Modern Family: A Stereotypical Day (8x02)

Okay. A stronger episode than the premiere, but there were still elements that I wasn't thrilled with.

Cons:

The Dunphy plot involved Phil getting stuck in a closet after an open house for work, and then suffering from PTSD about it. This could have been really funny, but they didn't spend enough time on the part where he was actually in the closet. There was a lot they could have done with that and I feel like the opportunity was wasted. Also in the Dunphy plot, we learn that Alex has mono and has to stay home from school. This is fine, since they've done nothing with her college plot line anyway, but I do wish that this show could decide what to do with Alex. Haley lost her job and is hiding it form the family, which isn't really funny. It mostly just seems like an unraveling of her character development. I don't know... there was a real attempt in some of the other plot threads to explore some more serious themes. The stuff with the Dunphys fell flat in comparison. Especially since PTSD isn't funny.

There were a few cringe-y jokes in an episode riddled with contentious land mines. They avoided most of them, which I'll talk about more in a minute. But Jay misunderstanding the phrase "by the way" as an exotic African name? Ugh. I call foul.

Also, I wasn't thrilled with the two minor subplots in the Pritchett-Delgado household. Manny has turned into a fake communist to impress a girl, and Joe wants to live outside like Mowgli from The Jungle Book. Neither of these ideas gained enough traction.

Pros:

However, Manny did have one of the funniest lines in the episode. When Cam and Mitchell come over with cupcakes, Manny asks if they're going to: "fill my mouth with bourgeoisie opiates so I can't speak for the people." Cam replies "That was a lot..." which made me laugh!

A black family moves across the street from Jay and Gloria's house, on the same day that Jay had security cameras installed. He's paranoid that they will think he's racist, so he invites his black friend over and hangs out with him on the front lawn. In the end, Jay introduces himself to the neighbor, who says that he's used to it, having lived in white neighborhoods before. This plot thread had the potential to seriously piss me off, but I liked the fact that it made Jay look like a bit of a fool while still addressing some serious issues about stereotyping. My favorite moment was when Gloria thought Jay was overreacting, and Jay talks about how hard it is to be an old white man because of all the stereotyping about being racist and intolerant! Yikes, talk about the irony. The other funniest part was when Jay's friend realizes why he's being paraded around in front of the new neighbors. He's been going through some rough times, with his wife leaving him, so even though he's pissed at Jay, he still accepts his hugs: "I'm mad about that but it feels good to be held." Ha!

Also, Gloria's little plot in this episode was that she gets mad at the remote control a lot, so she keeps breaking them. Jay actually catches her smashing one of them on the security tapes. He says he's going to get her one of those rubber remotes that they put in "nursery schools and insane asylums," to which Gloria timidly remarks "thank you." Something about their delivery of this moment was extra hilarious!

Then you've got the Cam, Mitchell, and Lily plot thread. Lily is playing with her friend, a little transgender boy. Cam and Mitchell are patting themselves on the back for being so tolerant, when they hear Lily call the boy a "weirdo." They are horrified, and try numerous times to have a conversation with Lily about tolerance. Then, they have an interesting talk with Jay. He asks them what they would do if someday Lily wanted to be Lou. They realize that even though they'd be accepting, it might take them a moment to adjust their expectations for their child's life. Jay then points out that when he needed a moment to adjust to Mitchell being gay, his son called him a bigot. Maybe there's prejudice inside all of us. Lily tells her dads that she didn't call her friend a weirdo because he used to present as a girl. Instead, it's because her friend didn't like the creepy mural in Lily's room. Lily then reveals that she doesn't like the mural either. Mitchell and Cam help her paint over it, and are pleased to find that Lily has taken a picture of it and had it framed in memory.

This too was a plot thread that could have easily teetered into the insensitive. But actually, it was a fairly accurate representation of how prejudice and liberal acceptance culture tends to work. Mitchell and Cam have it in their heads that because they're gay they must be above any suspicion when it comes to being bigoted. As Mitchell puts it: "that's our thing, lording our tolerance over others." And yet when they find out that Lily has a transgender friend, they automatically assume that everything about this child must be related to his gender identity. Lily didn't call him a transphobic slur or anything, she just called him a weirdo. A fairly common kid insult. And yet they jumped to conclusions. Lily, a Vietnamese girl adopted by two dads, is not necessarily free from any and all prejudice, but like most kids she's generally accepting of stuff once it's been explained to her. What does she care about gender? She's a kid!

Jay's comment that Mitchell and Cam are a bit hypocritical was really interesting. Now, there's a disclaimer here: any person who is part of an oppressed or minority group has every right to cut people out of their lives if they are not respected and accepted. So, for example, if Mitchell hadn't been willing or able to deal with Jay's reaction to his coming out, Mitchell would have been well within his rights to never speak to his father again, because this is about him, and his life. However, if every person in the world condemns every other person in the world for any mistake they make in regards to gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. etc. then there would be literally nobody left in the world who could claim the moral high ground. It's not the responsibility of the oppressed person or group to educate those who oppress them, or to even be accepting of their limitations. But everybody is prejudiced. Everybody needs to unlearn their bigotry continuously for the rest of their lives. Nobody is exempt.

I actually think that this episode did a very good job of addressing this serious topic, and all the complex issues it brings up. As a plus, there were a number of really funny moments here too. Cam declares "hick" to be "the most offensive slur ever used in the South," to which Mitchell says "well..." which I thought was great. Lots of ironic jokes in this one! I also thought it was hilarious that Cam was so heartbroken about painting over the mural, and rather sweet that Lily thought to commemorate it.

That's what I've got. This episode could have gone so bad, but it didn't! And I'm happy about that. (Another disclaimer being that since I am neither black nor transgender, this episode may have nuance to it that I simple cannot grasp. If anybody feels strongly about it, let me know! I fully admit that I could have missed something truly atrocious).

8/10