The family structure of " All in the Family" and "That 70's Show" is quite similar. Both of these situational comedies are composed of the traditional blue collar family. In "All in the Family', Archie Bunker is a working class husband, who also is a World War II veteran. Archie has strong prejudices against anybody who isn't a U.S. born, politically conservative, white male. His Wife, Edith Bunker plays the classic joyful, ditsy role to the tee. She is always very supportive of her family and if or may I say when, she disagrees with Archie it's always with a smile. Their child, Gloria Bunker Stivic is married and most likely in her early twenties. She still lives with her parents, but of course now she has brought her husband into the nesting ground as well. Micheal Stivic is Gloria's hippie husband. He and Archie frequently clash on social issues such as homosexuality. With Micheal representing the the views of a 1960's counterculture and Archie, the traditional "good ole boy" mentality.
Growing up, it was the situational comedy of "That 70's Show" that shaped my views of family structure of the seventies. Unlike "All in the Family" which aired from 1971-1979, "That 70's Show" aired from 1998-2006. Centered towards the teenage viewer, it gave many like myself a glimpse of what family life was like pre Nintendo and TiVo. This show has many similarities as well as distinct differences to "All in the Family". The breadwinner is Red Forman. He is also a working class husband and war veteran. Like Archie, he thinks the kids of the era(including his own son) are a bunch of pansies. While he comes across like a hard old man, towards the end of the episode his wisdom usually helps out his family. This view contrasts with the Archies', who usually learns some type of lesson towards the end of an episode. Red's wife Kitty is pretty much a clone of Edith's character. She is giddy, naive, and extremely supportive. Unlike Edith, Kitty has a job as a nurse. She is also often portrayed to be drinking a lot with frequent mood swings. The Forman's have two children. The oldest is Laurie Forman, she is casted as a very flirtatious and promiscuous college drop out. Unlike Gloria who is married, Laurie's character seems to get with every male character on the show who's last name isn't Foreman. Their youngest child, Eric is the focal point of the show. His character is much like Micheal, he views the world very differently than his father, challenging the old conservative views. Although Eric often is too scared to confront Red. Eric respects his father to the point of fear. Unlike "All in the Family", "That 70's Show" focuses on Eric and his extended family: his friends.
"That 70's Show" revolves around Eric's relationships with his friends as they discover who they are as individuals. The show takes on such social issues as feminism and teenage sexual attitudes of the time and how they relate to the teenage population of the time. One of the reoccurring theme's is his girlfriend Donna evolving into a strong feminist woman. Another important aspect of the show is how each of the male figures are consistently curious about sex. Using different characters to approach different sexual attitudes. There is Micheal who plays the womanizer, Fez is the mysterious foreign exchange student, Hyde plays the classic bad boy, and of course Eric who is in a long term relationship. It would do the show injustice to go without mentioning the famous in the basement "smokey" scenes. This is important because it portrays how the show doesn't discount the use of marajuana amongst teenagers in the era. Usually this is when each of the teenage characters are reflecting on their current issues of the episode.
"All in the Family" was much more blunt in its approach to such issues as homosexuality. This show seems to be more directed to the adults of the time, as you see the world through the eyes on Archie. While in "That 70's Show" Red may make a comment about being a pansie, it isn't the focal point of the episode, rather it is a side issue of character development."All in the Family" attacked the issues of the time such as the episode we watched about homosexuality. The whole episode was geared toward the topic, forcing the viewer to confront the issue or change the channel. However, in "That 70's Show" social issues are more lighthearted, put in place to show the growth of teenagers in the seventies.
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