Gender Representations in Modern Family

The show Modern Family is a comedy series that first aired on the American television network ABC back in 2009. Now at its 6th season, the show has been a hit ever since and is very popular amongst the American audience. Modern Family has over 10 million viewers that tune in to watch the show which clearly shows its popularity and is considered part of the popular media. The show is about three families and their day to day encounters in Southern California. The Dunphey family represent the traditional family, the father Phil Dunphey is a realtor, Claire the mother is a stay at home mom and together they have three kids, Haley, Alex, and Luke. The Pritchett-Tucker family is formed by a gay couple Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker along with their adopted daughter Lily. The Pritchett family is not one you see everyday. Jay Pritchett married the younger, very Hispanic Gloria, and together they live with Gloria’s son from another marriage, Manny. Jay is the father of Claire and Mitchell which ties them all together and make up one big modern family.

Since Modern Family is very popular, it is likely that it can transform viewers attitudes about any social or cultural norms. The show is viewed by different people of different races, sexual orientation, and ages. It invites the mainstream audience to watch the program but within certain social norms that seem to be dominant in American television. The show is assembled in a comedic way and assembled to the certain understanding that most of society has in regard to family, family relations, situations, and gender and sexuality matters that are for the most part relatable. The show relies on the “audiences familiarity with the realities of [the family] culture in order to sell itself as a comedy or “mockumentary” series (Birthisel, Martin 65). Modern Family could be comparable to the television series The Office in the way that it is also filmed as a mockumentary or in a casual satirical way in which the audience can connect to the characters. Like in The Office, Modern Family is also known for having many gender representations which are all worth of analysis and which is the main argument of this essay.

To begin with, “As media scholars have demonstrated, television shapes viewers’ perceptions of real-world social issues such as gender” (Birthisel, Martin 65). Modern Family portrays certain gender representations that are expressed through the mode of production that does not include a laugh track but rather is in the form of a mock-documentary or “mockumentary”. This particular feature of a comedy series allows certain gender stereotypes or ideologies that people may have to be interpreted in a way that is not hurtful or offensive. Just like in the case of The Office, the mockumentary in Modern Family “reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation of satire and enhances the show’s transgressive potential.” According to Jelle Masts’ New directions in hybrid popular television: a reassessment of television mock-documentary, mock-documentary or for short, mockumentary, is “basically that of a fiction that looks and sounds like a documentary” (Mast 234). A mockumentary could be considered a film genre that “relate imitation and appropriation to ideas of commentary, playful or critical, and strategies of reflexivity, latent or manifest, and to ‘the satirical or ironic examination of a fictional subject’ (Mast 236). It is evident that Modern Family is a comedy series that uses the technique of mockumentary in order to make the scenes more relatable and authentic but also to normalize certain gender and sexuality subjects in order to make the audience feel at ease. This can be seen in two episodes that will be analyzed using a formal film analysis and will further be elaborated on.

The first episode that will be analyzed of Modern Family is episode 21 of season 2 titled “Mother’s Day”. As clearly mentioned, Modern Family is filmed as if it was a documentary but with fictional content. The episode starts off by zooming into the house of the Dunphey family where they automatically start creating discourse very casually without any introduction. This lets the audience in very easily and makes it authentic. Interestingly, every time the show changes from family to family, the camera distances itself and puts into scene the house of the family that is about to featured.

