1.+Overview

Prepared by: Danica Trevarthan =Show studied: Modern Family= =Genre: Comedy=

Modern Family is a family comedy that depicts the lives of three families moving through their day-to-day lives and the ups and downs that come with the territory. Each family is connected to create one extended family.
 * __STABLE SITUATION:__**

The equilibrium is that each family lives in their own home, happily together. Although they go through good and bad days, all that matters is their love for one another. In each show the equilibrium is disrupted and eventually restored.

The characters are constantly going to work, staying home with their children, going to school, and carrying out a normal life (as many American families experience it) from Fall to Spring.

Conflicts which disrupt the family's equilibrium include minor issues most American families can relate to. For example: In the episode Airport we find out that Gloria has planned a Hawaiian vacation for Jay's birthday and has invited the entire family as a surprise. Jay does not receive this news well but does his best to keep his disappointment from Gloria. Knowing Jay's dissatisfaction brings the episode in a state of disequilibrium which continues until Gloria reveals that the rest of the family will be leaving she and Jay alone in Hawaii a week after they arrive. Everyone can relate to the feeling of frustration when their plans are disrupted.

Jay is the character to and through whom all other characters are connected. He is the father of Claire and Mitchell, stepfather of Manny, grandfather of Haley, Alex, Luke, & Lilli (a minor character not noted here), father-in-law to Phil and Cameron, and husband to Gloria. He is an older man married to a young spicy Latina who is beautiful and constantly dressed in tight-fitting and revealing clothing. Jay has two grown children, is divorced, is clearly well off financially, and is ready for the more relaxing stage of life. His family, on the other hand is constantly getting themselves into trouble and keeping him on his toes.
 * __CHARACTERS:__**

Gloria is a young spicy Latina from Colombia with a young son named Manny. She is married to Jay, has no job and loves to shop. Gloria has a flare for excitement and a passion for life. Her affection for Jay appears to be sincere but one can't help wondering if shes a little bit of a gold-digger too. Before she married Jay, Gloria was married to a young Colombian man named Javier (Manny's biological father) who is constantly referred to as a crook. Gloria is a bold, outspoken young woman. I guess growing up in the murder capital of Colombia made her the way she is.

Manny is a little gentleman. Although he is young he has fine tastes and his mother's passion for life. Manny often spouts poetic, heartfelt words of young wisdom, pursues love without abandon (although he is always rejected), and strives to live life honorably. We are reminded that Manny is still a young child by his fear of the villain in a slasher movie and other such instances. Phil is Claire's husband and father to Haley, Alex, and Luke. Phil is very much like a child himself with his constant lame jokes and awkward motions. Phil likes to stay up on the slang as he tries to be the "cool" dad and connect with his kids through his "peerenting" style. Phil deeply loves his wife Claire and balances her up-tight disposition with his relaxed attitude. Despite his deep love for his wife, Phil can't mask his attraction to his beautiful step-mother-in-law; good thing he is open with Claire about it. Phil is a real estate agent who never seems to get around to fixing his own stairs. Claire is Phil's wife and the mother of Haley, Alex and Luke. She is an uptight perfectionist and a full-time nurturer. She is constantly focused on caring for her family, although her methods are extreme at times. Haley is Phil and Claire's oldest child and the stereotypical teenage girl. Her character is relatively static. She rolls her eyes, tries to manipulate her parents, fawns over her rocker boyfriend (unless there is a better option around), makes irresponsible decisions, and relies on her good looks and charm to get her through life. All in all, Haley is a good kid who pushes the buttons but never goes too far to disrupt the family's primary equilibrium. Alex is Phil and Claire's middle child and youngest daughter. Like her sister, Alex's character is also relatively static. She is the brain who choses to rely on her intellect rather than her good looks. She is the responsible child and a wonderful foil to Haley. Luke is Phil and Claire's youngest child and only son. He is Phil and Claire's "little boy" who is messy, irresponsible, forgetful, and the definition of innocence. Mitchell is Jay's son and Cameron's life-partner. Of the two partners, Mitchell is presented as the more masculine and responsible. He is the provider, dresses in manly attire, and makes the rational decisions (most of the time). He enjoys staying in the lines of social expectation. To compliment his more masculine traits, Mitchell is the coward and needs Cameron to act as the protector. Mitchell and Cameron have an adopted daughter named Lily. Cameron is Mitchell's life-partner. He acts as a stay-at-home dad and cares for Lily above all others, save Mitchell. Cameron is flamboyant in dress and personality. He has a passion for the spice of life and often wishes to venture out to taste it. Although he is presented as the more feminine and irrational of the two men, Cameron is the protector who is unafraid of anything apart from losing the love of those he loves.

**__PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:__ Modern Family is a television program which airs on Wednesdays 9/8pm central time during the Fall and Spring seasons. The show first aired in September 2009 and was created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd. The show was nominated for seven different awards from such organizations as the Screen Actors Guild, the Writer's Guild of America, Director's Guild of America, and the Golden Globes. So far, the show has been given three awards.

The program is a family related comedy much like The Cosby Show, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Full House, and numerous others. Unlike its preprocessors, Modern Family's depiction of family is radical and clearly depicts the changing values of society and the way we define what, exactly, a "family" is.

For the first time the American public is given a sample of many currently accepted (by a great deal of the population although not all of it) family models, two of which have only more recently been embraced. We have one normal middle class white family, a family in which an older white man is married to a beautiful, voluptuous young Columbian woman with a young son, and a homosexual couple living and husband and husband (although they remain legally unmarried) with their adopted Vietnamese daughter Lily. These families are truly modern. The only racial majority not represented is African-American.

Modern Family is a mockumentary, a television program filmed much like a documentary. The shots look as though they have been filmed with a hand-held camera by someone who is moving through the day-to-day with our fictitious families. We see individual characters responding to an invisible, mute interviewer and intimate moments one would normally see edited out in other shows; characters are often caught off-guard in awkward and embarrassing situations to make the show seem less scripted. Other popular mockumentaries are NBC's The Office and Parks and Recreation.

Although Modern Family is a mockumentary about three families, the genre is comedy.

__GENRE DESCRIPTION:__** The Comedic genre is one in which the story line presented moves in and out of equilibrium for the purpose of causing its audience to laugh. Modern Family achieves this purpose while acting as a representation of how society's opinion of what constitutes a family has drastically changed over recent decades.

The comedy genre usually represents a cast of quirky but lovable characters (such as the cast of Friends) who's truest state of equilibrium exists only when they are in loving, peaceful unity. Although the genre may touch on some saddening and serious topics from time-to-time, laughter is not long absent.



Some information & all photographs from: http://abc.go.com/shows/modern-family/index