different types of family relationships. Whatever form a family takes; it is an important part of everyone’s life. My family has played an important role in my life. Good family relationships serve as a foundation to interactions with others. Supportive families will help children to thrive. The quality of the family relationship is more important than the size of the family. Making the relationships priority, communication, and providing support for one another is key to developing relationships. Family relationships are what make up our world today; they shape the ways that we see things and the ways that we do things.