i think 'letting' alex be sexual was a nice change for nerdy girl characters, at least, even if that was part of the joke (that she is a nerd but has sex) . ariel winter had so many comments about her body and had breast reduction surgery, though, so it's hard to gauge that effect
Though I feel it could have been explored more like Alex seeing she is being treated differently because of her figure or because she is conventionally attractive, feeling like she sticks out at home because she doesn't share the same body type as her sister and mom, I often felt Ariel could have played Annette Funicello if there was a biopic (another actress who was often reduced to her body type)
This was a great video! Something you made me think about was the idea that Lily is jaded. I can see a bit of this in that I often felt like Cam and Mitch ignored or didn’t take interest in her. For example, there was an episode while she was in elementary school when she was attempting to explain a situation with some girls bullying her in gym class, and Mitch keeps interrupting with his own realizations. Also, in a later Halloween episode, Lily comes home in a cheerleading uniform and her dads say something about it being too revealing of a costume, then she informs them it’s her actual cheerleading uniform and they had no idea. It’s just small things like that that are played for laughs that are probably more indicative of a really deep distance between the parents and child.
There's also that episode where they didn't know she was popular, might even be the same on as cheerleadering? The one where she "has to make an appearance" at a party? The whole episode their plot is that they don't know her. Which was contradictory with the previous episodes to me, it felt like it came out of nowhere
there’s also the episode they find out that she can apply to skip a grade due to being academically gifted despite them thinking she wasn’t smart. i don’t know if that’s the same episode they find out she met a president and just somehow didn’t know about it
@@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195No, the cheerleading one was in the final season and the one where they realize she's popular is in season 9 or something
I hate Jay regularly being presented as if he's the sensible, mature one in his relationship and Gloria's irrational when Jay is just as prone to outbursts of emotion.
As a latina, Fulgencio is a very old fashioned name (and an ugly one in my opinion) and I always assumed that was the joke, whitewashing didn't even cross my mind.
@@MichaelTurner856 like I said, it's very old, you hardly will find anyone under 60 with that name. I'm not sure I can compare it to anything in English as I'm not a native speaker, maybe Gaylord (though it doesn't have the connotation that name has)? And why it's ugly... Idk, it's hard to explain why a certain name just sounds ugly 😂 thats why I added that as a personal opinion.
I think my biggest problem with the show is manny and luke's arcs once they grow up into high school and then go to college, the writers turn them into your stereotypical horny teenage boys who only care about sex and can't think of girls in any way but sexual it screams gross. I loved their arcs way better when they were younger but then the heart was lost I guess. like you said sometimes the writers want their cake and to eat it too and get too comfortable they forget to balance between absurd and endearing. Overall, here's my stance on it, I think in comedy there is a much big reliance on stereotypes because stereotypes are familiar and everyone knows them whether they believe them to be true or not, so it's easy to make a joke based on what people know rather than take a chance and have a joke fly over some viewers' heads because of a needed context or smth. at least that's how I feel most comedians operate. it is a hard job to make people laugh but show runners need to do better.
Making them grow up into sex pests gave me an ick especially when it came to Manny’s character because there was a sudden onslaught of incest jokes that is so uncomfortable to watch now that I’m older.
@@RogueVideoRaven exactly how I feel!!! his relationship with his mother was so positive and then it turned into THAT. they literally ruined his character the most.
As a black person, I don't think its realistic to force black characters into shows like MF , BBT etc simply for the sake of diversity. Most people tend to socialise with people who look like them. Shows like Black-ish, Fresh Prince, Martin etc don't have consistent white characters. It can get get a little lazy to just blame white cis male writers because you're not seeing yourself on the screen. I found MF to be what it was..a sitcom. I found that the show often seemed to humanize white straight males through humiliation. Jay's character was often seen to be "being taught a lesson". I found Manny and Jay's relationship arc very important as it depicted how a step parent can grow to have a loving relationship with their step child. The short comings in the writing, IMO, weren't simply because of white cis males.They were perhaps due to creative exhaustion after 11 years. Brooklyn 99 is an example of how comedic TV writing can go wrong when its trying to cater to sociopolitical correctness. It was a racially diverse cast which started with great writing but it ended badly due to the writers forgetting that it was meant to be comedic,first. I don't like the idea that anytime a "minority " is on the screen, they have to represent said minorities and cannot simply be seen as characters.
@@philipwhitcomb5358 I actually do add something to this conversation. I respectfully disagreed. This isnt a seminar, its a yt comment section. People like u in a comment section are looking for an argument not a conversation.
@@yayamckenzie5986 It's a UA-cam comment section, not a seminar; however, it also is a key aspect for any conversation to communicate ideas. By saying you contributed by strongly disagreeing and not supporting it with any reason, you haven't actually contributed anything except for a flimsy opinion which renders it as useful as fins on a dog although if you supported it with reason then it would mean something substantial. You can claim you did but, objectively speaking, you haven't, if anything it makes you just come across as someone who wants their opinion heard for the sake of being paid attention to cause there are no reasons to back it up. And I'm not seeking out an argument, only to discuss things, not that you're obligated to engage although you sound quite defensive now. Sorry if I offended you personally.
I started watching Modern Family when I was 12 (almost a decade ago now) and it's very much a guilty pleasure, because the issues are Rough, but also such a comfort series. I'll start my millionth rewatch because the episodes are short and I don't have to pay too much attention, and then suddenly I'm crying because this silly little sitcom is making me FEEL FEELINGS
Your commentary at the beginning is also why I had trouble warming up to New Girl. It's a good show, but a lot of people gave it way too much credit for being "diverse" when the non-white characters were clearly less well-written than the white characters. It's a show mostly targeted at white urban hipsters, so the non-white people won't be written well.
New Girl can be pretty hit or Miss for me, especially the first few seasons. BUT I need someone to explain to me how one of Cece’s love interests can say “I love Brown people!” (While high) and for her to respond “that’s racist!” While Schmidt can say a whole bunch of fetish-y racist stuff to her face (while sober) and expect them to be endgame (even after he cheats on her)
@@RogueVideoRaven This was one of the main reasons I didn't love the show. Schmidt sucks (sorry to all his fans), and the stuff he said to Cece really creeped me out (esp as a South Asian woman!)
@@360shadowmoon Like Schmidt has his funny moments but as a SEA woman? I wanted him gone. Or at the very least for Cece to beat him up for being racist. Like why were the writers letting him get away with that shit even after they were married???
I had to quit watching New Girl abt half way through season 1 because one of the episodes seemed to find it okay to suggest that women are responsible for men hitting on them(etc). It was weird bccs Jessica was the one who said it, and even worse when I found out the show is written by a woman
While I always liked the show and consider it a "wholesome comfort show", I did always cringe at the idea of this show being about a "modern family". These people are exorbitantly wealthy and live in giant-ass houses. I can't relate to these people at all. Other than the stereotypes (which I mostly find to be harmless), that's my biggest issue with the show. It touted itself as being about "the modern American family" when these people are way too rich and privileged to be considered relatable in the slightest. It's an issue I have with a lot of shows, where the people making it have no class consciousness whatsoever - so much so that they wholeheartedly believe that their characters and their situations are relatable to average American families.
I agree with all your points but specifically them not being that modern of a family is pretty glaring when it comes to Claire and Gloria… like why don’t they have jobs? Sure it’s a common trope to have women balance being a working mom but it’s popular for a reason. Neither of them had jobs until much later in the series. If I recall correctly, Gloria she just worked part time but Claire was a nepo baby which proves your point of them being too privileged to be relatable.
How is this not modern? A gay married couple with an adopted daughter of another race. An interace couple. And what giant ass house? Other than Jay, Claire and Phil live in an average size house. They even had Alex and Haley sharing a bedroom until Haley moved into the basement. Cam and Mitchell live in a condo, part of a duplex. Jay is upper-middle class and the rest are middle class. Nobody is rich.
I mean, you can say the same about most sitcoms, only a few really show you “struggling” families, but that’s pretty much getting mad about the sky being blue, I’m struggling financially at the moment but watching a show of “well off” people having fun doesn’t hurt my feelings and I see the fun of it
As someone who is part of the LGBT, I honestly have no issue with the gay characters in Modern Family having stereotypical traits. I would be lying if I said I've never done something stereotypically lesbian or have stereotypical traits/interests/etc. And whilst I agree that having a 'manly' gay character would be interesting, it does make sense that Cam and Mitch (two more feminine gay men) would be more interested in being friends with other feminine gay men. As an example, I'm more on the butch side (although I would never consider myself 'butch', I'm a tomboy and not feminine at all really) and all my lesbian friends are more masculine or androgynous. Now, lesbians being more masculine is a stereotype but just because all my friends fit that, doesn't mean feminine lesbians exist too. I just happened to flock with those with similar interests, styles, etc.
Personally I think it's not necessarily a bad thing that writers keep in some stereotypical behaviour. I think it's accurate to the human experience that we sometimes follow stereotypes and sometimes don't. Plenty people are both open minded and prejudice at the same time. Plenty gay people do both stereotypically femne things and non-stereotypically masc things. If they just were to break the stereotype because it's a stereotype then the character becomes a trope in and of itself.
I’m rewatching Modern Family and there is an episode where it’s mentioned that Claire tried to have Gloria deported when she first met her… and it’s treated like a zinger that Jay has been holding onto (because he’s known about it for YEARS and I guess never mentioned it to anyone including Gloria???) Like I don’t know the proper reaction to that news but if I found out my kid tried to have my gf/wife deported, I wouldn’t offer them a job or even keep them in the family like wtf Jay?
it’s been joked about that she Had been deported a couple of times already anyway, i think keeping the joke that she would tend to “forget her roots” because she was an american citizen now , which is actually a joke in the latino immigrant community, was a good extra touch. I actually kind of like the jokes as a mexican immigrant .🫣
They probably could’ve done a plot point about Phil having a black ex girlfriend and have Claire feel jealous of her. Maybe she could be a coworker of Phil’s or move nearby into the community. It would certainly bring some drama into the relationship and add a recurring black character that would round out the show a bit more.
