Modern Family is normally abnormal

Jon Cana, Broadcast Editor
January 23, 2012
Filed under Featainment, Top Stories

Three families have captured the hearts and television sets of Americans as ‘Modern Family’ continues to ignite laughter every Wednesday at 9 pm. The ABC show is styled mocking the plethora of ‘reality’ shows on TV today, with hilarious interjections from the characters between the story’s plotline. Modern Family is a playful pun on the American family unit, conveying the families as both abnormally normal and normally abnormal as well. We start of with the renaissance of Al Bundy as Jay Pritchett. He is re-married to his hot, young and very much Colombian wife Gloria, and now stepfather to Gloria’s son Manny, who despite his young age, is quite the old soul. Jay’s stern and stoic façade compliments Gloria’s vibrant musings- her thick accent manages to make just about everything funny. Their parenting techniques often clash as they mentor their ever emotional son/ step-son Manny. The Dunphy’s are a play on the typical nuclear American family, whose erratic and amusing teamwork clashes depict them as everything but. From Claire’s anal-retentiveness to her daughter Haley’s shallow expressions, the family proves to be the most dysfunctional of all. The show also features primetime television’s only family headed by a gay couple, specifically Cam Tucker, Mitchell Pritchett and their adopted daughter Lily as they strive for normality. These three unique families are oddly enough all connected with one another: Jay is the father of Claire Dunphy and Mitchell Pritchett. (That’s right, let that family tree marinate for a bit.) The show approaches the concept of family from a fresh, new angle, where if the unconventional families weren’t relatable enough, their dysfunctional harmony is sure to do the trick. The 3 year old show hasn’t gone unnoticed, receiving 5 Emmy Awards in 2011 alone and even garnering the title as President Obama’s favorite show. Modern Family reminds viewers that as unique as each family may be, we are all quirkily dysfunctional in our own ways.