“All in the Family” and the contemporary family based television show, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” have many similarities and differences.
Although “All in the Family” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” have the same basic fundamental ideas, they have many differences. To start, the relationships of the parental figures in the two shows are much different. In “All in the Family,” the parents are still together and are illustrated as a happily married couple. “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” however, includes parents who are extremely unsatisfied with each other and divorced, which reflects a more contemporary parental situation. The role of women in each show is very dissimilar as well. The mother in “All in the Family” is portrayed as a cliché stay at home wife who cooks and cleans. The mother in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” on the other hand, is depicted as extremely independent. She is a businesswoman who even decides to go back to school to achieve her second degree. Also, “All in the Family” is not as politically correct as “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” African Americans and Asians do not hold prominent roles in “All in the Family,” while in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” the closest friends of the main characters have several different racial orientations. The interpretation of parental relationships, the role of women, and the racial representation in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” would be very controversial in the time “All in the Family” was produced.
Despite these few differences, the two family based television shows have many similarities. Both shows characterize the father figures as very macho and misogynistic. The two men make crude jokes and constantly stereotypically shown drinking beer and watching sports events. “All in the Family” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” both also openly address controversial issues. The episode of “All in the Family” shown in the screening, openly addressed homosexual orientation. The story line of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” is based around the issue of teen pregnancy, which is also a very controversial issue. Another similarity between the two sitcoms is that each member of each family holds a stereotypical role. The fathers are the macho men, the mothers are nagging and borderline ditsy, and the daughters are naïve. These are all clear examples of the similarities between “All in the Family” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”
Although the two shows have the similarity of addressing controversial issues, each show focuses on different topics. For instance, as I previously mentioned, “All in the Family” addresses the issue of homosexuality. “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” does not directly address this issue in the way that “All in the Family” does. Because of the less liberal time period “All in the Family” was produced in, a negative light is casted on the topic of homosexuality. The issue of teen pregnancy addressed in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” is an issue that would never be addressed in “All in the Family” because it was way to contentious for that time period. Both shows include many controversial issues, but each address different ones because of the time period in which they were produced. The two family based television shows “All in the Family” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” have their similarities and differences and also highlight different controversial issues.
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