Ahhh i think we should just treat a show as a show nitpicking every small nuance of the show just kills the joy out of it its my opinion i mean its a good thing that ppl are trying to bring a retrospective like here butttt its a sitcom a mockumentary it isnt going to be funny if they showed idealistic ppl bcus am really sorry its not going to be realistic , yall wont watch kdramas bcus its too idealistic and close to fantasy then yall would nitpick a simple sitcom ,depicting family life in america its abt families since when are our families picture perfect ???
Now is the popular thing to do... Like, can't we just watch a show without seeing races? People get to deep into trying to relate to character based on their own race. Like in the proud family every on is awful but get a pass because black people can't be racists when even among black people get to say who is really black enough.
There are multiple episodes where Claire and Phil whine that they don’t feel close to Alex. There is the episode mentioned in the video where Alex goes to therapy and Claire recognizes the stress she puts on herself and that means a lot to Alex. Of course, the episodes mean nothing in the grand scheme of things because the writers increasingly favored jokes over building on the story. Claire was back to putting Alex down in future episodes, because ha-ha, Alex is a nerd. I remember an episode from season one when Phil and Jay took over coaching for Luke and Manny’s basketball game. Alex asked why she had to go and Phil said “became we love your brother.” He then used the exact same wording when when she asked why they didn’t make him go to her cello recitals. Sure, Ty Burrell has great comedic delivery, but that probably didn’t make Alex feel particularly loved by her father. Later that episode, Alex goes through what lots of kids go through and didn’t want to be seen with her mother in front of other classmates. Claire, who had a much worse attitude toward her own mother decided to teach Alex a lesson and humiliated her in front of the other kids. Alex was already struggling to fit in an Claire made it worse because her ego was bruised. And, of course, when Alex graduated 8th grade, Phil and Claire whined that they were losing her. Gee, I wonder why Alex didn’t want to do any mother daughter activities that morning.
I feel Luanne is done better also Haley is from a more privileged background (the thing I didn't get about some of the White American kids as a child of immigrants was how they were so flippant about school like they acted like it wasn't important while school was stressed hard to me and my brother and cousins about how doing well in school would lead us to good lives and develop our work ethic)
As a person in a w/w relationship i loved the lesbian couple because i felt so called out with the jokes and stereotypes 😂 that canoe in the living room joke had me pissing myself 😂
I was watching it with my lesbian best friend who put her woodworking project down when that line was said because she couldn't stop laughing and she was worried she'd hurt herself 😂
I remember growing up with it as my family watched it all the time. They loved that Lilly would be hard to say with Asian accent and Cam and Mitch. They really get me upset especially since Mitch's actor is actually gay and Cam's isn't while Cam is really a "flaming" stereotype. Im glad youre talking about it because it shows how others see the show
I really struggle with Cam and Mitch. As a queer person, I honestly watched the show because I knew there was a long term loving queer couple in it, and was pretty disappointed. Their relationship seems so catty and they're so rarely loving or desiring toward each other (and I don't just mean in a sexual way, like they rarely talk their partner up in front of other characters), and I really hated the way they bullied each other about their fem gender expressions instead of celebrating feminine men as desirable and legitimate. I was also deeply disappointed by the representation of lesbian characters (as you touched on), and how the show presented gay men and lesbians as oppositional instead of as being queer people in solidarity with each other. I know that some gay men don't get along with some lesbians, like any people they don't have to get along, but this is fiction and the choice to write it that way really bummed me out (especially as a queer woman myself).
@@RogueVideoRaven I just meant that its not perfect. I just thought it should have been mentioned as a positive example to dispel the notion that modern family was the "last great sitcom".
I think Cheyenne and critics were referring more to big US network television shows, but I agree. David and Patrick are a perfect example of how to write a queer couple well. Then again, the relationship starts in season three, so people who haven't watched beyond the first two seasons will have missed that. Still, they deserved an honorable mention, at the very least.
I would like to just say I think it’s important to take into account how old the show is. Obviously the newer seasons are, well, pretty new, but it’s older seasons, as you mentioned, came out during a time when same sex marriage was still illegal. I remember from behind the scenes, the writers wanted to move at a faster pace with Mitch and Cam but were afraid of the public uproar. Before the show even aired they were considering dropping them as main characters and were even advised so by a close gay friend producer of theirs, but ended up taking the “gamble”, and it payed off. A lot of the things we take as “granted” in proper representation only became a thing in the 2020s. Not trying to say we didn’t have good representational characters before but only now is it the norm for the majority. I am a gay GenZ individual who is literally majoring in social sciences, so sometimes it’s painfully obvious the older seasons came out during a time where the things we take as granted were not. However, I have to remind myself the context of the time the show come out of, what it had to deal with to not get cancelled, and tbh, it’s extremely progressive for its time and 90% of it holds up even today, and I think that’s a testament of its “radicalness” back then. The majority of the things you noted are mostly present in the first half of the show. It’s one of the reasons I personally prefer the later seasons, as there’s less “conservative” moments present. Not all characters are perfectly written, there’s a whole bang wagon of hate targeting Cam for being toxic, I however adore him and he’s my favourite character along with Gloria. I don’t think the goal of the series was to ever present any of them as perfect characters, and a comedic part came from these “imperfections”. I would even compare it to family guy a little, in the sense part of the humor comes this dark satire, and “dumb” humor. I am not a woman, nor a poc, so I can’t speak abt the representation of everyone but Mitch and Cam, and for them all I have to say is that they’re some of my most favourite and funny characters on tv I’ve seen. I wouldn’t say they are the most perfect representation of gay ppl, but at the same time idc bcz it’s not what I came here to see, otherwise I’d watch a serious or dramatic even show. They do their job perfectly for what they’re made to do, a funny sitcom, without being overdrawn offensive caricatures. I would even say they are pretty balanced for mainstream gay characters, and present some real great real world issues gay ppl deal with (like Mitch struggling accepting his gayness but also his struggles with masculinity), as far as you can go in a sitcom. I don’t think it would be a sitcom anymore of the show tried to just present Mitch and Cam as perfect individuals who must represent the entirety of the gay community, which in itself is impossible as it’s very diverse. Ppl like them exist irl too. I would also mention perception. Maybe it’s due to generational deference, different environment or different exposures but when you mentioned the instances were Gloria would get over defensive abt being called a “dump Colombian” and such, as a joke that ppl get offended over the smallest thing, I never thought about it that way until now. I always saw the opposite, that it showcased the struggles of Gloria. That she is so used to racism that any comment that can be potentially interpreted as that, that’s were your mind jumps to, as a defence tactic of sorts. It wasn’t to make fun of “over sensitive liberals” but a comment on the effects of being the victim of discrimination. As a gay person who grew up in a conservative country, i personally always related to that, especially when I was younger. You didn’t know if that one small comment someone made was just an innocent comment or something homophobic (or racist in Gloria’s case). I would hope this is what the writers went for, or maybe even a mix of both, as this was mostly used in the earlier seasons when they still needed to appease a majority conservative by todays standards population. This is what I have to say. Again, I’m a white cis gay guy, so I cannot properly comment on other characters as I’m not part of that community. Modern family is my favourite ever tv show and a comfort show to me as well. It’s pretty old so at times I’m not happy with what’s happening, but I try to overlook it bcz at the time of it coming out, it was already “pushing it”. I can only give it actual criticism during its latest seasons, which came out during the modern era of social activism. The characters are not perfect individuals, but I don’t think they were ever supposed to be. I think if you hate Cam and can’t watch the show bcz he’s “toxic”, then the show isn’t for you. The representation of all minorities is certainly not perfect, but like you said, it’s good enough. Part of me as well thinks that if we tried to have a perfect representation of every character with no flaws by the end, the show wouldn’t be what it is today, and wouldn’t be a sitcom even. I also think the show uses dark humor and satire to its advantage, so maybe this causes some conflict with some ppl as it’s not for everyone. The characters aren’t offensive, and as long as they aren’t pushing a conservative agenda, I think that’s ok. After all, the show is supposed to showcase imperfect characters with imperfect relationships that love each other despite everything, and I think to me that’s what makes the show so appealing. I often find myself saying I wish I had a family like that. This is a long comment so apologize 😅 but your video made me think of a few things. I agree with many of your takes while at the same time disagree with some others and think you were being a bit unjust when judging some things so I decided to write my view of things. Ofc we all have our own perspectives which affect how we view things. Like how you didn’t find it funny when Cam dressed lily as celebrities as a baby, but I found it hilarious as a gay guy, as it’s a nice gay community reference, or joke.
im actually happy that modern family never included black main characters; i hate when show runners eventually do antiblackness as comedy so not having black characters is a positive as they wouldve most probably been horrible to witness
I always kinda hated that Mitch & Cam claimed they couldn't be friends with lesbians because they are either not the same gender nor attracted to the same gender. As if those things are the only traits that determine friendship. It's a form of objectification of the lesbians and not treating them like likeable people judged on their own merits. It seems a strange trait for gay men to have .... would they really want to be dismissed just based on their gender and sexual orientation?
Not a big Modern Family fan but from what I've seen, I never felt like Alex had good chemistry with ANY of the boyfriends she had throughout the show. Was it just me?
I really agree with your final statement. Even though I would prefer good and nuanced representation in mainstream media, having some is better than none imo (maybe not in all cases but in this one). I think a bug improvement would have been to contrast the stereotypes. E.g. a Colombian who's shy and timid or a queer character who the viewer wont instantly recognise as queer. The fact that they don't show that the show runners were not that invested in fair representation. Some people say that the show is good because it makes fun of everyone and plays into stereotypes but with cis straight white characters it's usually character traits instead of their sexuality or whiteness (e.g. claire) that serve the comedy. The lack of character development is a big problem as well imo because it kinda stops the improvement of their rep. Issues. One thing concerning the kids: I think you have to take their acting skills into account. They were all casted very young and their skills vary a lot. That could at least somewhat explain the differences in their stories. But yeah, they were definitely not given the same amount of attention and care as the adults were. In the end, modern family may not be perfect and should be seen critically, but at least they tried especially at a time when others wouldn't and I can appreciate that.
