"Caught in the Act"

Hi everybody!  I just finished watching “Caught in the Act”, an episode of Modern Family which aired earlier this season.  The writers in this episode use two different storylines similar to other episodes in order to make comments on how people react and deal with compromising situations.  Modern Family states that although it may be hard to confront these situations, the best way to deal with them is to be honest and address the dilemma head on.

The first storyline deals with Cam and Mitchell who have met the owner of a popular restaurant and try to be friendly with her in order to have an “in” at the restaurant.  While at her house, Cam manages to ruin a $50,000 rug by spilling a juice box.  The two know that Amelia is a very temperamental person and that she will be extremely upset if she finds out and they will lose their “in”.  After trying to hide the stain by blaming the owner’s son, a panic ensues because the child is very allergic to the drink.  The truth finally comes out when the child is about to given a very painful injection to counteract the symptoms.  The writers tell us that instead of covering up the story, it probably would have been easier to stand up to the accident and take their punishment head on.  We learn how easy it is to get caught up in our lies and get into more trouble.

The second compromising situation occurs within the Dunphy household.  On Claire and Phil’s anniversary the kids decide to surprise their parents with breakfast in bed.  Shenanigans ensue when the door opens and the kids find their parents having sex.  Claire and Phil don’t know how to handle the situation with brushing the incident under the rug or trying to have a discussion about it.  The easy and most comfortable route would be to not talk about the incident at all, but the parents do not want to leave any questions out there that the kids might have.  In the end, the two decide to bring it up with their children directly in a family meeting.  Despite the anticipation of the discussion, it actually goes well and there are very minimal moments of awkwardness.  This situation was best handled by clearing the air and discussing what happened openly.  The writers show that once again, although this answer might have been a little uncomfortable, it was the best and easiest way to handle the situation.

It’s been great looking at Modern Family in a deeper way, more than just a simple comedy over the past couple weeks.  If we truly look for the messages being presented, we can learn a little bit about what the writers are trying to tell us behind all the humor and shenanigans.  Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you continue to watch and learn from Modern Family during the next season!

"The One That Got Away" Or Did It?

Hi Guys! Last night was the season finale of Modern Family.  This episode, entitled “The One That Got Away”, utilizes contradictions by characters in the show to make comments about how lucky some families are without knowing it.

“The One That Got Away” focuses on the actions surrounding Jay’s birthday party.  As Phil and Gloria are shopping for the party, Phil runs into his college nemesis, Glenn Whipple.  He tries to one-up him by acting as if Gloria is his wife.  He then realizes that Glenn really liked Claire instead and was jealous when thinking that Phil would end up with Gloria.  While trying to one-up his nemesis, Phil forgot how lucky he was to have Claire.  The writers used this example to show how some people believe that they need to have a better family in order to be perfect, while in fact their family is closer to perfect as is.

The next contradiction comes with Jay saying that all he wants for his birthday is a relaxing, peaceful, quiet day of fishing on the lake.  Jay’s birthday turns out to be anything but peaceful when shenanigans ensue and Jay needs to help his family.  The party ends up being a little lack luster until Manny surprises Jay with his gift.  Manny gives Jay a night of “fishing” in the family pool.  Even though this is not what Jay originally wanted, he accepts the gift graciously and notices once again how lucky he is to have his family around him.  The viewers of Modern Family know that times with family can be hectic and all we may wish for is some peace and quiet.  The writers remind us that although we may want peace and quiet, these times with family are precious and we can find as much, if not more joy when we are with our family than without them.

The last and possibly most important contradiction in the episode comes from Cam and Mitchell.  In the beginning of the episode, the couple cannot believe why they ever wanted a child.  This sentiment occurs when Cam and Mitchell have a hard time getting Lily ready in the morning because she is being fussy.  After realizing how special children are and the importance of having a sibling, Cam and Mitchell decide that they want to have another child.  This contradiction is meant especially for the viewers that are parents.  Modern Family explains that it is normal to question your reasons behind wanting children every once in awhile, but that it is hard to escape the fact that having children was probably the right decision for you. 

“The One That Got Away” can be seen as a contradiction in itself.  In each scenario there is a moment when the character thinks that things could have gone better if the events went differently.  In fact, Modern Family tells us the opposite and states that we are lucky to have our family around us to support us and share our lives with.   I really enjoyed this episode and recommend it to anyone that hasn’t seen it yet!

Breaking Down Impressions on "Boys' Night"

Hi Guys, Welcome Back! Tonight’s first episode of Modern Family, entitled “Boys’ Night”, uses character interactions to show how long-term impressions of people can be proven false.

