Friday, April 16, 2010

Has anyone else noticed that MODERN FAMILY is actually about three nuclear families where one spouse works and the other doesn't?

Yeah, sure, one family's gay and their daughter's adopted. But an old rich guy being married to a hottie isn't exactly news. And the third family is right out of a sitcom from the 70s.

Just saying. I love the show. But the families are "modern" only in the sense that the art made in the 1950's is called "Modern" while contemporary art is called "Contemporary."

Lisa and I are working on a spec pilot called "Contemporary Family." You have been warned.

7:16 PM

7 Comments:

You're not the only one who noticed that, but, like you, I think the show is fantastic. The only thing that bothers me about the show is Phil. He's funny, but I've never, ever understood Claire's attraction to him. He's basically a buffoon.

By  Tim W., at 1:56 AM  

No one really works on family sit-coms anyway. The genre relies on characters being at home, so why make it harder to tell stories by giving everyone a career?

Even when family sit-com characters have jobs, they're almost never shown at work. On The Cosby's, both parents had super-high-pressure careers, yet they were always hanging around on the couch, constantly available for their children.

By  Unknown, at 11:33 AM  

I always thought the title came from the journey Jay is on. He used to have a completely normal nuclear family. He now is married to a Columbian woman who is the same age as his kids. They also talk about him not knowing his son was gay until college.

By  Joe Movick, at 12:58 PM  

I noticed that too, yes. If the show was awful, I would probably harp on it, but since it's so good, I just ignore it.

By  Little Miss Nomad, at 8:32 PM  

I have to disagree. No, the younger wife isn't anything new, but throwing in the mixed race and the son helps make it a bit more current. And name another network show that not only dealt with a gay couple as part a regular family, but one that was adopting a child (that is also of another race).
Probably even as early as a decade ago, with limited exceptions, a family such as this was pretty uncommon. One of this make-up is, in my opinion, quite modern. The work situation is a cute observation however it has almost nothing to do with the show itself as I can count on one hand the time the show has ever dived into anything work related for the characters.

By  Jeremy, at 2:50 PM  

Jeremy,
That's exactly the point -- they don't show much about work. But the work/family juggle is -- at least for women -- THE major issue of modern family life.

But it's a brilliantly funny show, so this is really just an observation, not a criticism.

By  Lisa Hunter, at 8:59 AM  

For a really good example of a truly modern family sitcom, I recommend watching "The Office".

By  Unknown, at 1:19 PM  

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