One thing I’ll say about it is that I feel like this more contradictory approach is more accurate to life with people like this. The framing was sometimes a little sketchy, but as an adult who watched the show as a kid, one thing I respect it for now is the willingness to be a bit contradictory about how people behave. No one exists perfectly within or beyond the vacuum of their cultural background and I think this idea that you can only be one or the other is a leftover artifact from Obama Era progressivism. Jay is progressive in some aspects but is also someone who grew up in a certain time and has internalized a lot of bigoted garbage. He loves and accepts his son, but it’s clear it’s something he’s struggled with and still somewhat does. He adores and respects Gloria, but he’s also got some iffy views and opinions about her native culture. Even people who vote for Obama can have traces of internalized racism and hold contradictory views of marginalized people in their lives. In the case of Mitch and Cam, as a queer man myself, I understand their relationship/depiction of stereotypes. A lot of queer men grow up with insecurity about being sissies and feel like we have to choose one side or the other and the ones who hold themselves to a certain standard feel a certain pressure/disdain for aligning with stereotypes (even though we all do and don’t in certain regards). There are some aspects of the stereotype we roll with on certain occasions because we’re able to have fun with it in our own spaces but some that we also scoff at for fear of being falsely lumped in with them by the general public. They don’t resent their femininity, they just don’t want to be reduced solely to that.
@@tatehildyard5332 the problem is that people love to project individual's traits on a bigger group. And most of the side characters weren't fleshed out enough to balance that out. It's been a while but I don't remember other Colombians in the show who weren't somewhat similar to Gloria. Now, do loud, passionate and formerly poor Colombian women exist? Definitely! But when even every side character of that group shows somewhat similar characteristics, doesn't it just feed into stereotypes? Especially when the stereotype is again and again the basis for jokes. Imo Brooklyn 99 shows how it can be done. People tend to be people first, but influenced by their culture. There the gay captain both doesn't appear to be gay but then has this very sophisticated lifestyle which is a stereotype.
Modern family means so much to me, Mitch and Cam were the first time I ever saw gay characters on tv and are the sole reason I could eventually open up and come out
I really couldn't get past season 5. I thought I was tolerating some roughness in the beginning, but the problems just got worse. I'm the kind of person that might watch 11 seasons of a show I don't like for seemingly no reason, so I'm surprised I was able to drop it and not have the unfinished storyline plague me.
I haven’t even finished watching this video but I love your analysis and commentary on tv and film. I’ve tried to watch Modern Family a few times before but I might try again lol
Love your videos! I did a recent rewatch and felt like the earlier seasons were really good, but just hadn't aged super well. But right around season 5-6 once the show was popular but it really started to be unacceptable to make the kinds of jokes they always had been. It suddenly felt like the tone shifted from a team of writers trying to be funny, to "nobody's gonna tell modern family to cool it with offensive humor" everything becomes so much more overt. I would have loved to see them change with the times and hire some new writers but, oh well. Cam and Mitch were still a huge deal for me at the time it came out
I grew up watching the show with my family, and as I was discovering I was a lesbian it really bothered me that none of the 6 (six!!) kids had even a hint of being queer. Especially since Mitch and Cam were right there to potentially educate and guide them. I do think I remember Mitch and Cam keeping an open mind that Lily might not be straight, but for every kid to end up being straight was immensely frustrating. Even if you want to argue that somehow it's 'normal' that all of them were straight, it was a missed opportunity to show a queer kid growing up in a supportive environment. That's something I needed as a kid and never got.
My favorite Modern Family Episode of all time is the Halloween episode where Claire becomes obsessed with putting on the perfect haunted house. That scene where they're all trying so hard to perform this damn haunt while obliviously fucking it up with their weird baggage is one of the funniest moments of televeision for me
This voices all the criticisms i think when watching this with my (white lib) family at the moment. Often I'm shushed in my criticisms when i voice them, but i just get so concerned that my family is just accepting the blatant stereotyping and problematic shit
Eh, as a person of color, I didn't care about who was white or not nor who embodied my ideology better. I cared more about how each MF character, while flawed, were really likeable and were written well enough as humans. Cultures may be different, but I can find something relatable from my own family. If everything has to pass a purity test and every character were saints, that is just so uncompelling. Plus the racism against white people turned me off. Power struggle in this era is more about socio-economic class, not the color of your skin.
I love modern family but as a colombian the colombia jokes are absolutley unbearable and borderline unwatchable. Also, the spicy food thing drove me insane. I know it's a small thing, but all the colombian food being spicy, including the special sauce towards the later seasons was just so blatantly stupid! Colombian food is aggressively bland! We have no spice in our cuisine! It's just one of details that grates me but it's also representative of my bigger gripe with the show about the colombian representation. Keeping in mind, of course, that modern family is IMMENSLY popular in colombia.
Hi! Maybe I'm being insensitive, but can you tell me why is it offensive to dress up a baby as different music icons? I tend to do that with my dog, and now i think there's smth I'm not seeing about it? Thank you❤❤
I'm black and I'm also lost. It probably has to do with the fact that people from my race gatekeep hairstyles, i get why that is but sometimes i think we take it too far
hi i've never watched the show myself but i recently moved into a new house with cohabitants who put it on so just the other night i actually saw the episode with Phil's fetish of Black women. very weird!!! it's just bizarre to witness being played for laughs. thanks for this video, your analysis is always very refreshing and interesting to watch, and i appreciate your editing. been a fan for a while just wanted to share my love for the channel!!! xoxoxo
You’ve really summed up a lot of issues I’ve had with Modern Family and put in to words some issues that I could not. The first two years weren’t perfect, but were solid and hilarious. It was one of my favorite shows. Starting with season 3, there were great moments, but the stories were built around jokes rather than jokes built around stories. The show started doing a lot of what I call crapping on previous character growth. The biggest example is in season two, Jay talks about falling for Gloria while he just listened to her talk. Season 4, he says that she intercepted a drink he meant for her sister. Being a nerdy honors student in high school, I related to Alex. It was very frustrating watching her be desperate- both for friendship with “cool” girls and to be noticed by boys. She was flattered by any attention guys gave her, even creepy attention. It’s natural to want to fit in in high school, but a lot of us grew out of it by senior year and certainly by college. Alex just had a bunch of messed up relationships. And she ended up with her professor who became her boss who went for her sister first. They could have developed the kids more and brought in black characters to the regular cast by giving the characters multiple black friends and them having meaningful friendships. It could have been better comedy and taken a deeper look and racial relationships as the relationships grew organically. I’ve been the only white person in a group full of black friends who were very entertained when things went over my head. Showing people learning about each other’s experiences is possible. Other shows have done it. The first half of Modern Family’s run, Parks and Recreation was also airing. The second half, there was Schitt’s Creek. Both were shows where the characters grew. I don’t know why people liked Andy so much. He was still in a relationship with Beth when he started sleeping with Hayley. It felt like he was with Hayley because she was the best he could do. What would’ve happened if he’d found someone better? Dump Hayley. Dylan at least genuinely loved her and didn’t make her feel insecure about herself. It did bother me that Jay still threw around so much crap because he was old and stuck in his ways. Um, he lived through the 60s. It got old that he still struggled to accept that his son was gay or struggled to respect his wife’s culture. Manny had what I call innocent male entitlement. He excessively pursued conventionally attractive girls with his poetry, but didn’t respect them. One girl, he called crazy in the first season Valentines Day episode and the girl he liked at Luke’s birthday party, he complained was too clingy when she liked him back. At Disney Land, he said a girl was not his type. That’s fine, but he couldn’t fathom he might not be the type for the girls he crushed on. I could go into way more detail later, but the relationships on Modern Family became pretty toxic when the storylines were built around jokes. They were manipulating each other and putting each other down.
27:24 I do think it’s also interesting how sitcoms like HIMYM and Friends have an all white cast and characters despite being in one of the more diverse cities in the world (NYC)
Not to put a fine point on it , but the young actor that played manny was obviously having difficulty with weight I personally think a lot of the difficulties fans had with manny were related that he was not conventionally attractive and his body type wasn’t as tv acceptable as the others. I think Alex character also had to deal with this to a lesser extent Body prejudices are real too
Modern Family strikes me as very similar to Glee. Both were from 2009 and were progressive: at least for their time. But they failed to grow with the times and what was once seen as progressive is now making viewers realize that those representations were also just stereotypes. These revelations were of course only made possible in the age of the internet.
I think Mitch’s character is actually really well written, at least at first. He started off really strong as a character that despite being gay was not overly stereotypically depicted which was a breath of fresh air. Certainly, there were some stereotypes such as him not being good at sports which were present early on, but I found them minute and constructive since he was strong in so many other areas. As the seasons went on though, his character didn’t really go anywhere.
19:12 but then you would say it’s inherently racist and sexist… this analysis was made with good intentions, but your rhetoric is inconsistent. your excuse to not being a fan of hayley’s story line is that “maybe it was just an attempt at being realistic BUT”…but then gloria and jay’s relationship isn’t realistic enough because they don’t delve into the complexities of power dynamics on a comedic sitcom? i know you said you watched it four times but, did you?
Super interesting video! It’s funny to learn the show ended in 2020, because it feels older than that to me! I never kept up with it, so that’s certainly part of it, but to me Modern Family always felt more like a relic of the past, definitely not like something from just a couple years ago!
the idea that the dumphey's live in a 4 bed/4 bath wide lawned suburban home on a realtor's sole income. a dose of realism would have been the series opener with them being foreclosed on.