To first show an example of the impressions, the subplot in “Boys’ Night” revolves around Dunphy son, Luke, and the family’s neighbor, Walt.  Claire and Phil believe that Walt is a very crotchety, scary, old man that just likes to be grumpy all the time.  They want nothing to do with him and believe he wants the same relationship with them.  Luke doesn’t understand this perception of Walt and goes over to talk to him.  The two form a friendship that Claire and Phil cannot understand why the two are friends and are hesitant about allowing the friendship to occur.  After investigating Walt and having shenanigans ensue, the couple actually gets a chance to learn a little bit about the true Walt.  He tells Claire and Phil that he used to be a firefighter and that he would never hurt a child.  This interaction between the characters shows that impressions backed by speculation are not always true.  Modern Family tells the viewers that it is important to get to know somebody on a personal level before judging them.

The main event in the episode is the “boys’ night out” that Cam and Mitchell have planned with a few of their friends at a local bar.  The two will need a babysitter for the night.  Mitchell hires Haley to watch Lily for the night, which frightens Cam very much.  Cam believes that Haley cannot babysit a child because she is not responsible enough.  Cam even goes as far as to spy on Haley using a webcam.  Even though Haley does break a rule and invites a boy over, she turns out to be a great babysitter and exceptional caretaker for Lily. 

Along with this surprise are the surprises during the group meeting at the bar.  Mitchell believes that his father is too narrow-minded and would not have a good time with his friends.  Similarly, Jay thinks that Mitchell’s friends would be too outgoing or flamboyant for his taste.  Despite this belief, after some time getting to know each other, Jay and Mitchell’s friends have a great night at the bar.  The two are able to break down their impressions of each other and have a great time together being in their own skin.

These last two interactions comment greatly on our impressions of the people we know and love.  Modern Family uses these two situations to show that even long term impressions of people can be proven false and we can be surprised by those people’s actions.  “Boys’ Night” exemplifies to the viewers how wrong our impressions of others can be at times.  It is important to not assume the actions of people, including those we don’t know and those we do know.  We learn from Modern Family not to judge people on what we speculate they will do, but on their true actions.

Looking forward to the season finale which is on next!

"See You Next Fall" With Our Insecurities

Last night’s episode of Modern Family, “See You Next Fall”, illustrated the importance of the universal nature of insecurities.  No matter what walk of life we are at, we all have our own insecurities.  The show highlights all of these insecurities around the event of Alex’s middle school graduation.  Some characters show their insecurities clearly in the beginning of the episode, while others are drawn out unexpectedly from other character later on.

As mini storylines, “See You Next Fall” shows the insecurities of Claire, Jay, and Cam.  Claire is insecure about losing her daughters as they grow up and start to drift away from her.  She fears that she is losing them and will not be able to connect with them for much longer.  This is able to exemplify the insecurity many parents feel as their children grow older and start to go out and experience more of the real world.  With Jay, the writers show how growing age can bring about insecurities.  With Jay’s increasing age, he wants to try and look younger by hiding some of his wrinkles and getting Botox.  He tries to keep this action a secret to hide his insecurity, but his Botox injection is revealed when the injection creates visible nerve damage.  Although only a temporary ailment, the writers are able to highlight the insecurities many people get as they grow older and have to battle their age and increasing wrinkles.  Lastly, is the insecurity of Cam as he is not secure with the trivial everyday accidents he has.  Mitchell laughs at Cam when he falls into their baby pool, but Cam cannot find any humor in the situation.  Cam makes a huge fuss about Mitchell laughing at him, until at the end of the episode he sees a similar situation unfold which makes him laugh.  Modern Family is showing us that although these situations may same trivial to some people, others find them very embarrassing and can be insecure about them.  The writers are looking at both sides and showing that insecurities can come from anything.

Past the mini storylines, the main insecurity comes from Alex in this episode.  Being the self-proclaimed nerd of her class, Alex is very insecure about her popularity.  In response to this insecurity she plans to lash out at her classmates during her commencement speech.  Unexpectedly, Haley comes out and tells her exactly what “See You Next Fall” is trying to tell the viewers.  Haley explains that everybody has their issues that they are insecure, no matter if they are popular or a “nerd”.  Her own insecurities concern her future and if she is going to get into college while the rest of her friends leave for school.

In this episode, Modern Family highlights the fact that no matter how big or how small they are, we all have insecurities that we try and hide because they make us uncomfortable.  The writers teach us that instead of lashing out because of our own insecurities, it is important to embrace the fact that we all have these insecurities and we should help each other get through them.

"Good Cop, Bad Dog": A Partnership

Welcome Back!  This week’s episode airing on May 11^th was entitled “Good Cop Bad Dog” and dealt with the many antics of the three different family structures.  This current episode uses the three different storylines like last week’s episode, “Mother’s Day”, to show the different forms of partnership in the three family structures.

