Vizcaino

Maria Vizcaino
Professor Massey
ENC1101
17 November 2015
Family Life: Real-Life versus Television
Is there anything more entertaining that watching a family argue live? That could
not possibly exist. Certainly television shows make an effort to portray how real families
behave; and although they do resemble some aspects, others are left out. This implies there
are major differences such as reaction to bad news, tolerance of others beliefs and their
situation regarding a balance between family leisure and work. However, some of the
similarities include the unconditional love among the members.
The popular sitcom Modern Family depicts a father of two grown adults who is
married to a younger woman. Although this happens often in real life, it does not convey
the struggles that a couple with such a big gap between their ages may face. Among these
problems, there could be that the woman feels she is wasting her youth on a much older
man, they do not have the same interests, and even worse, the social critic from the people
surrounding them. On the contrary, the show depicts Jay and Glona as an incredibly happy
couple, and only base their disagreements on their different cultural backgrounds rather that
their age gap. The similarities include hoy Jays son and daughter (and their families) react
to the marriages and the relationship they have with her. For instance, Claire (the daughter)
and Glona always feel a little jealous of each other, the homosexual men have a great
relation ship with her, and the teenager daughter has a strong relationship with her since she
is a better version of a mother, because she lacks the authority to control her.

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Similarly, the show portrays the relationship between Mitchell and Jay as
troublesome. This absolutely achieves its goal to resemble the reaction of a conservative
man when his only son comes out regarding his sexual orientation. Jay struggles to accept
in because it is new and unexpected, nonetheless he ends up embracing his reality and
defending his son in front of his old-fashioned friends from the country club. My
grandfather was in the same situation. My fathers younger brother revealed to the family
he was homosexual when my grandmother died. Although everyone knew it, or at least
were suspicious of his behavior, my grandfather never said a word to my uncle about it. My
uncles relationship with my grandfather deteriorated at the beginning; after a while, they
stopped calling each other for a couple of weeks until my grandfather was ready to accepts
it just like Jay, my grandfather is always going to feel awkward with the situation, exactly
like the television show, but he is going to do his best to accept it because familys love is
unconditional.
On the other hand, Claires relationship with Phill does not resemble a traditional
couple. Phill has no sense of responsibility around the house, which translate into Claire
carrying all the weight on her shoulders. However, in real life, a woman like her would
never start a family with a man like Phill. Mainly because there has to be a balance, that is
the goal a couple should try to achieve, especially when raising three children. My parents
used to be like them until my mom was not able to handle everything herself and had a
stroke, after which she decided to divorce my dad. In the show Claire works, does
housework and is the full time mother of three children, whereas in real life is humanly
impossible for a person play all there roles and turn out fine.