Cam and Mitch are such a disappointment of a couple. In the earlier seasons we see Cam taking really good care of Lily and having a strong bond with her, while Mitch is a bit more absent, but I get that. They wanted to create the more cis-het couple stereotypes on a homosexual relationship, which is fine. The stay at home parent and the working parent thing. But when Cam started working again in season 4, I wished they gave him and the whole families dynamic more nuance like they did with the Dunphy's when Claire started working again. It fell flat, and after season 4 it really starts to look like Cam and Mitch don't take care of Lily at all. This is partly due to what you also pointed out, that the writers didn't try to develop Lily and make a more fleshed out character, but also because I honestly think that the writers didn't know how to portray a queer family. It's just sad that Mitch and Cam don't really go through much growth after the first few seasons and that they suddenly change a lot in the last few episodes, with Mitch deciding they should move to Missouri and them suddenly adopting another child. It felt very rushed and out of place. What you also mentioned with other gay characters almost all being portrayed as feminine is kind off annoying, because as you also pointed out, it makes it feel like the writers see gay men only as feminine and gay women only as masculine. I honestly think Modern Family should have stopped after season 6 or 7. The show was still funny and most characters still had something to do and somewhat of a trajectory in life. The characters also weren't to 'flanderized' yet and the show was honestly at its peak.
i personaly really like the episode where that older woman thinks money is older and visits him, it reinforces how mature manny is for his age and i dont think its weird since she obviously doesnt proceed after she learns hes a kid
I think when people say the last great sitcom with modern family, it's a dog whistle for it having white people as main characters. After this show, many shows would become diversified. Also, the show gave me the creeps. Sadly, the al bundy character I encountered in real life in multiple guys. Usually, 1st wife was white, then 2nd was Mexican or central American, and third wife is usually Asian. Also, there are no Mexicans on the show even though it's LA.
Great video, and your make up, flawless. I never really got down with modern family but you did a great job in showing the nuance and being fair about the love that exist in it.
As a colombian, most of the jokes written about Sofia Vergara’s nationality would only be funny to a gringo audience. Colombians would generally find them weirdly unfunny (and some even offensive)
Right. Like I don't really get the "if the show claims to support LGBTQ+ there should be more and more of those characters", like let's be realistic, there's only so many that would make it believable for 90% of the audience, and if there's only so much time it naturally should be used on expanding existing characters instead..
I grew up watching this show with my family, and it was the first queer characters I saw on TV, not great rep and I'm a lesbian but I took what I could get. My brothers at the time would walk out of the room if it was on and would say that I was too young to watch it simply for the gay characters (even tho I knew I was a lesbian before I ever saw queer people on TV). It showed me who in my family it was safe to come out to in a way. Luckily over a decade later all but one of my brothers do accept me and my partner and we're closer than ever. I don't even like the show myself but it was something that caused my household to have conversations about queerness, which did make me feel more ashamed and bad at the time, but I also think it was important for me to learn that so I knew who was safe.
34:02 actually it's worse, the character is 17 when he impregnates his 29 year old girlfriend. During their relationship he did lie and say he was 21 and she cut it off upon finding out his real age but there was an episode later on when she did sleep with him again knowing full well his age so it's just a mess
To be fair about your point towards the end about racial bias and how white people tend not to watch black media, it’s inherently alienating if the show is called “Black-ish” and speaks a lot about black issues. I don’t believe you’re a bad person if you choose not to consume media that doesn’t actually represent you. I mean, this whole video is about representation of various groups right?
That comment re brainy women, it me. ❤❤❤❤❤ Yeah the more I got into Tuca and Bertie, Mad Men, GLOW, Bojack and others the more I dislike the sitcom formula of things and characters not developing. Also Sarah and Ariel report warm relationships with their onscreen mom and step Granny in real life and I wish we saw that on the show. It also goes without saying that Sarah and Ariel had experiences with abuse.
13:23 this is a religious thing; you probably wont actually understand, but you have to get married to have children in many, many many cultures around the world. You should read about it!
Wait you live in Brasil??? This is amazing, do you have any videos about anything related to the country? Either the diversity, or the movies/tv shows, etc? It would be great to watch, as I'm from there and I don't really see foreigners talking much about the country, other than the negative cliche comments
i remember an episode in one of the earlier seasons when cam was freaking out because he felt like too much of a woman or a mother and the episode just played into the "gay man has feminine or maternal character traits" stereotype
This was a very thoughtful video. I appreciate you considering the perspectives of others, advocating for them, and I especially appreciate you encouraging the viewer to vote. I found the show very often funny and cathartic, but was frustrated with the lack of representation for myself in this catharsis, and coincidentally the lack of class consciousness that seems to be aging increasingly worse. I didn't watch the whole thing though. I like reading the comments from the queer community and poc's experience with the show. 2 for 2. your videos are great
As an indian bisexual male I relate most with 3 characters 1. Lily: yk, India and Vietnam arent that different in terms of main societal mindsets 2. Gloria: again, India is somehow similar with latin America as well😭😭😭, they're like "sexier indians" as we jokingly call them 3. Mitchel: a gay person scarred of others judgement There's also Alex cuz i also am crazy in love with science But mainly these 3
How can you relate to Lily because of a vietnamese "mindset" if she was raised by white parents in the US and has no vietnamese relatives or any way of remembering Vietnam?
Not getting why telling Luke he's adopted works tells me you're an only child. It's just something siblings do. "You're adopted" "We found you in the trash" "A woman handed you to us and never came back"...
Great video. But I really feel that comedy should be allowed to ruffle a few feathers. For example, Jay's character was supposed to be an unlikeable old stuck up rich person. The show never tried to justify him as right, that's the point. That's real life, it's human. He has many good qualities but at the same time, he is a jerk most of the times. Why we have to focus on his whiteness or anything? He is a layered characters who struggles throughout the series to accept that his son is gay. I mean life is not black and white. Heck he grows. Obama was against gay marriages and now he has changed. Similarly, why does comedy need to have purpose every single time? The episode where lily is typecast in a Godzilla inspired commercial is supposed to be ceingey. That's the whole point. Cam not realising it is the point. He then getting rightfully offended by the fake accents and stereotypes while picking up the wrong baby is funny. Safe+woke comedy is a snooze fest. I like the fact that shows like Modern Family could be sensitive at the core (with the exception of how they treated Alex and Manny), yet be daring enough to go where people are afraid to go. It is far cry from Big Bang Theory and its shot at everything under the sun for some cheap cheap cheap laughs.
Also, Oprah playing the race card phew😅 As if she represents minority in true sense. I think Bill Burr has perfect response to Oprah. She is the one who eats her cake and wants to have it too.
15:10 haley was actually 100% right. Nothing in that speech would have made things better. Also Alex is not the nicest person which is more responsible for her lack of friends than her intelligence. Which both haley and claire try to explain to her at times. That speech would have made the whole school hater her not just the bullies. Ive seen someone do something similar and zero people thought it was cool and it just made it super akward
Solid analysis - thank you! I never got into this show; always found it annoying and tropey. So esp appreciate comment on its status as an Obama era product/project, and its significance in light of Prop8. In hindsight, was frustrated that it just wasn't 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 b/c its 'modernity' seemed more aptly tied to 1992 than 2010. For me a compelling compare/contrast show is the 2017 reboot of "One Day At A Time" which felt more honestly 'modern' in its dealings with contemporary social issues.
I don’t get it when the characters are at a different place they don’t do the interview at the place they are at it goes back to their houses and they where different outfits why can’t they just do the interview at the place they are at now
This show was one my family could all watch and laugh along with together so it will always hold a spot in my heart for that, but a lot of it hasn't held up. I think some of the more stereotypical depictions could be more easily forgiven if they had other characters that didn't portray them. Yeah real people can act in stereotypical ways. But this show is written, by writers and they dropped the ball quite a few times
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
i think 'letting' alex be sexual was a nice change for nerdy girl characters, at least, even if that was part of the joke (that she is a nerd but has sex) . ariel winter had so many comments about her body and had breast reduction surgery, though, so it's hard to gauge that effect
Though I feel it could have been explored more like Alex seeing she is being treated differently because of her figure or because she is conventionally attractive, feeling like she sticks out at home because she doesn't share the same body type as her sister and mom, I often felt Ariel could have played Annette Funicello if there was a biopic (another actress who was often reduced to her body type)
This was a great video! Something you made me think about was the idea that Lily is jaded. I can see a bit of this in that I often felt like Cam and Mitch ignored or didn’t take interest in her. For example, there was an episode while she was in elementary school when she was attempting to explain a situation with some girls bullying her in gym class, and Mitch keeps interrupting with his own realizations. Also, in a later Halloween episode, Lily comes home in a cheerleading uniform and her dads say something about it being too revealing of a costume, then she informs them it’s her actual cheerleading uniform and they had no idea. It’s just small things like that that are played for laughs that are probably more indicative of a really deep distance between the parents and child.
There's also that episode where they didn't know she was popular, might even be the same on as cheerleadering? The one where she "has to make an appearance" at a party? The whole episode their plot is that they don't know her. Which was contradictory with the previous episodes to me, it felt like it came out of nowhere
there’s also the episode they find out that she can apply to skip a grade due to being academically gifted despite them thinking she wasn’t smart. i don’t know if that’s the same episode they find out she met a president and just somehow didn’t know about it
7
@@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195No, the cheerleading one was in the final season and the one where they realize she's popular is in season 9 or something
I hate Jay regularly being presented as if he's the sensible, mature one in his relationship and Gloria's irrational when Jay is just as prone to outbursts of emotion.
Men have successfully rebranded anger as not an emotion so it doesn't count
Idk if that’s a take I agree with, I don’t think Gloria is shown as more irrational than Jay.
@@gummy5862 What makes you say that?
@@pushon10 Because she's not a stupid women nor makes Rash decisions. Being a loud person doesn't mean you're irrational .
@@TabbyeLynnewhat the hell are you talking about?
As a latina, Fulgencio is a very old fashioned name (and an ugly one in my opinion) and I always assumed that was the joke, whitewashing didn't even cross my mind.
Agreed, as a latina, naming the kid Joe would have been a kindness when the alternative is Fulgencio
@Sneha Harkut why is cis in quotes?
What's wrong with the name?
