Blog Post #3

Fabrizia Maiello

CCS 313

Professor Smith-Casanueva

11/24/2014

Television Invades the Home

            David Morley has suggested the idea of television being used to nationalize families across the nation within the privacy of their homes as well as in a public atmosphere. One television show in particular that can be analyzed under this characterization is the ABC program Modern Family. Linking three different types of families into one big story line, Modern Family explores family structure and social hierarchy within a contemporary ideology. The show deals with potentially controversial topics of divorce, homosexuality, and adolescent motivations. Unlike the typical “television family” of our American nation (most notably The Cosby Show, The Brady Bunch, or even Full House), this story line does not use subtlety or emotional musical tracks to convey a taboo subject to a conservative audience. The show instead presents itself as a fictional reality show, boldly presenting current contextual social problems and reacting in an aloof manner. This type of plot behavior has been becoming quite popular with modern audiences and has been prized for its culturally accepting social perception and caring attitude. Concurrently, these understandings have been a source for the nationalization of audiences and families, especially within the atmosphere of the private home life. The show has not only chosen to present a culturally sound atmosphere, but has proudly celebrated the diversity and acceptance of different family types. While the show has reached people beyond the privacy of their family life, the public atmosphere may not provide as much of a challenge as anticipated because the plot story line stays true to current social perceptions. This same analysis can be applied to Morley’s idea of stretching perspectives and communication methods for privacy boundaries. Specifically pertaining to the social practice of the family household, Morley suggests that the use of television can be used for the extended persuasion and educating of cultural standards to closed-off individuals. Furthermore, this can be defined as somewhat of an intrusion into closed households and family life. Morley states, “The modern home can itself be said to be a phantasmagoric place to the extent that electronic media of various kinds allow the radical intrusion of distant events into the space of domesticity” (304). This concept doesn't have to apply solely social ideas like those of Modern Family, but can refer to displeasing environments, ideas, or events that of which clash with the preference of the viewer. Of course a television program can only be influential to a certain degree of desirable acceptance, but the extension of plot behavior in recent television shows has certainly moved in the right direction for unifying national cultural and social significance.

Works Cited

Spigel, Lynn, Jan Olsson, and David Morley. "At Home with Television." Television after TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition. Durham: Duke UP, 2004. 303-323. Print.