Genre: Sitcom
Date: Jan. 29, 2014
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Network: FOX
(ABC 2012 re-run)
We are going to be talking about my viewing of an episode of the TV show Modern Family. Specifically, how it mirrors society, shows changes in our culture and who exactly the show is targeting based off of commercials and innuendos.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Since its premiere
in 2009, Modern Family has won 1 Golden Globe, 4 Primetime Emmy’s, 4 SAG Awards,
56 other wins and 153 nominations.
FUN FACTS
Modern Family was created by Steven Levitan
and Christopher Lloyd, both creators of TV hits in the 90’s. Levitan was
a creator of Just Shoot Me! and Lloyd for Frasier. Ed O’Neill
(Jay) was one of the most iconic working-class men on TV, Al Bundy,
on Married with Children from
1987-1997. O’Neill was drafted by the Pittsburg Steelers in 1969 but was cut in
training camp. Colombian-born Sophia Vergara (Gloria) was discovered walking on a beach. She became a Latin American runway model then a famous co-host on a TV show. She is naturally blonde but is
typically asked to keep her hair dark to appear more authentic. Her first US appearance
was on Bay Watch in 1999. She was
named the face of CoverGirl in 2011.
PLOT
All connections
revolve around Jay. The father of grown children Claire and Mitchell, Claire is married with three kids and Mitchell is in a gay partnership. Jay’s new,
much younger and Latina wife has a son. The show goes back and forth between
the three houses and their interactions within their own household and with the
extended family.
CHARACTERS IN THIS EPISODE
Delgado-Pritchett family:
Jay (father of
Claire and Mitchell), Gloria (wife, mom), Manny (son)
Dunphy family:
Phil (dad), Claire
(mom), Haley (eldest daughter), Alex (daughter), Luke (son)
Tucker-Pritchett family:
Mitchell, Cameron (partners)
ADVERTISEMENTS DURING THIS EPISODE
Toyota RAV4
Waterscapes (Jacuzzi
and Spa)
Ford Escape
Oregon’s FOX
(channel advertisement)
Walgreens
Vampire Academy (movie
release Feb. 7)
Yoplait
Verizon
Turbo Tax
That Awkward Moment
(movie release Jan. 31)
Modern Family (next
episode preview)
M. Jacobs Furniture
Oregon Lottery
J&K Auto Repair
(President of Papa’s Pizza as the spokesman – cross marketing)
Cosmos: A Spacetime
Odyssey (series premiere Mar. 9 on NatGeo, owned by FOX)
Amica Insurance
DWP Attorneys
Bob’s Wiener Stand
Armadillo Roofing
SUMMARY OF THIS EPISODE: EGG DROP
Luke and Manny have a school
project to make a container that can safely hold an egg when dropped. Alex has already done the project in school and Luke wants her to tell
him what she did, but she won’t. Luke and Manny work out a scheme to get their
projects made by their parents.
Phil just became
part of a real estate agency and has a big presentation. With Jay and Claire
busy helping the boys, he enlists the help of Gloria and Haley. His presentation revolves around their assistance. Gloria and
Haley decide they want to get manicures before the big event. At the salon
their car is towed, resulting in them missing the presentation.
Mitchell and
Cameron are trying to impress a potential surrogate that may give her child
up for adoption to them. They schmooze her with feng shui and singing.
ANALYSIS
With the growing acceptance
of biracial couples and same-sex couples, Modern Family is exactly what it is
titled. It highlights the multicultural influence in their family
and also the very real epidemic in America of divorce and re-marriage.
Furthermore, May-December relationships are a reality (Hugh Hefner anyone?) and the show includes
this into the colorful character collection. The characters range from a working man, bombshell wife, flamboyant gay man and stay-at-home
mom. It's a believable family situation in modern-day America. Their houses are middle-class homes in cozy neighborhoods and the issues are
relatable to the average American family; work, school, and relationships. I
would venture to say the show is one of a kind on current Primetime TV. The network
took a risk with a show touching on social issues that surround us today and it has been well
received by mainstream audiences.
There are several
stereotypes in this episode. Gloria is dressed sexy in all
scenes highlighting her Latin flair. She has a thick accent and trophy wife
appeal—her husband is a decade or two older. Haley is a typical teenager, worried about impressing boys and, in one scene,
taking a “selfie” to send to her crush. Mitchell and Cameron fit into their assumed
role of bubbly and stylish. The show also includes two
of the characters being overweight, often the image of Americans to those in other countries. Claire plays the overly attentive, nurturing and a little neurotic
mom-role that has been exploited on TV since its conception. There’s even a
white picket fence. Oh wait, there wasn’t a dog! There should have been a dog.