@@MichaelTurner856 like I said, it's very old, you hardly will find anyone under 60 with that name. I'm not sure I can compare it to anything in English as I'm not a native speaker, maybe Gaylord (though it doesn't have the connotation that name has)? And why it's ugly... Idk, it's hard to explain why a certain name just sounds ugly 😂 thats why I added that as a personal opinion.
@@salomerodriguez5145 nah I get it now that makes perfect sense and Gerald is a great example 😭. 10/10 thanks for awnsering
I think my biggest problem with the show is manny and luke's arcs once they grow up into high school and then go to college, the writers turn them into your stereotypical horny teenage boys who only care about sex and can't think of girls in any way but sexual it screams gross. I loved their arcs way better when they were younger but then the heart was lost I guess. like you said sometimes the writers want their cake and to eat it too and get too comfortable they forget to balance between absurd and endearing.
Overall, here's my stance on it, I think in comedy there is a much big reliance on stereotypes because stereotypes are familiar and everyone knows them whether they believe them to be true or not, so it's easy to make a joke based on what people know rather than take a chance and have a joke fly over some viewers' heads because of a needed context or smth. at least that's how I feel most comedians operate. it is a hard job to make people laugh but show runners need to do better.
Making them grow up into sex pests gave me an ick especially when it came to Manny’s character because there was a sudden onslaught of incest jokes that is so uncomfortable to watch now that I’m older.
@@RogueVideoRaven exactly how I feel!!! his relationship with his mother was so positive and then it turned into THAT. they literally ruined his character the most.
As a black person, I don't think its realistic to force black characters into shows like MF , BBT etc simply for the sake of diversity. Most people tend to socialise with people who look like them. Shows like Black-ish, Fresh Prince, Martin etc don't have consistent white characters. It can get get a little lazy to just blame white cis male writers because you're not seeing yourself on the screen. I found MF to be what it was..a sitcom. I found that the show often seemed to humanize white straight males through humiliation. Jay's character was often seen to be "being taught a lesson". I found Manny and Jay's relationship arc very important as it depicted how a step parent can grow to have a loving relationship with their step child. The short comings in the writing, IMO, weren't simply because of white cis males.They were perhaps due to creative exhaustion after 11 years. Brooklyn 99 is an example of how comedic TV writing can go wrong when its trying to cater to sociopolitical correctness. It was a racially diverse cast which started with great writing but it ended badly due to the writers forgetting that it was meant to be comedic,first. I don't like the idea that anytime a "minority " is on the screen, they have to represent said minorities and cannot simply be seen as characters.
i can definitely see your perspective but i strongly disagree
@@yayamckenzie5986Well then, perhaps present your reasons for why you disagree; otherwise, you offer nothing of substance to the conversation.
so weird that you need white straight males to be humanized. since they are people just like you
@@philipwhitcomb5358 I actually do add something to this conversation. I respectfully disagreed. This isnt a seminar, its a yt comment section. People like u in a comment section are looking for an argument not a conversation.
@@yayamckenzie5986 It's a UA-cam comment section, not a seminar; however, it also is a key aspect for any conversation to communicate ideas. By saying you contributed by strongly disagreeing and not supporting it with any reason, you haven't actually contributed anything except for a flimsy opinion which renders it as useful as fins on a dog although if you supported it with reason then it would mean something substantial. You can claim you did but, objectively speaking, you haven't, if anything it makes you just come across as someone who wants their opinion heard for the sake of being paid attention to cause there are no reasons to back it up. And I'm not seeking out an argument, only to discuss things, not that you're obligated to engage although you sound quite defensive now. Sorry if I offended you personally.
I started watching Modern Family when I was 12 (almost a decade ago now) and it's very much a guilty pleasure, because the issues are Rough, but also such a comfort series. I'll start my millionth rewatch because the episodes are short and I don't have to pay too much attention, and then suddenly I'm crying because this silly little sitcom is making me FEEL FEELINGS
Your commentary at the beginning is also why I had trouble warming up to New Girl. It's a good show, but a lot of people gave it way too much credit for being "diverse" when the non-white characters were clearly less well-written than the white characters. It's a show mostly targeted at white urban hipsters, so the non-white people won't be written well.
New Girl can be pretty hit or Miss for me, especially the first few seasons. BUT I need someone to explain to me how one of Cece’s love interests can say “I love Brown people!” (While high) and for her to respond “that’s racist!” While Schmidt can say a whole bunch of fetish-y racist stuff to her face (while sober) and expect them to be endgame (even after he cheats on her)
Definitely agree with this, watched New Girl earlier this year, and while it was good it didn’t feel groundbreaking.
@@RogueVideoRaven This was one of the main reasons I didn't love the show. Schmidt sucks (sorry to all his fans), and the stuff he said to Cece really creeped me out (esp as a South Asian woman!)
@@360shadowmoon Like Schmidt has his funny moments but as a SEA woman? I wanted him gone. Or at the very least for Cece to beat him up for being racist. Like why were the writers letting him get away with that shit even after they were married???
I had to quit watching New Girl abt half way through season 1 because one of the episodes seemed to find it okay to suggest that women are responsible for men hitting on them(etc). It was weird bccs Jessica was the one who said it, and even worse when I found out the show is written by a woman
While I always liked the show and consider it a "wholesome comfort show", I did always cringe at the idea of this show being about a "modern family". These people are exorbitantly wealthy and live in giant-ass houses. I can't relate to these people at all.
Other than the stereotypes (which I mostly find to be harmless), that's my biggest issue with the show. It touted itself as being about "the modern American family" when these people are way too rich and privileged to be considered relatable in the slightest. It's an issue I have with a lot of shows, where the people making it have no class consciousness whatsoever - so much so that they wholeheartedly believe that their characters and their situations are relatable to average American families.
I agree with all your points but specifically them not being that modern of a family is pretty glaring when it comes to Claire and Gloria… like why don’t they have jobs? Sure it’s a common trope to have women balance being a working mom but it’s popular for a reason. Neither of them had jobs until much later in the series. If I recall correctly, Gloria she just worked part time but Claire was a nepo baby which proves your point of them being too privileged to be relatable.
I wonder what you would think of Malcom in the Middle since it’s explicitly low-middle class
How is this not modern? A gay married couple with an adopted daughter of another race. An interace couple. And what giant ass house? Other than Jay, Claire and Phil live in an average size house. They even had Alex and Haley sharing a bedroom until Haley moved into the basement. Cam and Mitchell live in a condo, part of a duplex. Jay is upper-middle class and the rest are middle class. Nobody is rich.
Did you watch the show "The Middle", which was airing at the same time as Modern Family? I always found it to be a good counterpart
I mean, you can say the same about most sitcoms, only a few really show you “struggling” families, but that’s pretty much getting mad about the sky being blue, I’m struggling financially at the moment but watching a show of “well off” people having fun doesn’t hurt my feelings and I see the fun of it
As someone who is part of the LGBT, I honestly have no issue with the gay characters in Modern Family having stereotypical traits. I would be lying if I said I've never done something stereotypically lesbian or have stereotypical traits/interests/etc. And whilst I agree that having a 'manly' gay character would be interesting, it does make sense that Cam and Mitch (two more feminine gay men) would be more interested in being friends with other feminine gay men.
As an example, I'm more on the butch side (although I would never consider myself 'butch', I'm a tomboy and not feminine at all really) and all my lesbian friends are more masculine or androgynous. Now, lesbians being more masculine is a stereotype but just because all my friends fit that, doesn't mean feminine lesbians exist too. I just happened to flock with those with similar interests, styles, etc.
Personally I think it's not necessarily a bad thing that writers keep in some stereotypical behaviour. I think it's accurate to the human experience that we sometimes follow stereotypes and sometimes don't. Plenty people are both open minded and prejudice at the same time. Plenty gay people do both stereotypically femne things and non-stereotypically masc things. If they just were to break the stereotype because it's a stereotype then the character becomes a trope in and of itself.
I’m rewatching Modern Family and there is an episode where it’s mentioned that Claire tried to have Gloria deported when she first met her… and it’s treated like a zinger that Jay has been holding onto (because he’s known about it for YEARS and I guess never mentioned it to anyone including Gloria???) Like I don’t know the proper reaction to that news but if I found out my kid tried to have my gf/wife deported, I wouldn’t offer them a job or even keep them in the family like wtf Jay?
it’s been joked about that she Had been deported a couple of times already anyway, i think keeping the joke that she would tend to “forget her roots” because she was an american citizen now , which is actually a joke in the latino immigrant community, was a good extra touch. I actually kind of like the jokes as a mexican immigrant .🫣
another great analysis, Cheyenne! ty for bringing up Phil’s fetish w black women - it felt like a desperate attempt of the writers to include bw 🙄
They probably could’ve done a plot point about Phil having a black ex girlfriend and have Claire feel jealous of her. Maybe she could be a coworker of Phil’s or move nearby into the community. It would certainly bring some drama into the relationship and add a recurring black character that would round out the show a bit more.
it's not a fetish, it's just a type. get over yourself
@@nenabeglaryan2554The way it's presented is kind of fetish-y though.
Ahhh i think we should just treat a show as a show nitpicking every small nuance of the show just kills the joy out of it its my opinion i mean its a good thing that ppl are trying to bring a retrospective like here butttt its a sitcom a mockumentary it isnt going to be funny if they showed idealistic ppl bcus am really sorry its not going to be realistic , yall wont watch kdramas bcus its too idealistic and close to fantasy then yall would nitpick a simple sitcom ,depicting family life in america its abt families since when are our families picture perfect ???
Now is the popular thing to do... Like, can't we just watch a show without seeing races? People get to deep into trying to relate to character based on their own race. Like in the proud family every on is awful but get a pass because black people can't be racists when even among black people get to say who is really black enough.
There are multiple episodes where Claire and Phil whine that they don’t feel close to Alex. There is the episode mentioned in the video where Alex goes to therapy and Claire recognizes the stress she puts on herself and that means a lot to Alex. Of course, the episodes mean nothing in the grand scheme of things because the writers increasingly favored jokes over building on the story. Claire was back to putting Alex down in future episodes, because ha-ha, Alex is a nerd.
