I’m doing sociology of family this sem and thought of how the Emmy award-winning television series, Modern Family (which I recently started watching) was so apt in reflecting our changing family ideology in the present. Besides being a feel good family sitcom, I do think there’s more value in what the show says about society and how the media and society mutually reinforce these “new” non-traditional family models as an emerging norm.
The Ideal Family has always existed, but our definitions of it has changed over time. It is the collective acceptance of what a family ought to be like. This used to be the traditional family in what functionalists like Parsons and Bales (1955) see as a stable type nuclear family consisting of the father, mother and children, where each member plays a certain role in the family.
In some ways, Modern Family preserves some of the traditional values – the fundamental glue that binds families together is love. As long as there is love, age or gender is a non-issue; the importance of family because your family is always there for you, no matter what; family relationships are not without its problems but somehow, it can all be resolved in the end (note that EVERY EPISODE ends with an all too happy ending).
Part of the show’s appeal, I believe, is how the show strikes a balance between traditional and non-traditional notions of the family and somewhat deviant characters. Mitch and Cameron is a gay couple with an adopted Vietnamese baby. Manny is sensitive and romantic with maturity beyond his 12 years of age. Jay married Gloria, a Colombian sex bomb who looks more like his daughter. Phil is the dad who behaves more like a kid.
With the rise of divorce and homosexual relationships, it was only a matter of time before television began reflecting the prevalent changes in the definition of family. But whether or not the mass media’s portrayal of modern families such as these would promote tolerance and acceptance for non-traditional family types remains to be seen. Sure, the extreme conservatives may see such media as a contamination of traditional family values. But society is fast changing. Family is not a static concept; it must change together with its social environment. Those who try to essentialize the Golden Era’s idealistic notions of what a family should be are likely to fail. The way I see it, The Family can be anything you want it to be, as long as it is meaningful to you. No one else has the right to disagree because everyone is entitled to their own interpretations of what constitutes a Family.
I may be becoming a geek for reals, now I’m not only blogging about school, but I’m blogging about actual academic content. But I think writing all these is a good balance between totally getting distracted with online shopping, and abandoning my computer altogether in order to stay focused. I do actually think typing my thoughts out here is somewhat studying. Who says studying has to be boring?
Wow that’s 2 posts in a day after a year’s hiatus.
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