Television Families - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Families establish intimate relationships, which are vocal in resolution of disputes as well as in time of need. This paper seeks to illustrate family dynamics by analyzing Modern Family, a television show based on family interactions. Modern family is an American show presented in a mockumentary style to highlight the interactions within a familial setting, and it revolves around the families of Jay, his daughter Claire, and son Mitchell where Jay is married to a young Columbian woman and helps in raising her son. Meanwhile, Claire and her husband Phil have three children as Mitchell and Cameron, his partner, adopt a Vietnamese baby to start a family. Although they live in proximity with each other, the families meet for family functions, and for the purposes of bonding. The modern family documents the daily lives of these families focusing on the challenges of parenting, marriage and family relationships. The show illustrates the different types of family background and diversity with regard to marriage. Irrespective of the dysfunctional and multi-personal attributes portrayed by the show; the families find a common ground to embrace each other in support. In this manner, the show’s concept aims at redefining standards that are associated with a perfect family and make individuals accept diversity to enrich their culture. Constant conflicts characterize the show with some family members being involved in activities that catch others off guard. For instance, Jay marries a much younger woman as his second wife and adopts her son. Jay’s children disagree and view her as being there for monetary benefits, despite having married for love. His adopted son, Manny does not feel appreciated or welcomed by Jay’s children and struggles to accept his new home. This is consistent with stepparent myth where men find parenting particularly difficult at first due to already existing family relationships. Jay commits himself in making Manny comfortable by offering shopping sprees, a gesture that does not go down well with his children. A second myth is illustrated by the presence of a homosexual couple in the show as part of family establishment. Traditionally, individuals of the opposite sex establish families; however, this is challenge by the relationship between Mitchell and Cameron, who have adopted a child in a bid to start a family. The society in the show is depicted as lacking the know-how to associate with the gay couple, but they finally accept them as part of the family despite the opposition. Claire Dunphy illustrated as a homemaker and a full time mother to three teenagers. She is depicted as the one with most control and a worrier over everything. This behavior stems from her earlier years where she was a wild-child and now fears for children paths. Claire is a perfectionist as she sees flaws in everything and is more often than not exhausted from strain within her household, and others deem her as controlling and abundantly strict about her values. The families depicted in modern family are seen to grow and emerge as socially mature entities with the society. This is consistent with the theory of family development, which details the changes in the family starting with marriage and reflecting on interactions that influence change in roles and circumstances through time (Strong, Christine and Theodore 2010). The family structure is seen ...Download file to see next pagesRead More