It’s safe to say that comedy is something of timely interest. This fact is specifically evident through the changes in situational comedies over time. To sum it up, a sitcom is a 30-minute show with a cast of characters thrown into a variety of outlandishly entertaining situations. As viewers, we can’t help but gravitate towards sitcoms. This is mainly due to the fact that situational comedies have a strong tendency to reflect our own lives in a funny or abnormal way. When comparing sitcoms of the past to those of the present, we can identify plenty of similarities and differences between the characters and plotlines. When looking at the shows The Brady Bunch and Modern Family, it is clear our culture has transformed dramatically over the years.
Who doesn’t love The Brady Bunch? The show first appeared on television in September 1969 on ABC. Ever since then, The Brady Bunch has been an all-time family favorite. The show started with Carol, the mother of three daughters, and Mike Brady, the father of three sons. The show makes it clear that Mike’s previous wife passed away, however not much was said about Carol’s situation. It can be assumed her previous marriage ended due to divorce or death, but no one can really be sure just by watching the TV series. Though the creator of the show initially intended for Carol to be a divorcee, ABC refused to allow the fate of her first marriage to be revealed. Now, why would ABC be so cautious? It may be hard to believe, but at the time, not many couples separated after marriage. Divorce was far too risqué of a topic to put on television, therefore, ABC avoided mentioning this detail in fear of offending public viewers. Oh how things have changed since then. Today, approximately 50% of marriages end in divorce. With that being said, it’s safe to say Americans aren’t so offended by the thought of divorce anymore. If anything, separating is pretty casual nowadays. This change over time not only influences what we see on television, but our culture as a whole.
Like The Brady Bunch, Modern Family takes on the comedic aspect of the typical everyday family. Unlike The Brady Bunch, Modern Family is a mockumentary that typically refers to fake events as if they were real. Modern Family first aired on September 23, 2009, on ABC (just like The Brady Bunch). There are many relatives on this show, and it demonstrates how different people with different backgrounds can become a team just like any other family. If you look at the overall plot of Modern Family, divorce is probably one of the least unusual things to take place on the show. For example, the character Jay Pritchett divorces his wife DeDe to marry a sassy Colombian woman named Gloria who is practically half his age. Again, divorce is something that is pretty normal at this point. What makes this particular situation abnormal is the fact that Jay marries a woman the same age as his own daughter, Claire. If ABC had trouble mentioning Carol Brady’s divorce, how do you think they would have reacted to this dramatic age difference back in the 70’s? My guess is not so well. Modern Family also has another set of relatives that don’t necessarily meet the description of a “typical family”. This family consists of a homosexual couple and their daughter adopted from another country. Over time, society truly has come to accept same-sex marriage. In that, more people are willing to open-up about their sexuality. Marriage between two people of the same gender was practically unheard of when The Brady Bunch aired. These significant differences show how much our culture has evolved.
It’s weird to think that the Bradys were not considered to be a traditional family of their culture. If they were a family in today’s society, they would never have been considered atypical. Though the Bradys joined together as a result of Carol and Mike’s marriage, you would never guess that they originally came from separate households because they all seemed to have so much in common. Unlike Modern Family, The Brady Bunch portrays a family all of the same ethnicity with already so much in common. In Modern Family, the families are made up of Caucasian, Asian, and Colombian individuals. Their differences in age and personality create funny situations that so many of us can relate to in our own ways.
Though the shows appear to have almost nothing in common, The Brady Bunch and Modern Family seem to share similar themes and concepts. If you think about it, both shows focus on the lives of normal people that take part in an abnormal family dynamics. Even though their families differ from those considered to be “culturally correct”, both shows exemplify what good family structure looks like. Through their quirky personalities and silly dilemmas, both families demonstrate strong family values and morals, despite their major differences. Both promote the idea that no family is the same and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!
Today’s traditional family is much different than the traditional family from 30 years ago. I think it is truly interesting to see how America’s image of family has evolved and changed over the years. For example, the themes explored in Modern Family are similar to The Brady Bunch but still reflect the rapidly changing ideologies the 21st century. Though modern comedy may be subtle, but it has a distinct trend. To some extent, television records the history of our culture. Sitcoms are the perfect example of this. The silly situational comedies document the changes in our society’s traditional families by recreating them into relatable shows. The typical sitcom’s plots, jokes and performances have advanced, however the heart of the sitcom has remained the same.
tvancalcar 