Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Queer, or queer?

When asked to look into Queer Theory, I couldn't think of a better current example than Modern Family, which is a groundbreaking series in that it's the first network primetime show to depict a gay married couple (and a gay married couple with a daughter, at that!).

It's important to note the difference in characterization between Mitchell and Cam, including dress, speech patterns, and mannerisms. Further, this scene in particular starts out much like one would find with any pairing of new parents--the sexuality is entirely unimportant here. It isn't until the climax comes that the extreme personalities shine through, and we revert to more stereotypical depictions of gay men (at least from Cam).

4 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're bringing up Modern Family's gay couple, even if this is a teaser post! They're an interesting (and funny!) pair..

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  2. yeah
    you're definitely hitting on point.
    I feel like this is the latest addition to the queer theory... and we are yet to see where it goes. Also, same thing with that kid from Glee!

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  3. Oh yeah I have started to really like this show! It's a good example and definitely does demonstrate concepts mentioned in Doty's article.

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  4. Agreed, I think this show does a remarkable job at depicting gay characters, as a family. My only ciritscm, if there is one, would be that shows title which uses "Modern" in a way that seems interchangable with "strange" but that might be reading too far into it.

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