It is often said that “we can’t choose family.” Until a few years ago, those who harshly perceived their families to be insanely nosy, distasteful and shameful had a sudden change of heart when comical sitcom, “Modern Family” debuted on ABC in 2009. Once everyone was laughing until tears streamed down their face, the meaning of a ‘modern family’ sincerely prevailed. Truth be told, the image of a perfect family is a pure fantasy. Each family possesses their own quirks and uncanny habits, but at the end of the day, blood is thicker than water. The screenwriters of “Modern Family” have proven many fictional perceptions of the ‘perfect American family’ to be false. This sitcom has an intriguing yet hilarious sense of portraying what the meaning of a ‘modern family’ truly is in today’s society.
“Modern Family” introduced season six with the amusing episode, “The Long Honeymoon.” The episode commences with Cam and Mitchell announcing their honorary title as newlyweds, as well as describing their amorous honeymoon from which they just returned home. However, Cam seems to be too in love with the idea of marriage and instead begins to drive Mitchell further away. In the Pritchett household, Gloria and Jay begin expressing to one another their stern concerns about each other’s everyday appearance. Gloria begins to go as far as harassing Jay by calling him an “old man.” Meanwhile, in the Dunphy home, Claire and Phil have been boasting endlessly about their “amazing summer.” Unfortunately, this all soon comes to an end when their daughter, Alex, returns home from a humanitarian mission.
Cam continuously humiliates Mitchell, and soon finds himself expressing his infinite love for Mitchell in front of his new employees and boss. However, when Mitchell confronts Cam about his over-excessive romantic ways, Cam grows to become bitter. Gloria and Jay are making continuous effort to prove each other’s point. Jay finds Gloria consistently overdressed while Gloria finds Jay always underdressed. Needless to say, finding a happy mindset on each other’s appearance seems to be unattainable. To combat this, Gloria confidently decides to initiate a battle and attends one of Jay’s employee gatherings with a distasteful face, bird nest hair and in pure rags. The final result is the couple finally reaching an agreement on their appearances.
In the Dunphy residence, Alex angrily proves her point about being the only “intelligent adult” in the house by saving her family in various circumstances after they expressed their negative thoughts about her return. The family eventually realizes that without Alex, they aren’t a family. The episode concludes by exhibiting to the viewers that no family is perfect. Truth be told, families are flawed, in fact, they all are. However, these imperfections cultivate the true meaning of a quirky, irritating and affectionate modern family. Through these characteristics, the ‘perfect American family’ is built.
