By Ida Joung '26
In season 7 episode 10 of ABC’s Modern Family, after Cam giggles at the juxtaposition of painting his daughter's nails, she replies, “I get it, I'm Asian, haha. That’s racist daddy.” Lily, an adopted Vietnamese girl raised by a gay couple, sounds intriguing at first glance. But as the screen time for Lily rises, so do the number of Asian stereotypes. Casual jokes poking at “smart Asians” become a reality for many of us sitting at the screen. There is more to Asian culture than good grades and dumplings, yet these oversimplified elements are largely what the show relies on to make a point. The stereotypes used to describe Lily hurt Asian society even more than an incorrect math question hurts her pride.
Modern Family is one of the best rated and highly watched comedy-dramas of the past decade. The show focuses on 3 vastly different families; the gay family, the “average” nuclear family complete with “brainiacs” and blondes, and the mixed family. The stereotypes often fuel the plotline, but are occasionally discriminatory to the identities they try to portray. They are glorified in pop media, mainly: excelling in school (especially math), being hard to socialize with, and practicing “typical” asian culture. They are portrayed as carbon copies of one another, expressing little to none of their own identity. These stereotypes put pressure on Asian people, causing them shame if they don’t conform to the generalizations.
Perhaps unintentionally yet still disappointingly, Modern Family makes jabs at the Asian community in more ways than one. In season eight’s “The Graduates”, Mitchell (one of Lily’s fathers) reads a note from the principal asking Lily to skip a grade. The parents seemed shocked, but Mitchell eventually exclaimed “Well, what do you expect? She’s Asian, she's supposed to be smart.” As smart as she may be, she cannot outperform the stereotypical platitudes placed upon her. And this wouldn’t be the last time. Another episode, titled “Chirp” brings in two other stereotypes; looking and sounding the same. As Cam and Mitch bring their Vietnamese daughter to film a Japanese advertisement, nobody comments on the bewildering fact that she’s not the right nationality for the role. Then the voice actors go to extreme measures to mock the sound of Asians speaking English. To add insult to injury, when Cam brings Lily home, he realizes that he accidentally picked up another Asian actor that looked “the same” as Lily.
Despite the lovable characters and heartwarming storyline, the stereotypes hinder the quality of Modern Family and its place in many Asians’ hearts. The laughs that Modern Family garner on physical and emotional stereotypes, feel like they're not directed at the comedy, but at us.
Senior Editor: Caridee Chau '25
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