All in the Family and Modern Family

      "All in The Family" is similar to "Modern Family" in that they both use family situations to entertain audiences and to bring up issues to viewers that are relevant to family life. Both feature an older father and a child that is newly married. Both use stereotypical characters (Ie. Hippie, foreign, old man) to  add humor to the show. 
   Most simply, "Modern Family" has more characters than "All in the Family." "Modern family" includes three generations, as opposed to two from "all". "Modern", therefore, examines the lives of three families (that are extended family), whereas "All" examines only one.  The two shows are different in that "Modern Family" is much more explicit in the way it addresses relationships that would have been a little scandalous 40 years ago. For instance, two main characters are gay. The older man marries a wife that could be described as a "trophy" wife because she is many years his junior. The young children are put into more sexualized situations much earlier than they would have in the 1960's. "All in the Family" begins to address public prejudices, such as homophobia, but avoids making a direct condemnation about them. Instead, "All in the Family" lets viewers draw their own conclusions. "All in the Family" relies on stereotype more than "Modern Family" and while both rely on a generational gap to create humor, the focus in "All in the Family" is more on that gap than in "Modern". Modern Family deals with race and gender issues more than "All in the Family." "All in the Family" deals more with issues between generations, although they do address gender roles to some extent.