2. Modern Family
Modern Family encompasses the many
different types of families: blended, two-
parent biological, committed partners who
have adopted, and multigenerational
“Families of today are defining themselves,
for themselves, through their
interactions” (p. 4).
Due to the diversity located within this
family, it creates for extensive insight into
the ways in which their family
communicates
3. Pritchett Family
Jay: Patriarch of the family and father of
Claire & Mitchell. He is remarried after his
first wife to second wife, Gloria. He is also a
step-father to her son, Manny. He acts
tough and stern on the outside but has
strong family values
Gloria: Jay’s second wife and Manny’s
mother. Often clashes with Jay over her
strong Columbian heritage. While she is
much younger than Jay, she doesn’t let it
bother her
Manny: Gloria’s son. Has more maturity
for his age than necessary and is often
intrigued in doing adult-like things
The Pritchett’s represent a blended family.
4. “Gloria and I are from different generations, and
I won’t lie, it isn’t always easy. I mean, last week
she thought Simon & Garfunkel were my
lawyers”-Jay Pritchett
5. Dunphy Family
Phil: Son-in-law to Jay, married to Claire. Consistently
trying to bond with his kids while still parenting them.
Real-estate agent and is always trying to do his best with
his family
Claire: Jay’s daughter. Constantly trying to keep up with
her three different children and preventing them from
being the wild child she once was.
Haley: The oldest Dunphy daughter. Always on her cell
phone, extremely self-absorbed while monitoring her
popularity, and very boy-crazy
Alex: The middle-child. Uses her intelligence to mess
with her siblings. Always doing schoolwork and is an
overachiever
Luke: Youngest Dunphy child. Energetic child who
lacks common sense. Is implied to have ADHD and is
usually causing trouble.
The Dunphy’s represent a two-parent biological family.
6. Tucker-Pritchett Family
Mitchell: Son of Jay, brother to Claire.
He and committed partner, Cameron,
adopted baby girl Lily from Vietnam.
He is an attorney and is very uptight
and overprotective.
Cameron: Mitchell’s partner of over 5
years and other father to Lily. Has a
very bubbly, outgoing personality and
has many random hobbies such as
performing as a clown and being a rock
drummer.
Lily: The adopted daughter of Cameron
and Mitchell from Vietnam. Stays at
home most of the time with Cameron.
The Tucker-Pritchett family is a perfect
representation of a committed partner family.
Their adopted child from another culture also adds
to their diversity within their family.
7. “Today, a family may be viewed more broadly as
a group of people with a past history, a present
reality, and a future expectation of interconnected
mutually influencing relationships” (p. 5).
8. Family Communication
Communication within a family is essential in its ability to function. It is transactional in its
process which means it requires mutual interaction.
It can be broken down into communication between partners, siblings, and both.
Communication of Meaning
2 Levels
Content- contains the information
Relationship- indicates how the information is interpreted or understood
10. Sibling Communication
“Siblings may create patterns of teasing that allow them
to feel connected, but no one else could joke that way
without creating tension” (p. 24).
“Sibling relationships are significant sources of
information on communication patterns such as family
stories, rituals, and memories” (p. 9).
The Dunphy siblings are all very different. The
communication between Haley and Alex is often
characterized by sarcasm or a mean comment towards
one another.
When Alex wanted to increase her popularity, Haley was
there to inform her on how to do so. She was telling her
what to text, how long to wait to text back, and what to
wear.
Claire and Mitchell have often always bonded. They are
very close to each other and she often seeks him out for
advice.
11. “I want them to share clothes, do each other’s
hair, and gossip about boys. Like I did with
Mitchell”.-Claire Dunphy on her daughters
12. Cohesion
“Cohesion is defined as the emotional
bonding that family members experience
with each other and include concepts of
emotional bonding, boundaries, coalitions,
time, space, friends, decision-making,
interests, and recreation” (p. 30).
The Dunphy/Pritchett family represents a
family with connectedness. They strive for
emotional closeness and loyalty while
maintaining some individuality.
While each member of the family is
different, that doesn’t affect their ability to
remain close to one another and almost
helps the maintenance of those bonds
13. Family Secrets
Bonding Secrets: function to serve as a way to increase
cohesiveness among family members. Often times
strengthening sibling bonds
At Christmas, Phil and Claire found a cigarette and
assumed it was one of their children. They threatened
to take Christmas away if the child wouldn’t confess to
who did it. The siblings
Evaluation Secrets: function to help family members
avoid negative judgment
Mitchell and Cameron temporarily hid the fact that they
adopted Lily for fear of the reactions from their family
members.
14. Family Stories
“Family stories remind people about who
they are and help them to see the good or
bad times that contributed to current
situations” (p. 102).
“Family stories bring joy or laughter to
members as they remember special times or
embarrassing moments” (p. 103).
One important story told by the Dunphy/
Pritchett family involves Jay and Gloria’s
wedding. DeDe (Jay’s first wife) was the
reason why “the incident” occurred at the
wedding. DeDe is going to make a visit and
leading up to her arrival, the story is told
about how at Jay and Gloria’s wedding,
DeDe became progressively drunk, made a
scene, and needed to be escorted out.
15. Maintenance
“Maintenance of gay and lesbian
partnerships involves many of the marital
patterns discussed but the lifestyle includes
additional stresses. There is a desire to live
and work in environments supportive of the
relationship, to be ‘out’ in the social
network, to be able to introduce the other
person as one’s partner, and to spend time
with others who accept those
relationships” (p. 115).
16. “I had to actually come out to my dad 3 times
before he acknowledged it. I’m not sure if maybe
he was hoping he heard it wrong, like I said, ‘Dad,
I’m grey’”-Mitchell Pritchett
17. Family Rituals
“Rituals serve as a way to bond family
members of all ages across generations,
providing a sense of family identity and a
linkage” (p. 119).
The Dunphy family loves Halloween. Claire
goes all out every year and it’s her favorite
holiday.
This ritual helps bond the family in another
manner. It provides them with a
celebration of their mutual interest in the
holiday
18. Marital Ideology Role Types
The 3 couples depicted in this show all
represent the transitional ideology. While
there may be a general provider, it is not
scrutinized when the other wishes to
identify with work. Most of the home
responsibilities are placed on the non-
working partner, however.
19. Family Conflict
“Conflict occurs when one person’s
behavior or desire blocks the goals of
another, resulting in a ‘showdown’ over
values and resources” (p. 220).
When the family has a conflict, it is often
approached with either a collaboration or
compromise approach
Jay and Gloria had differing opinions on
where they would be buried. He was afraid
that if he died first, and she remarried then
she would no longer want to be buried next
to him.
20. “Claire likes to say ‘You can be part of the problem, or part of the solution’
But I happen to believe you can be both”-Phil Dunphy
“Decision making varies greatly among families because each
family negotiates about values or resources differently”(p. 202).
21. “We’re both with people who are different from us, and
that’s going to create stuff. But you want different”-Jay
Pritchett