Cam and Mitchell have tickets to go to the Lady Gaga concert, but there’s one problem: Cam is deathly sick with the flu.  Mitchell must now deal with the decision of whether to go to the concert he’s wanted to go to since they bought the tickets, or take care of Cam for the night.  Mitchell decides to spend the day helping Cam the best he can before the concert and then take their child to his sister’s and attend the concert.  The writers are trying to show that sometimes it can be hard to show a good sense of partnership when these situations arise.  Although the two love each other, material things like the concert can get in between their mutual caring behavior towards each other.  The storyline here explains how it can be hard to always be there for our partners in life and even though we love them, sometimes we falter and make mistakes.

The next storyline on this episode of Modern Family shows how Jay and Gloria bring their special personalities together to help a man on the episode.  Gloria, being caring and compassionate to all people that she meets (even complete strangers from the grocery store), brings home a man that has a “great” business proposition for Jay.  She knows that this proposition is not a good idea, but cannot say no when asked to help the man.  Jay being blunt and a good business man tells the man that his idea is just plain bad.  The combination works well together because each one completes the other and is able to be compassionate on one half and then a strong decision maker in the other half.  This storyline shows how the differences in their personalities work in great partnership to interact with others and have a great relationship.

The last storyline shows the Dunphy couple and how they choose to parent their children.  Similar to Jay and Gloria, the two show how their two different personalities interact with each other in order to parent their children the best.  The two play the “good cop, bad cop” routine when parenting their children with Phil usually being the fun parent who gets to reward the children, while Claire deals out the punishments.  The two try and reverse their roles, but are horrible in these new roles.  The storyline shows how we need to be ourselves and do what we do best and that makes the partnership work the best.  When we miss with this philosophy, the scenarios do not end in the best ways.

Modern Family teaches us that the great partnerships are found in many ways but it is important that the two halves work together to help get the best answer.  Also, the writers are trying to tell the viewers that although partnerships may falter at times, it is important to not give up and keeping working hard together to find out how to be the best partnership possible.  Thanks for reading and hope to see you next episode!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hi everybody! There was a very entertaining episode of Modern Family that aired last night.  The episode, entitled “Mother’s Day”, focused on the importance of the holiday within the three family structures of the show.  “Mother’s Day” ties in three different storylines to show the role of the mother considering sexual orientation, age, and the stereotypical family structure.  The episode highlights similarities and difference between the three storylines and how the role of the mother is similar amidst many differences.

The first storyline tells how the homosexual couple, Cam and Mitchell, interprets the holiday.  Mitchell starts off by bringing Cam breakfast in bed the morning of Mother’s Day commenting that this is a very special day for him and that he will be celebrated.  Although Mitchell did not mean to intentionally call Cam the “mother” in the relationship, Cam is hurt by this gesture.  Throughout the episode many comments are made to show that Cam is perceived as the woman in the relationship.  Some of the comments made towards Cam include a friend calling Mitchell “one of the husbands” and having Cam included in the Mother/Child photo.  Cam tries to assert is manliness in the episode by telling Mitchell, “I could snap you like a twig”, and proving he can throw a football because he is a man.  The writers utilize a lot of comedic humor surrounding Cam’s comparison as a mother and showing how he is very upset at the comparison.  Cam’s anger is later subdued when Mitchell reveals how important Cam’s nurturing and caring attributes and that they just happen to fall under what society believes to be the attributes of the mother figure.  The storyline exemplifies how homosexual couples can still provide a “mother figure” for a child even though there is no woman in the family.

The next storyline shows the Modern Family patriarch, Jay, and how he deals with the remembering of his mother.  While cooking the family meal with son-in-law, Phil, a note from Jay to his mother is found.  Jay, a character with a usually hard exterior, begins to tear up at the sight of the note.  At first Jay feels upset at this reaction, but accepts the tearful emotion later in the episode.  Although he is grown up and part of a new family structure that already has a mother, he has not lost his feelings towards his own Mother and how important she was to his life.  This storyline helps show that time and change does not affect the role that a mother in one’s life and that people will always remember their mother’s love, no matter how they interact with others later in life.  I think this is a very nice storyline that shows the softer side of Jay while pushing the episode’s point.

Lastly, there is the stereotypical Dunphy family.  Claire is trying to celebrate her Mother’s Day while an argument arises between her and her children.  The children stay strong in their arguments in order to try and prove their points to Claire.  This seems to symbolize the stereotypical family and what struggles occur between the family members on a daily basis.  The children may feel cheated or treated unfairly and not understand that their mother is only trying to look out for them and do what is best.  The argument is not resolved until Jay reveals to the family the importance of his mother on his life.  Claire and her kids make up realizing how important and precious their moments are together.

“Mother’s Day” comments on how the role of the mother may be very different depending on the current structure of a family.  The mother provides nurturing guidance, support, and a caring touch to their child.  Although the “mother” might be different in each storyline, “Mother’s Day” shows that the role is very important and special for both “mother” and “child”.