1.+Overview

=**__The Genre__**: Family Shows= == Since the inception of television, a frequently reoccurring motif has been family. Family television shows are usually defined by the lives and situations of a family unit, including the parents and their kids. While there are more definitions for family, for television purposes, family usually always means parents with their children. Family shows are a sub-genre to many other larger genres such as drama and comedy. Family situations are a popular topic because many people can relate to them. Most everyone has been a kid in some form of family, and many people have kids themselves. To appeal to both kids and adults, the narrative in the family show deals with the adults' and the kids' concerns, though sometimes there may be more show of one perspective over another. These shows carry messages about gender roles, as well as the relationships amongst spouses, parents and children, siblings, friends of the family, and the neighborhood. Moreover, many of these shows suggest what is typical of American households. Most family shows depict a heterosexual, white nuclear family with a mom and dad (not divorced) and their biological children. What is not usually represented in popular family shows are grandparents and extended family, single parents, families with only one child, adoptive families, step-families, immigrant and minority families, unattractive or obese families, and homosexual families.

=**__The Show__ : //Modern Family//**=

//Modern Family// is a family show in the genre of mockumentary TV comedy. Mockumentary is genre of film and television in which fictitious events are presented in a non-fiction or documentary format. The show premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The title of the show alone, "modern," seems to boast that this show is breaking the mold for traditional family shows. ABC's promotion of the series stated, "//Today's Modern Family comes in all shapes and sizes. Just ask these three families.//" The show revolves around three families that are interrelated through Jay Pritchett (first man from left) and his children, Claire Dunphy (center adult female) and Mitchell Pritchett (second man from the right). Jay recently married Gloria, a much younger, attractive Colombian woman, and has become a father to her passionate and chubby pre-teen son, Manny (both pictured left). Claire is a homemaker mom married to Phil Dunphy, a residential real estate agent. They have three children: Luke, the youngest, Alex, and Haley, the oldest (all pictured center). Mitchell and his partner Cameron have recently adopted a Vietnamese baby. Mitchell is an attorney while Cameron is a stay-at-home father. All three families live in Los Angeles and visit together frequently. Although it is LA, neither money nor crime is ever really a source of concern. The perspective of the show is often skewed toward the adults' perspective, and airs late at 9pm, limiting its ability to be a family show for the whole family. However//, Modern Family// does have representations not usually seen in family shows as previously described about the genre, but it also maintains the traditional representation of family as well. Therefore, it appeals to a large audience.

In this show stereotypes are both challenged and reinforced. Claire and Phil Dunphey represent the traditional family unit. All the kids are cute/attractive and the mom is a homemaker. The parents have their conflicts but their marriage is happy and healthy. Jay and Gloria bring in the underrepresented show of blended and interracial families, as well as playing with the ideas about age gaps for married couples. Cameron and Mitchell bring to popular television the first homosexual family, and represent the rarely shown adoptive/interracial family. Additionally, Cameron's character is heavyset which is not a typical appearance in family shows.

This wiki discusses the ways //Modern Family// could be a useful tool to help students learn about narrative and how to sort and critique television media.