I remember an episode from season one when Phil and Jay took over coaching for Luke and Manny’s basketball game.
Alex asked why she had to go and Phil said “became we love your brother.” He then used the exact same wording when when she asked why they didn’t make him go to her cello recitals.
Sure, Ty Burrell has great comedic delivery, but that probably didn’t make Alex feel particularly loved by her father.
Later that episode, Alex goes through what lots of kids go through and didn’t want to be seen with her mother in front of other classmates. Claire, who had a much worse attitude toward her own mother decided to teach Alex a lesson and humiliated her in front of the other kids. Alex was already struggling to fit in an Claire made it worse because her ego was bruised.
And, of course, when Alex graduated 8th grade, Phil and Claire whined that they were losing her. Gee, I wonder why Alex didn’t want to do any mother daughter activities that morning.
Haileys story line reminds me of Luanne’s from king of the hill. Emotional college episode but goes nowhere. You would LOVE king of the hill!
I feel Luanne is done better also Haley is from a more privileged background (the thing I didn't get about some of the White American kids as a child of immigrants was how they were so flippant about school like they acted like it wasn't important while school was stressed hard to me and my brother and cousins about how doing well in school would lead us to good lives and develop our work ethic)
As a person in a w/w relationship i loved the lesbian couple because i felt so called out with the jokes and stereotypes 😂 that canoe in the living room joke had me pissing myself 😂
I was watching it with my lesbian best friend who put her woodworking project down when that line was said because she couldn't stop laughing and she was worried she'd hurt herself 😂
Life's tough when you're a writer that wants to have his cake and eat it too, but Cheyenne is writing a new video
I remember growing up with it as my family watched it all the time. They loved that Lilly would be hard to say with Asian accent and Cam and Mitch. They really get me upset especially since Mitch's actor is actually gay and Cam's isn't while Cam is really a "flaming" stereotype. Im glad youre talking about it because it shows how others see the show
I really struggle with Cam and Mitch. As a queer person, I honestly watched the show because I knew there was a long term loving queer couple in it, and was pretty disappointed. Their relationship seems so catty and they're so rarely loving or desiring toward each other (and I don't just mean in a sexual way, like they rarely talk their partner up in front of other characters), and I really hated the way they bullied each other about their fem gender expressions instead of celebrating feminine men as desirable and legitimate. I was also deeply disappointed by the representation of lesbian characters (as you touched on), and how the show presented gay men and lesbians as oppositional instead of as being queer people in solidarity with each other. I know that some gay men don't get along with some lesbians, like any people they don't have to get along, but this is fiction and the choice to write it that way really bummed me out (especially as a queer woman myself).
As a gay Hispanic i couldn't watch the show - tried for the first time last year. I saw how they treat Gloria and how Cam is a skit in every scene.
Its criminal that you didn't mention Schitt's Creek. It has its issues, but is still a great sitcom.
What issues did Schitt’s Creek have? I’m rewatching it rn but nothing is jumping out to me like rewatching Modern Family did
@@RogueVideoRaven I just meant that its not perfect. I just thought it should have been mentioned as a positive example to dispel the notion that modern family was the "last great sitcom".
I think Cheyenne and critics were referring more to big US network television shows, but I agree. David and Patrick are a perfect example of how to write a queer couple well. Then again, the relationship starts in season three, so people who haven't watched beyond the first two seasons will have missed that. Still, they deserved an honorable mention, at the very least.
I would like to just say I think it’s important to take into account how old the show is. Obviously the newer seasons are, well, pretty new, but it’s older seasons, as you mentioned, came out during a time when same sex marriage was still illegal. I remember from behind the scenes, the writers wanted to move at a faster pace with Mitch and Cam but were afraid of the public uproar. Before the show even aired they were considering dropping them as main characters and were even advised so by a close gay friend producer of theirs, but ended up taking the “gamble”, and it payed off. A lot of the things we take as “granted” in proper representation only became a thing in the 2020s. Not trying to say we didn’t have good representational characters before but only now is it the norm for the majority.
I am a gay GenZ individual who is literally majoring in social sciences, so sometimes it’s painfully obvious the older seasons came out during a time where the things we take as granted were not. However, I have to remind myself the context of the time the show come out of, what it had to deal with to not get cancelled, and tbh, it’s extremely progressive for its time and 90% of it holds up even today, and I think that’s a testament of its “radicalness” back then. The majority of the things you noted are mostly present in the first half of the show. It’s one of the reasons I personally prefer the later seasons, as there’s less “conservative” moments present. Not all characters are perfectly written, there’s a whole bang wagon of hate targeting Cam for being toxic, I however adore him and he’s my favourite character along with Gloria. I don’t think the goal of the series was to ever present any of them as perfect characters, and a comedic part came from these “imperfections”. I would even compare it to family guy a little, in the sense part of the humor comes this dark satire, and “dumb” humor. I am not a woman, nor a poc, so I can’t speak abt the representation of everyone but Mitch and Cam, and for them all I have to say is that they’re some of my most favourite and funny characters on tv I’ve seen. I wouldn’t say they are the most perfect representation of gay ppl, but at the same time idc bcz it’s not what I came here to see, otherwise I’d watch a serious or dramatic even show. They do their job perfectly for what they’re made to do, a funny sitcom, without being overdrawn offensive caricatures. I would even say they are pretty balanced for mainstream gay characters, and present some real great real world issues gay ppl deal with (like Mitch struggling accepting his gayness but also his struggles with masculinity), as far as you can go in a sitcom. I don’t think it would be a sitcom anymore of the show tried to just present Mitch and Cam as perfect individuals who must represent the entirety of the gay community, which in itself is impossible as it’s very diverse. Ppl like them exist irl too.
I would also mention perception. Maybe it’s due to generational deference, different environment or different exposures but when you mentioned the instances were Gloria would get over defensive abt being called a “dump Colombian” and such, as a joke that ppl get offended over the smallest thing, I never thought about it that way until now. I always saw the opposite, that it showcased the struggles of Gloria. That she is so used to racism that any comment that can be potentially interpreted as that, that’s were your mind jumps to, as a defence tactic of sorts. It wasn’t to make fun of “over sensitive liberals” but a comment on the effects of being the victim of discrimination. As a gay person who grew up in a conservative country, i personally always related to that, especially when I was younger. You didn’t know if that one small comment someone made was just an innocent comment or something homophobic (or racist in Gloria’s case). I would hope this is what the writers went for, or maybe even a mix of both, as this was mostly used in the earlier seasons when they still needed to appease a majority conservative by todays standards population.
This is what I have to say. Again, I’m a white cis gay guy, so I cannot properly comment on other characters as I’m not part of that community. Modern family is my favourite ever tv show and a comfort show to me as well. It’s pretty old so at times I’m not happy with what’s happening, but I try to overlook it bcz at the time of it coming out, it was already “pushing it”. I can only give it actual criticism during its latest seasons, which came out during the modern era of social activism. The characters are not perfect individuals, but I don’t think they were ever supposed to be. I think if you hate Cam and can’t watch the show bcz he’s “toxic”, then the show isn’t for you. The representation of all minorities is certainly not perfect, but like you said, it’s good enough. Part of me as well thinks that if we tried to have a perfect representation of every character with no flaws by the end, the show wouldn’t be what it is today, and wouldn’t be a sitcom even. I also think the show uses dark humor and satire to its advantage, so maybe this causes some conflict with some ppl as it’s not for everyone. The characters aren’t offensive, and as long as they aren’t pushing a conservative agenda, I think that’s ok. After all, the show is supposed to showcase imperfect characters with imperfect relationships that love each other despite everything, and I think to me that’s what makes the show so appealing. I often find myself saying I wish I had a family like that.
This is a long comment so apologize 😅 but your video made me think of a few things. I agree with many of your takes while at the same time disagree with some others and think you were being a bit unjust when judging some things so I decided to write my view of things. Ofc we all have our own perspectives which affect how we view things. Like how you didn’t find it funny when Cam dressed lily as celebrities as a baby, but I found it hilarious as a gay guy, as it’s a nice gay community reference, or joke.
im actually happy that modern family never included black main characters; i hate when show runners eventually do antiblackness as comedy so not having black characters is a positive as they wouldve most probably been horrible to witness
I always kinda hated that Mitch & Cam claimed they couldn't be friends with lesbians because they are either not the same gender nor attracted to the same gender. As if those things are the only traits that determine friendship. It's a form of objectification of the lesbians and not treating them like likeable people judged on their own merits. It seems a strange trait for gay men to have .... would they really want to be dismissed just based on their gender and sexual orientation?
Not a big Modern Family fan but from what I've seen, I never felt like Alex had good chemistry with ANY of the boyfriends she had throughout the show. Was it just me?
She should've been bi
The fireman
I really agree with your final statement. Even though I would prefer good and nuanced representation in mainstream media, having some is better than none imo (maybe not in all cases but in this one). I think a bug improvement would have been to contrast the stereotypes. E.g. a Colombian who's shy and timid or a queer character who the viewer wont instantly recognise as queer. The fact that they don't show that the show runners were not that invested in fair representation. Some people say that the show is good because it makes fun of everyone and plays into stereotypes but with cis straight white characters it's usually character traits instead of their sexuality or whiteness (e.g. claire) that serve the comedy. The lack of character development is a big problem as well imo because it kinda stops the improvement of their rep. Issues.
One thing concerning the kids: I think you have to take their acting skills into account. They were all casted very young and their skills vary a lot. That could at least somewhat explain the differences in their stories. But yeah, they were definitely not given the same amount of attention and care as the adults were.
In the end, modern family may not be perfect and should be seen critically, but at least they tried especially at a time when others wouldn't and I can appreciate that.
One thing I’ll say about it is that I feel like this more contradictory approach is more accurate to life with people like this. The framing was sometimes a little sketchy, but as an adult who watched the show as a kid, one thing I respect it for now is the willingness to be a bit contradictory about how people behave. No one exists perfectly within or beyond the vacuum of their cultural background and I think this idea that you can only be one or the other is a leftover artifact from Obama Era progressivism.
