Will and Archie

The Will and Grace Family
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Just as television has changed from black and white to high definition viewing, so has the idea of family changed from the typical idea of a family to a more modern century viewpoint. Television shows from the past such as All in the Family, consist of a typical family unit: mother, father, daughter, son. Now, shows such as Will and Grace have a more contemporary definition of family. Both shows deal with the concept of family but in different ways.

The All in the Family Family
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In All in the Family, the Bunkers consisted of a typical family with the dingbat mother Edith, the young and hip couple of Gloria (daughter of Edith and Archie) and her husband Michael. Unlike the typical family, Will and Grace consisted of the gay lawyer Will, his straight interior designer best-friend Grace, and their two goofball friends Jack and Karen.

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Both shows contained the same characteristics of what we define family: a group of  people that always bicker and fight with each other but still love and care for each other no matter what. However, All in the Family's idea of family was more of "blood related" and Will and Grace's idea of family was more of the "people we hang out with and build strong relationships with are your family".


Homosexuality is an issue brought up by both of these television shows. In the All in the Family episode "Judging Books by Covers", the Bunkers squabble over the issue of homosexuality because of the characters Roger, a highly flamboyant gentleman and Steve, a sports-loving man, who force Archie to re-evaluate his conception of being gay. Unlike All in the Family where they devote only one episode to the topic of homosexuality in a self-questioning way, Will and Grace dealt with it throughout its entire run in a more modern and normal way. Both Will and Jack are gay men living in New York City trying to live, work, and find love like anyone else. The gay lifestyle is more accepting in Will and Grace than in All in the Family. Nobody needed to question Will's and Jack's sexuality because it was of non-importance. However, both shows still contained the stereotypical gay characters of Roger and Jack and not-so-stereotypical gay characters of Steve and Will.