After watching "All in the Family" and clearly seeing a difference between the sitcoms of the 70s to our own modern shows, you really can't just sit there and not compare and contrast ideas, story lines, character ambitions, and overall structure of teevee. And with that, comes my comparison between the popular 70s show, "All in the Family" and my own personal favorite ABC sitcom, "Modern Family."
Let's take a loot at the similarities: between the two shows we see the use of comedy to really lighten the moods of characters, and to set the general atmosphere of the show's episode (of course, this is the strategy of any sitcom that is now airing on our tv sets). The issues of the sitcom's episode seem to be revealed through the use of jokes and laughter. In "All in the Family," we see Archie as the "class clown" of the family. With whoever he is talking to, or whatever he is talking about, Archie makes sure to crack a joke within every scene of the sitcom. For example, when Archie finds out that his company for the evening is a homosexual, he calls him a fairy, makes fun of his clothes and even takes a few jabs at his dialogue. In "Modern Family," the show features an open gay relationship. And like Archie, the other characters (including one of the gay man's parents) often crack a few jokes about the two men, all in a lighthearted manner.Going further within the similarities, I can't help but see the two father characters and their personalities. Archie doesn't like the fact that a gay man is in his house, or even around at the local bar. It is almost as if he is the conservative among his liberal family. The rest of the family enjoys the company of people, regardless of sexual orientation. There is a similar relationship in "Modern Family:" the father of one of the gay men, Jay, is accepting of his son's relationship with another man, but throughout the course of the show, he tends to give his son and his actions the cold shoulder (not all the time, but sometimes), he even makes some jokes that can instantly be taken as awkward or a little rude. While Jay is sometimes conservative about the issue, the rest of his family (his young wife, daughter, her husband, etc...) never seems to make a big deal about the gay relationship. If they make a joke about something, it is just a joke, there is no rude truth behind a simple jab.
But just because both sitcoms focus on comedy as a way to get construct issues and develop the plot, the kind of comedy is what sets the two apart. When we look at Archie and dissect his humor, it can easily be taken as cruel (like I said, calling a homosexual a "fairy" and having vulgar and rude nicknames for him throughout the episode). He says his humor is just "joking," but anything that comes out of his mouth can contain some hidden truth, or be taken the wrong way. Besides, watching the episode, anyone could easily hear a joke and know that is is meant for comedic relief. There's a fine line between having a good time and trying to cause harm. Archie's humor is intended to cause harm before it is meant to provide a few laughs to the characters. In "Modern Family," the humor is lighthearted: we can easily tell the jabs are meant to make the characters and audience laugh. There's no tone in the characters' voices that can convey a double entendre. Also looking at the time period, and just looking at the specific episode, we see that sexuality is very taboo. Now a days we see sexuality everywhere, and it isn't considered "bad" or frowned upon. The gay couple on "Modern Family" is openly gay, not only with family members, but also all around their neighborhood and society in general. Of course, this is only different because of the time period. In our society, sexuality has greatly come forward within media outlets, people, and other society outlets. In the 70s, homosexuality was something not to be discussed at the dinner table, but now we have advanced as a society to (somewhat) accept people for who they are, regardless of sexual orientation.
Obviously "Modern Family" will show much "modern" issues and up to date morals and what not, since it is a sitcom in our own "modern" society. "All in the Family" focuses on one family along with one issue or topic of the episode. We see the family's reactions to this topic, and how it progresses throughout the course of the episode. This is different from "Modern Family" because we see one issue develop into different scenarios, creating a bigger plot within the story line. We have different stories revolving around an issue and we see the development of scenarios and characters. By comparing the two shows, we see the great advancements that sitcoms have made throughout the years and among society.
"Modern Family" trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5uuMr1YEyE
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