Family Television Sitcom: Modern Family - Essay Example

Family Television Review: Modern FamilyOne of the most talked about family sitcom in contemporary times is Modern Family, created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan. The half-hour television show, now on its second season, has received positive reviews and a number of nominations and awards from prestigious award giving bodies such as the Golden Globe, Writers Guild of America, Directors Guild, Young Artist, Teen Choice, Television Critics, People’s Choice and Primetime Emmy Awards, among others.

The awards and critical acclaim were due to the wit, humor, heart-warming, intellectually stirring and innovatively interesting topics that apply to diverse cultures present in the American society.When one compares personal experiences with those depicted in the series, one would immediately realize similarities in terms of encountering ordinary problems and challenges and being able to sort out concerns through the assistance of family members. The diversity shown from three different families composed of members from diverse cultural orientation with wide age gap (Jay and Gloria), gender equality with a Vietnamese adopted daughter (Mitchell and Cam), and traditional family members (Claire and Phil), provide all the essential ingredients to present intricate and complex situations.

The concepts of unity, love, equality, value for life and for relationships are made evident in this television program.The manner by which each episode is well thought of to provide lessons that would be instilled in today’s generation is strategically designed. People with families coming from the East could find it interesting to see unconventional relationships (Mitchell and Cam) working despite the controversial nature of their bonding. By injecting humor in complex situations, one realizes that life becomes less stressful and solutions to problems seem to easily unfold.

This view and perception of a modern family seem to be a natural occurrence in the American society. The Western culture has always been more accepting of diversity and equality among genders, cultures, ages, which viewers could easily empathize with situations that were presented in the show – that somehow, somewhere these situations also happened in one’s family. The values of taking care of the children, respect for parents, having fun in regular activities, are the same situations that families all over the world generally experience.

The view presented in Modern Family was not any different from one’s family in terms of the manifesting values of love, concern, support, respect. New insights on learning from younger generation are innovative inputs that can be appreciated by members from older generations. As the title implies, the Modern Family manifests contemporary situations on young generations’ relationships, the quality of interactions between people from diverse cultural orientations, between and among the same gender, the funny and unexpected outcomes that ensue from challenges and dilemmas that give lessons on life, love, faith, respect, and the value of unity in the family.

The Modern Family sitcom definitely provided a positive influence on one’s personal view of what a family is. By presenting challenges and trials in funny situations, one is made to realize that all family dilemmas are easily solved when helped by other family members and when, one tries to look beyond the grey, dark clouds – to reveal the silver lining in them.