Jay is progressive in some aspects but is also someone who grew up in a certain time and has internalized a lot of bigoted garbage. He loves and accepts his son, but it’s clear it’s something he’s struggled with and still somewhat does. He adores and respects Gloria, but he’s also got some iffy views and opinions about her native culture. Even people who vote for Obama can have traces of internalized racism and hold contradictory views of marginalized people in their lives.
In the case of Mitch and Cam, as a queer man myself, I understand their relationship/depiction of stereotypes. A lot of queer men grow up with insecurity about being sissies and feel like we have to choose one side or the other and the ones who hold themselves to a certain standard feel a certain pressure/disdain for aligning with stereotypes (even though we all do and don’t in certain regards). There are some aspects of the stereotype we roll with on certain occasions because we’re able to have fun with it in our own spaces but some that we also scoff at for fear of being falsely lumped in with them by the general public. They don’t resent their femininity, they just don’t want to be reduced solely to that.
@@tatehildyard5332 the problem is that people love to project individual's traits on a bigger group. And most of the side characters weren't fleshed out enough to balance that out.
It's been a while but I don't remember other Colombians in the show who weren't somewhat similar to Gloria. Now, do loud, passionate and formerly poor Colombian women exist? Definitely! But when even every side character of that group shows somewhat similar characteristics, doesn't it just feed into stereotypes? Especially when the stereotype is again and again the basis for jokes.
Imo Brooklyn 99 shows how it can be done. People tend to be people first, but influenced by their culture. There the gay captain both doesn't appear to be gay but then has this very sophisticated lifestyle which is a stereotype.
thank you cheyenne for yet another stellar video! and happy pride
Modern family means so much to me, Mitch and Cam were the first time I ever saw gay characters on tv and are the sole reason I could eventually open up and come out
Well we do have Abbott Elementary now.
Abbot elementary is one of the best shows I’ve seen since modern family I hope keeps going
@@freya2093fr
I really couldn't get past season 5. I thought I was tolerating some roughness in the beginning, but the problems just got worse. I'm the kind of person that might watch 11 seasons of a show I don't like for seemingly no reason, so I'm surprised I was able to drop it and not have the unfinished storyline plague me.
I haven’t even finished watching this video but I love your analysis and commentary on tv and film. I’ve tried to watch Modern Family a few times before but I might try again lol
Love your videos! I did a recent rewatch and felt like the earlier seasons were really good, but just hadn't aged super well. But right around season 5-6 once the show was popular but it really started to be unacceptable to make the kinds of jokes they always had been. It suddenly felt like the tone shifted from a team of writers trying to be funny, to "nobody's gonna tell modern family to cool it with offensive humor" everything becomes so much more overt. I would have loved to see them change with the times and hire some new writers but, oh well. Cam and Mitch were still a huge deal for me at the time it came out
The jokes about Colombia always rubbed me the wrong way.
Same, but not all depictions of stereotypes are a bad thing, it's how they went about it that was the issue
Same! I also started watching Modern Family as an adult :) I'm really glad you're doing a video on this
I grew up watching the show with my family, and as I was discovering I was a lesbian it really bothered me that none of the 6 (six!!) kids had even a hint of being queer. Especially since Mitch and Cam were right there to potentially educate and guide them. I do think I remember Mitch and Cam keeping an open mind that Lily might not be straight, but for every kid to end up being straight was immensely frustrating. Even if you want to argue that somehow it's 'normal' that all of them were straight, it was a missed opportunity to show a queer kid growing up in a supportive environment. That's something I needed as a kid and never got.
My favorite Modern Family Episode of all time is the Halloween episode where Claire becomes obsessed with putting on the perfect haunted house. That scene where they're all trying so hard to perform this damn haunt while obliviously fucking it up with their weird baggage is one of the funniest moments of televeision for me
This voices all the criticisms i think when watching this with my (white lib) family at the moment. Often I'm shushed in my criticisms when i voice them, but i just get so concerned that my family is just accepting the blatant stereotyping and problematic shit
Maybe I should finally watch this show!!!
Eh, as a person of color, I didn't care about who was white or not nor who embodied my ideology better. I cared more about how each MF character, while flawed, were really likeable and were written well enough as humans. Cultures may be different, but I can find something relatable from my own family.
If everything has to pass a purity test and every character were saints, that is just so uncompelling. Plus the racism against white people turned me off. Power struggle in this era is more about socio-economic class, not the color of your skin.
I love modern family but as a colombian the colombia jokes are absolutley unbearable and borderline unwatchable. Also, the spicy food thing drove me insane. I know it's a small thing, but all the colombian food being spicy, including the special sauce towards the later seasons was just so blatantly stupid! Colombian food is aggressively bland! We have no spice in our cuisine! It's just one of details that grates me but it's also representative of my bigger gripe with the show about the colombian representation. Keeping in mind, of course, that modern family is IMMENSLY popular in colombia.
Hi! Maybe I'm being insensitive, but can you tell me why is it offensive to dress up a baby as different music icons? I tend to do that with my dog, and now i think there's smth I'm not seeing about it? Thank you❤❤
I'm black and I'm also lost. It probably has to do with the fact that people from my race gatekeep hairstyles, i get why that is but sometimes i think we take it too far
hi i've never watched the show myself but i recently moved into a new house with cohabitants who put it on so just the other night i actually saw the episode with Phil's fetish of Black women. very weird!!! it's just bizarre to witness being played for laughs. thanks for this video, your analysis is always very refreshing and interesting to watch, and i appreciate your editing. been a fan for a while just wanted to share my love for the channel!!! xoxoxo
You’ve really summed up a lot of issues I’ve had with Modern Family and put in to words some issues that I could not.
The first two years weren’t perfect, but were solid and hilarious. It was one of my favorite shows. Starting with season 3, there were great moments, but the stories were built around jokes rather than jokes built around stories. The show started doing a lot of what I call crapping on previous character growth. The biggest example is in season two, Jay talks about falling for Gloria while he just listened to her talk. Season 4, he says that she intercepted a drink he meant for her sister.
Being a nerdy honors student in high school, I related to Alex. It was very frustrating watching her be desperate- both for friendship with “cool” girls and to be noticed by boys. She was flattered by any attention guys gave her, even creepy attention. It’s natural to want to fit in in high school, but a lot of us grew out of it by senior year and certainly by college. Alex just had a bunch of messed up relationships. And she ended up with her professor who became her boss who went for her sister first.
They could have developed the kids more and brought in black characters to the regular cast by giving the characters multiple black friends and them having meaningful friendships. It could have been better comedy and taken a deeper look and racial relationships as the relationships grew organically. I’ve been the only white person in a group full of black friends who were very entertained when things went over my head.
Showing people learning about each other’s experiences is possible. Other shows have done it.
The first half of Modern Family’s run, Parks and Recreation was also airing. The second half, there was Schitt’s Creek. Both were shows where the characters grew.
I don’t know why people liked Andy so much. He was still in a relationship with Beth when he started sleeping with Hayley. It felt like he was with Hayley because she was the best he could do. What would’ve happened if he’d found someone better? Dump Hayley. Dylan at least genuinely loved her and didn’t make her feel insecure about herself.
It did bother me that Jay still threw around so much crap because he was old and stuck in his ways. Um, he lived through the 60s. It got old that he still struggled to accept that his son was gay or struggled to respect his wife’s culture.
Manny had what I call innocent male entitlement. He excessively pursued conventionally attractive girls with his poetry, but didn’t respect them. One girl, he called crazy in the first season Valentines Day episode and the girl he liked at Luke’s birthday party, he complained was too clingy when she liked him back. At Disney Land, he said a girl was not his type. That’s fine, but he couldn’t fathom he might not be the type for the girls he crushed on.
I could go into way more detail later, but the relationships on Modern Family became pretty toxic when the storylines were built around jokes. They were manipulating each other and putting each other down.
Great video! I’m glad someone finally called out how modern family actually ISN’T that diverse.
27:24 I do think it’s also interesting how sitcoms like HIMYM and Friends have an all white cast and characters despite being in one of the more diverse cities in the world (NYC)
you never joked about your sibling being adopted?? omg i thought it was universal! i think thats where that joke with luke comes from! Great video :)
Not to put a fine point on it , but the young actor that played manny was obviously having difficulty with weight I personally think a lot of the difficulties fans had with manny were related that he was not conventionally attractive and his body type wasn’t as tv acceptable as the others. I think Alex character also had to deal with this to a lesser extent Body prejudices are real too
New sub! I'm so glad that this video popped into my feed. It's one of the best retrospect ones I've seen.
Modern Family strikes me as very similar to Glee. Both were from 2009 and were progressive: at least for their time. But they failed to grow with the times and what was once seen as progressive is now making viewers realize that those representations were also just stereotypes. These revelations were of course only made possible in the age of the internet.
Good goal post
These shows aired before same sex marriage was legal
I think Mitch’s character is actually really well written, at least at first. He started off really strong as a character that despite being gay was not overly stereotypically depicted which was a breath of fresh air. Certainly, there were some stereotypes such as him not being good at sports which were present early on, but I found them minute and constructive since he was strong in so many other areas. As the seasons went on though, his character didn’t really go anywhere.
When your charchters start out as mostly functional adults with good lives. Its hard to naturally introduce charachter growth
great show but they drop the ball with the Haley character in the finale season so bad and she should have not ended up with dylan at all
19:12 but then you would say it’s inherently racist and sexist…
this analysis was made with good intentions, but your rhetoric is inconsistent. your excuse to not being a fan of hayley’s story line is that “maybe it was just an attempt at being realistic BUT”…but then gloria and jay’s relationship isn’t realistic enough because they don’t delve into the complexities of power dynamics on a comedic sitcom? i know you said you watched it four times but, did you?
Right. Seems like someone "wanted to have that cake and eat it too" :/
You realize that Columbia so dangerous it's labeled a level-three "reconsider traveling" there by the US government right 😂
Because the US government is excellent at making judgements about other countries.
every single country is dangerous in some way besides why take advice from the US government when they literally allow kids to be shot at school
I would love a video about "One day at a time" !