When we are finally introduced to the gay couple, the Pritchett-Tuckers, Mitchell is seen opening the door to the bedroom with a tray with breakfast and flowers (it is Mother’s Day) for his partner Cameron. In this small fragment of the scene, Mitchell makes eye contact with the camera, making it more personal and emphasizing his actions. He looks at the camera in order to let us in on his surprise for Cameron. What we do not realize automatically is how this gay couple is completely gendered. Mitchell is the breadwinner of the family; he is a successful environmental lawyer and goes to work everyday while Cameron stays home playing the gendered woman role of homemaker. He takes care of their adopted child Lily and although more masculine than Mitchell in certain aspects (like being sporty and a better handyman) he is still depicted as the woman, the wife, and the feminine part of the family. What Modern Family is doing here is adhering to gender norms and making obvious assumptions about what is masculine and feminine but they do not tell the audience that gender is completely performative and, “One is discursively completed to behave in a masculine or feminine way in order to be taken for male or female” (Buchbinder 53). They show Cameron get slightly offended by the fact that Mitchell is bringing him breakfast to bed because he is aware that it is Mother’s Day. He responds to the action by saying with dismay “You think of me as Lily’s mother! I am your wife!” This is a scene where viewers might laugh but there is no laugh track in the background. This has a different effect because of the fact that the only sounds are the characters voices and it leaves room for the viewers own laughter therefore making it more casual and personal.

According to Jacques Rothmann’s essay Send in the (gay) clowns, “In his everyday life, as alluded to, Cameron manifests effeminacy based on conscious attempts and is also subjected to having his conflated gender and sexual orientation ‘done to him’ by a kind of external feminisation” (Rothmann 55). Although Cameron seems upset by the assumption of him being considered the mother and in that case, a woman, he accepts it at the end of the episode when Mitchell explains the general qualities of a mother which could describe Cameron such as nurture, warmth, and support (Rothmann 62). What this episode is doing is reiterating certain gender and sexuality assumptions. The first is that women are the ones that stay home with the kids, second is assuming that all homosexual men are feminine, flamboyant, and dramatic like Cameron and third is that in a relationship there has to be one masculine and one feminine person. There is a certain “explicit feminization directed towards gay men in Modern Family” (Rothmann 60). But why are these gender assumptions present in a modern day comedy series? This could be explained in Diane Raymond’s Popular Culture and Queer Representation where she writes, “Though there is no question that the majority of viewing audience for these shows is heterosexual, these portrayals engage with viewers who see themselves as hip, nonjudgmental, mostly urban and gay-friendly.” (Raymond 102). Raymond goes on about a phenomenon called heteronormativity and how “it functions to underline the fact that heterosexuality is an institution, a practice, with its own set of expectations, norms, and principles of conduct.” She also mentions that, “Heterosexuality and homophobia organize the structures in which we are immersed, structures so pervasive as to become almost invisible.” (Raymond 104). In other words, the media is regulating sexuality and gender in order to make it accessible to everyone and channel homosexuality, for example, in appropriate ways for the media. Rothmann makes it clear that, “Western media create a “fake homosexuality [...] to facilitate a double marketing strategy: selling products to gay consumers that address their emotional need to be accepted while selling a palatable image of homosexuality to heterosexual consumers that need to have their dominance obscured” (qtd. in Rothmann 41). It is a very safe, light, and unremarkable way of portraying homosexuality and gender in television that lacks identity and does not have universalizing discourse in order to please two different audiences whether homosexual or heterosexual. Another notable thing is the fact that Modern Family shows how gender roles within a homosexual relationship are negotiated and in the “heterosexual matrix” there is a reinforcement of stereotypical roles for gay couples and it is believed that it is to “align their own arrangements with those of sexual dissidents” (Rothmann 63).

Furthermore, the next episode of Modern Family that will be formally analyzed as a film is episode 2 of season 4 titled “Schooled.” In this episode, Cameron and Mitchell take Lily to her first day of kindergarden where they end up arguing with another gay couple of two lesbians. Like the first episode that was analyzed, this episode also starts off with the image of the Dunphey’s house as the mis-en-scene where the camera zooms in slowly. We are invited into the Dunphey’s house where they are discussing the first day of school for the kids at the dinner table. The camera movement appears to be hand held and moves quickly from person to person depending on who is speaking. This has a sort of reality TV show resemblance in the way that it is being filmed which again makes the setting a lot more authentic and personal. What the directors and producers are trying to do with this authenticity is make it seem like the traditional family setting and make the viewer not think about the fact that it isn't really a traditional family. These elements of film are present throughout the episode along with the sit down interview or confessional where the character shares his or her secrets and makes for a relatable encounter with the audience. In this episode, Cameron and Mitchell sit down to discuss what Cameron refers to as a so called “lesson on sexual identity” after they get in an argument with a lesbian couple after their child pulled Lily’s hair and Cameron defended Lily in a way that disturbed the lesbian parents. Cameron and Mitchell make it very clear that gays and lesbians do not get along because they do not like the same gender and make a venn diagram using their arms showing that they have nothing in common.

