CAPS #5- Megan Merrill

The context in which I decided to focus on in my study the consumption of pop culture is the ABC show, “Modern Family.” First airing in September of 2009, “Modern Family” is a mockumentray shot style sitcom show that follows three different, but related families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways (imdb.com). The family consists of a ‘normal family’ by societies standards; a happily married husband and wife duo who have three kids, two teenage girls and a boy. The wife’s father, Jay, is remarried to a much younger, Latina woman with a child of her own from a previous marriage as well as a newborn baby as well. Finally to round out the family, the son of Jay, is in a committed marriage with his life partner and the two have adopted a young girl from China.

This show began breaking down stigmas or stereotypes that still exist in American culture today. It portrays certain topics that might activate stereotypes and influence various generations of Americans in either a positive or negative way. This led me to the first theme that appears on “Modern Family”: The impact of popular culture on people who interact in relatively homogenous social circles is far greater then who live in a more culturally rich environment. Because some in other cultures may live by a different set of rules, norms, religions, and governments, our culture and the pop culture of American society can be at times resisted when our values and morals conflict with those of foreign cultures. I came to this conclusion by how society was impacted by the married-gay relationship in the show. The younger generations that have grown up in a society where gay marriage is now legal in parts of the U.S. see the characters sexual orientation as a norm when comparing it their own social circles. However, the older generations that have grown up with parents or within religious groups that look down upon gay marriage cannot help but do the same because they were not involved in groups outside of their social circle that felt that particular way.

The second theme “Modern Family” has portrayed through it’s plot and characters is that having some information and positive expectations may lead to more in-depth conversations and positive outcomes than have no information at all (Martin & Nakayama, 2013). In the show, the character Jay has two kids from one marriage; he was then divorced and remarried where he gained a stepson and new baby. Although divorced and remarried, Jay still maintains a loving and strong relationship with his kids from his first marriage, as well as the same with his stepson. The way these relationships are portrayed in a positive way, showing although there is a divorce in a family, it does not mean the family can’t grow and love can still exist.

The third and final theme that the show “Modern Family” provides for its global audience specifically is that it represents the cultural movement that the dominant white-American culture is currently on. Unlike countries where divorce is punishable by depth or disownment, divorce is shown that it seen as OK and even a positive thing that is a norm in American culture. When other foreign cultures see gay relationships as a sin, the gay community in American is seen as a norm as well because the show portrays it that. Because of the way our culture is portrayed in “Modern Family,” it thus represents American culture to those who do not in due to lack of travel or ways of experiencing it firsthand.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442437/