Modern Family is my personal favorite comedy show on TV, and a majority of world agrees too. The show wins pretty much all the awards it gets nominated for. However I have recently I've started to question myself as to why I am completely addicted to this show. I figured out that I am laughing at the punch lines and themes within the episodes that obtain multiple stereotypes. Modern Family often receives a lot of criticism from journalists and audiences for often relying too much on stereotyping; but even then, Modern Family is critically cherished and pardoned from it. But it has only recently struck me that the reasons that I laugh a lot at this show are not what I expected. In particular, I laugh more at the stereotypes of the characters than the characters personality or actions. I am laughing at the stereotypes which the writers use and exploit for comedic effect.
The majority of the people who watch Modern Family, including myself, all tend to laugh at the characters instead of with them.
A character that goes by the name Gloria is the perfect example for this. Gloria is a foreign, striking Colombian born woman who struggles to speak English. Her stereotypical representation is very common in television…. a woman from a country that is outside of the United States in sitcoms all of the time. Most of her humor comes from either her accent or her apparently somewhat violent and stereotypical Colombian past vs her actual lines. Should we feel comfortable laughing at a character that is struggling at her pronunciation and fitting into the American society?
I still enjoy watching this show and support it, but I would love it if I could feel more comfortable laughing at half the jokes on the show that seem to stem from negative and arguably offensive stereotypes.
I do think that stereotypes are a very important part in Modern Family. Gloria is the most obvious example. But there are also many gay stereotypes promoted in modern family. But its also interesting because it does show a not stereotypical version of what family is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that stereotypes play a major part in making Modern Family the comedic show that it is known as. I also think, however, that the show's comedy also exists in its extreme contradictions of some stereotypes. Manny is the main example of an exaggerated opposite to the stereotype that the audience would expect he receive. I think this makes the show all the more enjoyable.
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