Me too! Love that show.
Can't believe you live in Brazil, me too! Love your channel. I'm rewatching modern family for the third time, great video!
Super interesting video! It’s funny to learn the show ended in 2020, because it feels older than that to me! I never kept up with it, so that’s certainly part of it, but to me Modern Family always felt more like a relic of the past, definitely not like something from just a couple years ago!
the idea that the dumphey's live in a 4 bed/4 bath wide lawned suburban home on a realtor's sole income. a dose of realism would have been the series opener with them being foreclosed on.
ive not watched it in forever, but didn't jay buy their house for them?
it's not jay that calls fulgencio "joe", joseph is literally his second name.
To be honest, this synopsis is significantly more racist than the show itself.
Cam and Mitch are such a disappointment of a couple. In the earlier seasons we see Cam taking really good care of Lily and having a strong bond with her, while Mitch is a bit more absent, but I get that. They wanted to create the more cis-het couple stereotypes on a homosexual relationship, which is fine. The stay at home parent and the working parent thing.
But when Cam started working again in season 4, I wished they gave him and the whole families dynamic more nuance like they did with the Dunphy's when Claire started working again. It fell flat, and after season 4 it really starts to look like Cam and Mitch don't take care of Lily at all. This is partly due to what you also pointed out, that the writers didn't try to develop Lily and make a more fleshed out character, but also because I honestly think that the writers didn't know how to portray a queer family.
It's just sad that Mitch and Cam don't really go through much growth after the first few seasons and that they suddenly change a lot in the last few episodes, with Mitch deciding they should move to Missouri and them suddenly adopting another child. It felt very rushed and out of place.
What you also mentioned with other gay characters almost all being portrayed as feminine is kind off annoying, because as you also pointed out, it makes it feel like the writers see gay men only as feminine and gay women only as masculine. I honestly think Modern Family should have stopped after season 6 or 7. The show was still funny and most characters still had something to do and somewhat of a trajectory in life. The characters also weren't to 'flanderized' yet and the show was honestly at its peak.
i personaly really like the episode where that older woman thinks money is older and visits him, it reinforces how mature manny is for his age and i dont think its weird since she obviously doesnt proceed after she learns hes a kid
I think when people say the last great sitcom with modern family, it's a dog whistle for it having white people as main characters. After this show, many shows would become diversified.
Also, the show gave me the creeps.
Sadly, the al bundy character I encountered in real life in multiple guys. Usually, 1st wife was white, then 2nd was Mexican or central American, and third wife is usually Asian.
Also, there are no Mexicans on the show even though it's LA.
Yea cuz race and ethnicity is the only mark of diversity right? No, being the first gay married couple on tv isn’t groundbreaking.
I may or may not have cried at your final words. Ok. I cried.
thank you for another amazing video 🩷
Thank you for the video, it was awesome
Great video, and your make up, flawless. I never really got down with modern family but you did a great job in showing the nuance and being fair about the love that exist in it.
Amazing video as usual!!! Probably my favourite of yours, you are so talented. ❤
As a colombian, most of the jokes written about Sofia Vergara’s nationality would only be funny to a gringo audience. Colombians would generally find them weirdly unfunny (and some even offensive)
lol a shows worth isnt based on how diverse it is. it should be based as how good the show actually is.
Right. Like I don't really get the "if the show claims to support LGBTQ+ there should be more and more of those characters", like let's be realistic, there's only so many that would make it believable for 90% of the audience, and if there's only so much time it naturally should be used on expanding existing characters instead..
I grew up watching this show with my family, and it was the first queer characters I saw on TV, not great rep and I'm a lesbian but I took what I could get. My brothers at the time would walk out of the room if it was on and would say that I was too young to watch it simply for the gay characters (even tho I knew I was a lesbian before I ever saw queer people on TV). It showed me who in my family it was safe to come out to in a way. Luckily over a decade later all but one of my brothers do accept me and my partner and we're closer than ever. I don't even like the show myself but it was something that caused my household to have conversations about queerness, which did make me feel more ashamed and bad at the time, but I also think it was important for me to learn that so I knew who was safe.
34:02 actually it's worse, the character is 17 when he impregnates his 29 year old girlfriend. During their relationship he did lie and say he was 21 and she cut it off upon finding out his real age but there was an episode later on when she did sleep with him again knowing full well his age so it's just a mess
To be fair about your point towards the end about racial bias and how white people tend not to watch black media, it’s inherently alienating if the show is called “Black-ish” and speaks a lot about black issues. I don’t believe you’re a bad person if you choose not to consume media that doesn’t actually represent you. I mean, this whole video is about representation of various groups right?
That comment re brainy women, it me. ❤❤❤❤❤
Yeah the more I got into Tuca and Bertie, Mad Men, GLOW, Bojack and others the more I dislike the sitcom formula of things and characters not developing.
Also Sarah and Ariel report warm relationships with their onscreen mom and step Granny in real life and I wish we saw that on the show. It also goes without saying that Sarah and Ariel had experiences with abuse.
Thanks for the pride wishes, Cheyenne! :D loved this
34:59 Young Sheldon is set in Texas, land of the blonde dye job.
I love the title being a question because Abbott Elementary answers that question
I love love love love your video!
13:23 this is a religious thing; you probably wont actually understand, but you have to get married to have children in many, many many cultures around the world. You should read about it!
Me and my siblings always tell our younger sister she’s adopted as a joke lmao
Wait you live in Brasil??? This is amazing, do you have any videos about anything related to the country? Either the diversity, or the movies/tv shows, etc? It would be great to watch, as I'm from there and I don't really see foreigners talking much about the country, other than the negative cliche comments
i remember an episode in one of the earlier seasons when cam was freaking out because he felt like too much of a woman or a mother and the episode just played into the "gay man has feminine or maternal character traits" stereotype
This was a very thoughtful video. I appreciate you considering the perspectives of others, advocating for them, and I especially appreciate you encouraging the viewer to vote. I found the show very often funny and cathartic, but was frustrated with the lack of representation for myself in this catharsis, and coincidentally the lack of class consciousness that seems to be aging increasingly worse. I didn't watch the whole thing though.
I like reading the comments from the queer community and poc's experience with the show.
2 for 2. your videos are great
Recently started to watch this show, I'm currently at the middle of season two and really happy to see your analysis about it👌
Thank you for this lovely video :)
As an indian bisexual male
I relate most with 3 characters
1. Lily: yk, India and Vietnam arent that different in terms of main societal mindsets
2. Gloria: again, India is somehow similar with latin America as well😭😭😭, they're like "sexier indians" as we jokingly call them
3. Mitchel: a gay person scarred of others judgement
There's also Alex cuz i also am crazy in love with science
But mainly these 3
How can you relate to Lily because of a vietnamese "mindset" if she was raised by white parents in the US and has no vietnamese relatives or any way of remembering Vietnam?
@@funkymonks8333 idk I have a kinda similar personality even
Not getting why telling Luke he's adopted works tells me you're an only child. It's just something siblings do. "You're adopted" "We found you in the trash" "A woman handed you to us and never came back"...
I was just watching one of the earlier seasons, and Cam made a joke that at least Blindside’s family supported him-that joke didn’t age well 😂
Great video.
But I really feel that comedy should be allowed to ruffle a few feathers. For example, Jay's character was supposed to be an unlikeable old stuck up rich person. The show never tried to justify him as right, that's the point. That's real life, it's human. He has many good qualities but at the same time, he is a jerk most of the times. Why we have to focus on his whiteness or anything? He is a layered characters who struggles throughout the series to accept that his son is gay. I mean life is not black and white. Heck he grows. Obama was against gay marriages and now he has changed.
Similarly, why does comedy need to have purpose every single time? The episode where lily is typecast in a Godzilla inspired commercial is supposed to be ceingey. That's the whole point. Cam not realising it is the point. He then getting rightfully offended by the fake accents and stereotypes while picking up the wrong baby is funny. Safe+woke comedy is a snooze fest. I like the fact that shows like Modern Family could be sensitive at the core (with the exception of how they treated Alex and Manny), yet be daring enough to go where people are afraid to go. It is far cry from Big Bang Theory and its shot at everything under the sun for some cheap cheap cheap laughs.
Also, Oprah playing the race card phew😅 As if she represents minority in true sense. I think Bill Burr has perfect response to Oprah. She is the one who eats her cake and wants to have it too.
15:10 haley was actually 100% right. Nothing in that speech would have made things better. Also Alex is not the nicest person which is more responsible for her lack of friends than her intelligence. Which both haley and claire try to explain to her at times. That speech would have made the whole school hater her not just the bullies. Ive seen someone do something similar and zero people thought it was cool and it just made it super akward
Solid analysis - thank you! I never got into this show; always found it annoying and tropey. So esp appreciate comment on its status as an Obama era product/project, and its significance in light of Prop8. In hindsight, was frustrated that it just wasn't 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 b/c its 'modernity' seemed more aptly tied to 1992 than 2010. For me a compelling compare/contrast show is the 2017 reboot of "One Day At A Time" which felt more honestly 'modern' in its dealings with contemporary social issues.
I don’t get it when the characters are at a different place they don’t do the interview at the place they are at it goes back to their houses and they where different outfits why can’t they just do the interview at the place they are at now
budget
Awesome as always!
I would love to hear your thoughts on This Is Us
This show was one my family could all watch and laugh along with together so it will always hold a spot in my heart for that, but a lot of it hasn't held up. I think some of the more stereotypical depictions could be more easily forgiven if they had other characters that didn't portray them. Yeah real people can act in stereotypical ways. But this show is written, by writers and they dropped the ball quite a few times
Ótimo vídeo ❤
Fetish and attraction , not the same
I never watched modern family, but I'm going to watch this anyway. lol
Streaming this show rn. Love it. Laugh every episode.
15:42 Yeah, if they did they probably WOULDN'T PUT ONE IN