Dysfunction Junction: Comparing Contemporary TV Families

The dysfunctional family has always been used within the context of sitcom comedies on television for it's ability to show a broad range of funny characters. From All In The Family to The Simpsons, indeed some of the best shows ever to be shown on television deal with the relatable premise of families just trying to deal with each other. But how have things changed since All In The Family came on the scene? We can see the development of this format by comparing All In The Family and Arrested Development, a show released from 2003-2006.

The similarities are apparent from the start. All In The Family centers around the begrudging patriarch of the family, Archie Bunker, the center of most of the fights the Bunkers go through. Arrested Development's Bluth Family is headed by the George Bluth, a father who right off the bat starts causing all the families problems by getting arrested the first episode and the rest of the family trying to get him out for the rest of the show's three seasons. George Bluth and Archie Bunker are similar in that they care about their families but are far from perfect when it comes to parenting. Both families are filled with individuals who are very different from one another, but who generally try to stay together for the good of the family's well-being. Yet when it comes to interfamily interactions, both families run into disagreements when it comes to almost every individual issue the family faces.

However, the similarities end there. Arrested Development is very different from All In The Family in that it focuses on the only reasonably sane member of the family, Michael Bluth. After his father goes to jail, he is constantly trying to save his family and the company they own, while simultaneously threatening to leave them forever if they continue acting so selfishly. Indeed, the Bluth's are a markedly more self-absorbed and vain family then the Bunkers. All In The Family focuses instead on the least agreeable member of the family, Archie. As the focus of the show, we are constantly exposed to Archie's consistently distorted and bigoted views on everything from race to gender. But the rest of the Bunker's are a generally more caring bunch then the Bluth's. All In The Family is about a relatively normal family trying to deal with their constantly problematic leader, Archie, while Arrested Development is about a reluctant but level-headed leader (Michael Bluth) who is trying to bring together a group of total narcissists.

What do these two shows tell us about the different time periods in which they were made though? The issues both shows deal with is a good place to see how they are products of their time. All In The Family began in 1971, a time of much cultural change in America, from post-civil rights race relations, to broadening economic and class disparities, to more openness about alternative sexual identities (as we see in the episode watched last Tuesday). All In The Family dealt with all of these issues directly through the lens of the old-fashioned Archie Bunker, who is vocal about his disagreement with the changing culture in America. As many people shared the attitude of Archie at the time, the show worked both as a representation of this mindset, as well as a critique of it. However, while All In The Family dealt with broader cultural issues through the eyes of one family, Arrested Development focuses on issues based on each family member's skewed morals in everyday life. The reason why Arrested Development was so brilliant was because it dealt with the ridiculous decisions of characters whose narcissistic ways reflected of modern American culture. Arrested Development dealt with the egotistical mindset found so often in present-day American culture, and thus critiqued a broad issue indirectly through the personalities of each character. All In The Family instead directly addressed the issues of the time, with each character presenting their opinions on a certain issue, and thus representing the many different viewpoints in America at the time. All In The Family dealt with issues in a time when America was changing and people were uncertain about the future; Arrested Development dealt with self-centered people in an America that has gotten to comfortable with itself.