Here, the gay couple is making a big gender assumption that makes it seem to the audience that all gay men and lesbians cannot get along. It is important to remember the type of audience that view shows like Modern Family, more often than not they are a very passive audience, who will believe everything that is said on a sitcom. In fact, “Many heterosexual Americans do not (knowingly) interact with gay men on a regular basis and may, therefore, rely heavily on the mass media for their knowledge of gay men and the gay lifestyle” (Hart, Kylo-Patrick). Later on the two couples meet again and exchange discourse where they are asked what they do for living, “I’m an environmental lawyer” says Mitchell and Cameron says, “I’m a homemaker” to which Pam, one of the lesbians scoffs. Then she says she is a contractor to which Cameron scoffs at and she replies “You thought I was a P.E. teacher?” In this small exchange of discourse, gender and sexuality stereotypes are put on blast. The feminine gay man is the homemaker and the butch and very masculine lesbian is thought of to be a P.E. teacher. As stated in Richard Dyer’s Stereotyping, “Equally, there can be no doubt that most stereotypes of gays in films are demeaning and offensive. Just think of the line-up — the butch dyke and the camp queen, the lesbian vampire and the sadistic queer…” (Dyer 1).

But what is really being shown in this episode are not only certain stereotypes but also the fact that gender is performative, “One does not act in a masculine or feminine manner because one is male or female; rather one acts in such a manner in order to be seen (by oneself as well as by others) as male or female” (Buchbinder 55). It is a way that lesbians and gays alike “pass” as either male or female, as Buchbinder points out. In this case for example, Cameron may see the lesbian contractor as more of a male because she acts in a more masculine way, and therefore Cameron’s ideas of her are considered stereotypical because not all lesbians are masculine. It is clear that although there are homosexual characters in Modern Family, the stereotypes are present throughout the series but are masked through comedy. Although progressive from previous representations of gay men, the gay couple Mitchell and Cameron are characters that are positioned “in a narrative space that relies on familiar comedic conventions for addressing homosexuality— equating gayness with a lack of masculinity” (Battles, Hilton-Morrow 89). The audience has to be given a very light and safe representation of gender and sexuality which is done through comedy because this genre makes it a safe space for the exploration of controversial topics, such as gender and sexuality (Battles, Hilton-Morrow 99).

In conclusion, it is evident that the popular media transforms the audience views on sexuality and gender and builds a framework of stereotypes and beliefs that is influential on viewers attitudes on social norms. This could be seen in the comedy series Modern Family because it invites the mainstream audience to watch the series and understand gender and sexuality through a very safe and implicit way. The show is filmed in the form of a mockumentary in order to reduce misinterpretations and make the audience feel at ease with gender subjects. After performing a formal film analysis on two episodes, it is very clearly depicted that the mockumentary style is used to make the show seem more authentic and therefore it is easier to mask certain stereotypes of homosexuality and gender such as gay men being feminine and women being viewed as the homemakers just to name a few. The media unfortunately is too focused on catering to the massive audience and making it accessible to everyone that they are excluding important ideas of gender and sexuality. Although Modern Family is a progression of the portrayal of homosexuality in the media, it is still a very safe and stereotypical way of depicting these controversial subjects.

Gender Representations in Modern Family

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Season 4 Episode 2 Schooled

Modern Family

Screen Shots

Works Cited

Gender Representations in Modern Family- Final Paper

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Modern Family- Mother's Day Episode