Family Sitcoms- A thing of the past?

Quick name your top five family sitcoms on television today?

Hmm- Hard to isn’t?

I remember a time not too long ago where one could watch Family Matters, The Cosby Show, Full House and Boy Meets World -all quite funny shows focused on the traditional family. In each comedy there was a mother, father, and children. And that structure made sense, and guess what, it was also entertaining.

Browsing through the TV Guide listing of prime time shows today leaves me scratching my head; I am hard pressed to find one traditional family show on network television.

Is the lack of traditional family representation a reflection of society today or is it a move for a more “politically correct family”?

There is show on ABC called Modern Family, which I came across one day.  First of all when I heard the word modern I had a hard time even understanding what that meant, but I continued watching the show.

The show portrays three very different “modern” families. One couple consists of “Non-traditional” family of a middle-aged Caucasian man and his young Columbian wife and her pre-teen son. The next family is a gay couple and their adoptive baby. And the last is what would be called a “traditional family,” with a mother father and three children. As I the watched the show I kept wondering how this is a representation of “modern.”

There is this strong desire on television to be politically correct. In that correctness, I am discovering that we as a culture are losing our identity, morals and standards. I will admit there were parts of the show that made me laugh. But what is it saying about family, and what family should look like? What is wrong with actually having a family sitcom, focused on a realistic family?