This show is reaching out to a female and teenage audience. With the exception of the three
commercials to promote FOX, the other 17 were obvious regarding the values that
were being relayed to the audience. Those
values are: safety, family, home decor and saving money. Here are a few specific
examples. The Oregon Lottery commercial showed images of using life jackets,
helmets and seat belts before saying “play safe.” The cars advertised were the
size needed for a family and the Ford Escape commercial was based around the
excitement of a female getting to customize the color online. The Yoplait
commercial was a mom and son eating together. Of course, Bob’s Wieners and the
teeny-bopper movie commercials were for the minors watching with their moms.
I have already
determined that this show mirrors society as mentioned in several examples above.
However, I feel everything is a bit exaggerated.
To an extent everything is enhanced on TV, but the trophy-wife image of Gloria
and the flamboyant image of Mitchell and Cameron were a little uncomfortable at
times. Maybe that’s the point. Families can make you uncomfortable, after all. Or
were scenes designed to be uncomfortable because some Americans are still bothered
by these things? Possible. I personally like
the diversity of the show. I find it refreshing and needed on mainstream TV. I
support the need for humans to be as they are; good, bad or indifferent—we all deserve
recognition. Plus, it’s funny. Who doesn’t like to laugh?
I hadn't watched this show before this episode but I was familiar with it by name. Now that I have watched it, I feel society is taking a step forward by embracing it. When a network like FOX, owned by News Corp. (one of the six mega-media companies), puts their stamp of approval on a show that is so socially aware it’s a big statement. The Brady Bunch, Step by Step, Family Matters; those are a thing of the past. Mixed races and diversity are the future. In the 2010 census nine million people identified themselves as biracial. That number has grown by 23% in the last decade while those claiming single race has declined by 9% in the same time period. A study by the UCLA School of Law estimates another nine million Americans identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual. Modern Family is capturing a very large audience from those happy to celebrate their own diversity on Primetime TV.
HOW DOES THE SHOW PORTRAY AMERICANS
It may seem a bit jumbled and maybe chaotic to someone viewing from another country, but that's America, we embrace the freedom to express. I think the show touches on a few stereotypes based on how people in other countries may perceive us. We are seen overall as a mixture of cultures lacking one specifically of our own thus our culture could be described as a lack of culture. The mixture of race, orientation, accents and lifestyles in the show represents this collection and puts them all into one package. I think the image of Americans is often that we are materialistic, arrogant and a bit intrusive. All of these traits are displayed in the show to one extent or another. For example, the young people wanting things that entertain them and the need to look good. It shows the image of the "American dream" which I mentioned in the layout of the houses, yards and neighborhoods often perceived as how all Americans live. And the fact that the families were in each others business whether invited or not similar to our portrayed image as a society of the "world's police."
FANS AND
CRITICS RAVE!
“So how much
do we love the show? Enough to name our dog after the show.” – blogged by
Matt
“I crack up
all the time while I watch this show!” – fan club post by Edward
“With its
deft writing and sharp performances, the show is a telling snapshot of how
families live now.” – Leigh H. Edwards, PopMatters
"It's funny, it's vicious, it's
politically incorrect--in other words, everything that 'Community' wants
to be and isn't." - Linda Stasi, New York Post
"Modern Family works because it does something the network sitcom hasn't
managed in years: It offers a comic equation for almost every audience
segment, while never blanding out the characters for mass consumption." - Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly
When reading critiques on the show I found many of the same opinions as my own. I looked at reviews after I had completed the show and had written my analysis and interestingly enough I found phrases I used in my analysis that were similar to those of critics. For example, the quote by Leigh Edwards sums up how the show is a reality of how families are living now. I made this point several times in my analysis. Also, I talked about how the show at times made me uncomfortable with the flamboyancy or sex appeal which was similar to the quote by Linda Stasi regarding political correctness. Lastly, Ken Tucker touches on the subject of how this is a different network sitcom being that it focuses on raw characters as opposed to cookie-cutter characters. I also mentioned this when making statements about how socially aware the show is and the risk the network took to bring it to mainstream.
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| Photos courtesy of ABC |
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