Warning: Some major spoilers ahead.
“There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You’d think the dreamers would find the dreamers, and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not, the opposite is true. See, the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists? Well, without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground.” (Cameron from Modern Family)
One of my most favorite quotes about life comes from Modern Family, a show based in The Golden State, or California, USA. Such a show wouldn’t really be considered relatable for Indian families, would it? However, it is very relatable to most families. At its core, it’s a show about a family. It’s a show about love. It’s a show about marriage. It’s a show about growing up, facing the teenage years, facing adulthood while being clueless about your future course of action. It’s a show about facing your mid-life crisis, about the mistakes you commit as you go through life. It’s a show about facing all the above and more, with a loving family by your side.
In today’s world, there are many kinds of families. There are joint families, nuclear families; small families, large families; rich families, not-so-rich families. However, what makes a family isn’t its composition, isn’t always relation by blood, or its size; what makes a family is love. As Manny says right in the pilot episode, “We’re from different worlds, yet we somehow fit together. Love is what binds us through fair and stormy weather.”
Modern Family isn’t just a mockumentary for me, nor merely a situational comedy. It has many lessons inherent in it. One of the lessons taught by Modern Family is that family isn’t just the relations which are connected to us by blood. The family which we start with isn’t always the one with which we end up. We gain family members throughout life, we have new additions in the family, some people are left behind, due to many reasons. But that doesn’t mean they are not family.
One also realizes after watching Modern Family that every child will always feel that the parents are unfair to her/him; and all parents feel that they are different than their parents in their parenthood techniques. In the show, we are made face-to-face with many instances where Jay makes his children (Claire and Mitchell) realize they were making the same mistakes that they accused Jay of making. This is however most clearly shown in Haley’s case. Haley was, throughout her teenage years and then some, accusing her parents of trying to destroy her life by trying to control her life. However, when she had to take care of her boyfriend, Rainer Shine’s teenage daughter, she ends up screaming at her after she’s had enough; just like Claire did to Haley.
It’s a show that teaches us that all of us have moments – not just in teenage – which we feel will haunt us forever. However, these moments pass. They do not become what we are defined by. . Not everything will work the way we want, not every situation goes to plan. But that doesn’t mean we give up, or that we will never be able to recover. When Alex gets mono and has to take a semester off, she initially feels she will never be able to rise from that. However, she takes a semester off, and gets a job as a barista – a very non-Alex thing to do.
Sure, it has its funny moments. But for me, it is more than just “funny”. It is a sentimental journey for me. A sentimental journey which has made me a better, more empathetic person. By watching Modern Family, you understand your own family a little better. You understand why your mother places some restrictions on you when she does, you understand that family will stand by you, even if you are not selected by any college, even if you take a little extra time in figuring out your life, even if you distance yourself from them, even if you get thrown out of your college after just six weeks, even if you disappoint them, even if you fail to get a job everyone worked for. They may not always be supportive at first, they may not always understand immediately, but they always come around. That is how a family should function. That is how a family should show their love. That is how a family should know they are loved.
