MEDIA HUNT

Name Michelle Points earned /10

Time to watch TV! Yes, watch TV! For this assignment, you will watch one hour of Family Television between the hours of 4-
9 p.m. this can be either two shows or one hour of a movie. When you select your program, please make sure that the
show/movie represents a family.
1. TV or Movie? TV
2. Title Modern Family
3. Time of Airing 6pm

While you are watching:

1. Poor female role
model
-What role did this character play?
Claire is the mother, Whitney is the single woman, and Hailey is the daughter.
_______3________ # of times
Description of incident 1. Claire is shown distressed and having difficulties with an electronic, and calls for her
husband to come help. Her husband says off camera that she struggles with all technology.
2. Whitney is a plain, unattractive woman who is perpetually single.
3. Hailey also has difficulty with electronics.


2. Poor male role model -What role did this character play?
The son and a husband.
_______1________ # of times
Description of incident 1. Mitchel plays a poor male role model by being the gay man who is shamed for being gay.
His father minimizes his identity as a gay man out of embarrassment.





3. Violence toward
people
-What role did this character play?
_______________ # of times
Description of incident There was no violence in this episode.





4. Violence toward
animals

_______________ # of times
Description of incident There was no violence towards animals in this episode.







5. Foul language
________1_______ # of times
Description of incident Not sure if this counts as foul language, but the word hell was used in a negative way.








6. Negative comments
(dumb, ugly, etc.)

_______2________ # of times
Description of incident 1. Claire says that because Phil, her husband, likes CNET and was a male cheerleader, hes a
nerd.
2. To prove a point that anyone can use electronics, Phil says he can even teach their dumbest
kid to use it.



7. Damage to property
_______1________ # of times
Description of incident 1. Out of anger and frustration, Claire destroys a brand-new, high-tech remote control.





8. Disrespect to peers
_______5_______ # of times
Description of incident 1. Jay is disrespectful to his son-in-law by not introducing him to his friends, and by leaving
out the fact that he is gay and part of the family.
2. Mitchel is disrespectful to his husband by saying hes flaming.
3. Phil is disrespectful to his daughter by saying if she can do it, anyone can about his
daughter.
4. Jay is disrespectful to his granddaughter and son by saying Chinese and Vietnamese are the
same because you cant tell the difference.
5. Jay is disrespectful to Shorty by calling him gay because he likes clothes.



9. Cultural
Stereotyping/Bias
_______5________ # of times
Description of incident 1. In the same incident where Claire is the poor female, she is also being negatively
stereotyped as a woman and helpless when it comes to technology.
2. Gloria tells another woman who is a little plain that she would find a man if she wore some
lipstick and a push-up bra.
3. A character by the name Shorty is pegged as gay because, hes a great dresser, a great
dancer, and the only one who never hits on [Gloria].
4. Cam is holding something that catches on fire. He starts screaming in high-pitched squeals.
His gay husband says, look at that, two things flaming at once.
5. Jay says his granddaughter is Chinese, and his son Mitchel corrects him saying that she is
Vietnamese. Jay says, only you would know the difference implying that Asians look the
same.







When you are finished watching, reflect on and answer the following:


1. Identify the cultures represented in the television show. Discuss, with examples, how or why these are positive or
negative representations.

-Claire is represented as incompetent with electronics. This is negative because women are sometimes discriminated
against as not being as good as men.
-Mitchel is gay, but his father is ashamed of it. This is negative and assumes people who are gay are not as good as
straight individuals.
-There is also the culture that in order to be valuable and wanted as a women, you need to be beautiful and/or sexual.



2. Are any people with disabilities represented? If so, was it positive or negative?
N/A

3. Pretend youve just moved here from a foreign country and this is your first exposure to American families. Citing
specific examples from the show, what conclusions can you draw about families based on this episode?

That families can be comprised of individuals of different ages, races, biological, adopted, and sexual orientations. That
women need to be sexualized to be hit on and wanted, that women arent good with technology, that men who like
clothes are assumed to be gay, that its okay to disrespect people in public, that teenagers like the mall, and that its okay
to destroy property out of frustration.


4. How do you think that children are affected by the characterization of individuals and groups on television? How are
stereotypes developed and reinforced by watching television?

Stereotypes first need to be taught to be understood in the first place. Once you understand a specific stereotype, every
time you it on a TV show as a joke for example, it is actually being perpetuated and reinforced. I believe children can be
affected because they believe these stereotypes, and may actually conform to them. (i.e. shame about being gay, females
acting incompetent or dressing overly sexualized.)


5. If you were/are a parent, is this a show/movie that you would let your child watch? Why or why not? What positive or
negative lessons are communicated to children from this/these program(s)?

This is a good show considering there is no violence, nudity, profanity, abuse, or drug use, etc. There are a lot of
negative stereotypes used in this TV show though. Stereotypes can have a negative impact on young minds as they can
reinforce negative stereotypes. Kind of like an endless cycle.
However, this show always has a positive conclusion where a lesson is learned. In this episode, Jay learned to be more
accepting of his son, and discovered that not everyone who likes clothes is gay. He apologizes for his actions.
Considering the negative stereotypes and positive lessons, I think this show is kid friendly; this show would be best for
older children where they can differentiate between a joke and a stereotype, and be able to know if theyre
inappropriate or not.