Modern Family: The Stereotypes Of Culture

Mass media, especially through television, affects how people perceive culture. The trends, language and representation of people’s attitudes are displayed based off research of daily experiences within different cultures. ABC’s sitcom Modern Family presents the cultural studies theoretical perspective of communication as culture through casting and storytelling, while also showing signs of audience effectiveness. In the three episodes analyzed from season nine, there were a mixture of ethnic groups, genders and sexualities represented. In episode 17, “Royal Visit,” Mitch and Cam participated in a yoga retreat, alongside two mixed race and elderly couples, and were the only homosexual couple on the trip. According to Andre Cavalcante in

In episode 19, “CHiPs and Salsa,” the lifestyle brand company Haley works for, “Nerp,” has a racially diverse staff, but mostly compiled of women. Since the owner is an actress and her company is mainly based on different lifestyles, hiring a staff of women and a few men from different cultural backgrounds makes sense. The casting displays an image that different ethnic perspectives are heard within this company. The show also uses celebrities to add diversity. In episode 18, “Daddy Issues,” Gabriel Iglesias guest stars as Gloria’s ex-boyfriend, Jorge, who looks very similar to her son, Manny. Once the two meet with Jay at the house, it’s assumed that there might be a chance that Gabriel could be Manny’s father. The two start bonding and find out they have many things in common, which makes the assumption a higher possibility. This casting was made for this exact situation on purpose for the episode’s meaning to make more

One that has appeared in the entire series is that homosexual people only have womanly interests. According to Marc Fajer in his academic journal, “the most frequent complaint - often in the form of jokes or ridicule - made about homosexuals is that lesbians are masculine and male homosexuals are feminine” (1992). In episode 17, when the yoga retreat instructor mentioned “the Royals are next door,” Mitch automatically assumed it was the royal family and not the baseball team. This scene displayed that stereotype clearly. Another evident stereotype appeared in episode 19, which is the attractive, brainless blonde. Haley’s boss, Nicole, is presented as a “dumb blonde.” She’s very slow and talks about topics that no one understands. More often than not, people look at blonde to be exactly what Nicole is. In episode 17, Alex’s boyfriend, Bill, is another example. Being an attractive firefighter, he also doesn’t understand certain conversations and makes dumb jokes. Both of their characteristics bring the stereotype to