Evaluating Modern Family: Values, Attitudes, and Effectiveness

This essay provides an analysis of the American television sitcom, Modern Family, focusing on the values and attitudes expressed within the show. It explores the effectiveness of the show in representing ideas, attitudes, and voices, while also evaluating instances of stereotyping, sexism, and racism. The essay highlights how the show, despite its modern title, often falls into traditional stereotypes, particularly regarding female and minority characters. Examples include the portrayal of working mothers and the stereotyping of Latin American characters. The essay argues that these representations can negatively influence viewers and promote societal biases, emphasizing the importance of critically evaluating the effectiveness of texts in representing diverse perspectives. References from academic sources support the analysis.

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English Assessment
Modern Family

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Analyse the values and attitudes expressed in texts, evaluating the effectiveness of texts
in representing ideas, attitudes and voices
The values and attributes which are expressed in texts have to effectively represent ideas,
attitudes and voices or else it could lead to negatively influencing people behaviour by
promoting stereotyping, sexist and racist attitude. The impact of media, films and television
series on the society is significant because it shapes the viewers’ perspective and influences
it in a positive or negative manner (Coyne, Linder, Rasmussen, Nelson & Collier, 2014). Due
to this substantial impact, TV shows, movies and media have to maintain political
correctness to avoid offending their viewers. However, there are many cases in which texts,
shows and movies failed to evaluate the effectiveness of the idea, attitude and voices that
are represented by them which can be considered as stereotyping, sexist or racist
behaviour.
Modern Family, an American television sitcom, is a good example to understand this topic.
This show is about three different families which are related, and they face trials and
tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways. Although the show is titled “modern”
family, however, it is one of the most old-fashioned shows on television which has been
guilty of stereotyping on many occasions. The show was the first to show a gay wedding of
its main character on a sitcom which was a major moment in the television history;
however, many times the show categorised and stereotyped its female and gay characters.
For instance, as per the Department of Labour Statistics, over 69.9 percent mothers with
kids under the age of 18 are working or looking for a job, however, the leading females in
the show are not working women (DOL, 2016).
Similarly, the ethnicity in the show is portrayed by stereotyping. A good example is
character of Sofia Vergara, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, who is Latin American. The show relies
on stereotypes to portray Latin American and sexualisation of Latinas, especially through
Gloria’s character (Raber, 2014). Although the show has diminished stereotypes by
introducing different families, however, Latino stereotyping is accentuated and emphasized
by the character of Sofia Vergara. Furthermore, Alex Dunphy (Ariel Winter) and Haley
Dunphy (Sarah Hayland) are two sisters in the show one of which likes to read books and
who is smart academically, whereas, the other sister is more extrovert and likes to party. It

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is portrayed in the show that people who like books are nerdy, and they prefer to live alone.
They did not have a boyfriend or girlfriend like other kids who like to party and have fun
rather than reading books, and they are socially awkward.
The attitudes and values which are depicted by texts and televisions shows are not correct,
and they tend to generalise or rely on stereotyping especially while depicting individuals
from minorities. These texts and shows have a substantial impact on the public, and they
resulted in promoting stereotyping and sexism in the society, thus, it is important to
evaluate the effectiveness of the texts representing ideas, attitudes and voices.

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References
Coyne, S. M., Linder, J. R., Rasmussen, E. E., Nelson, D. A., & Collier, K. M. (2014). It’s a bird!
It’s a plane! It’s a gender stereotype!: Longitudinal associations between superhero
viewing and gender stereotyped play. Sex Roles, 70(9-10), 416-430.
DOL. (2016). Working Mothers Issue Brief. Retrieved from
https://www.dol.gov/wb/resources/WB_WorkingMothers_508_FinalJune13.pdf
Raber, R. (2014). Why 'Modern Family' Is One of the Most Old-Fashioned Shows on
Television. Retrieved from http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/05/27/why-
modern-family-is-old-fashioned-show-television