Blog # 2: Gender in Specific Contexts: Sofia Vergara-Modern Family

Angelina Gutierrez

WMST 205

Blog # 2

Blog # 2: Gender in Specific Contexts: Sofia Vergara-Modern Family

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtrchTW4czE

Prompt # 1- The cultural artifact that I will be identifying is a television show called Modern Family.  The cultural Object that I will be discussing is the character of Gloria Pritchett played by Sofia Vergara.  She plays an overly sexy and loud trophy wife.  Gloria has many of her mom and aunt’s temperamental traits.  The social world would include Americans (women, LGBTQ community and men) and the rest of the world who televise Modern Family. Christopher Lloyd is co-creator and producer of the TV series.  The reason why I selected Gloria Pritchett character is that she challenges the norm.  She is not the average Latina who is submissive to her husband and does everything for her family.  She has a mind of her own and is not affair to express her feelings.  I am not saying she is a role model to the Latin@ Community, but she does start a spark when it comes to expressing her emotions.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtrchTW4czEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtrchTW4czE

Prompt # 2- Analyze.  (1) The character Gloria Pritchett is portrayed as an overly sexy and loud trophy wife.  However, the producer, Christopher Lloyd, is sending mixed messages to the receiver because Gloria is a sexy trophy wife who is married to an older man.  The message is constructed because it fits the norm in our society today.  The man always gets his trophy, but Gloria is not your typical Latina wife who would not express her opinion or show her temper when needed.  As the audience, once must keep in mind that Gloria’s character is challenging the norm, but at the same context viewed through the lens of a male.  I believe if Gloria was not so overly sexy and represented the majority of Latina women, her character would be more submissive and would be the glue of the family.  (2)  While examining the format of the show, I noticed that the camera focuses on her boobs and her body. Although she expresses her emotions, she is loud and with a heavy accent.  The focus is on her body and not what is being said.  The lighting always reflects on her boobs and her slim figure.  Her movement is very “hot tamale” like and takes the focus of what is being said in the prompt.  The producer is focusing on the male audience and drawing more attention to the Latino stereotypes. (3) I believe people might interpret her role differently than I do because some might say Gloria is a role model to the Latino community because she speaks her mind and others might think she is representing the typical stereotypes that exist for Latina women. I believe she presents both a role model and a stereotype among Latina Women.  Some might say the show is supposed to be light-hearted, but do we really want a Gloria Pritchett to represent the Latina Community?  Why can we not look for role models who are more positive and will overcome all the stereotypes that exist within the Latina community and among women in general? There are so many positive and negative interpretations of her character.  For example, one positive interpretation is her ability to speak her mind.  One negative interpretation is her heavy accent and her sex appeal.  The producer should have made her character as a very calm person who speaks her mind.  Instead, he made he  a loud trophy wife who is out of control.  Why did she have an accent and sound uneducated?  Not all Latinos have an accent. (4) The lifestyle and values are presented in this message is a character who is on her second marriage and has a joint family.  She is the trophy wife who has a temper with a heavy accent.  Of course, the first wife is much older and fatter.  The message conveyed is the second wife is always better than the first when it comes to looks.  The value presented in this message is appearance, which is very important.  The husband can look old and out of shape, but the wife is the trophy.  Gloria’s husband always made fun of her and shows no respect.  I believe the statement made is that women are second-class citizens.  Even though, she has no problem expressing her opinion, she is always the loud and crazy woman.  I believe what is missing from her character is self-respect.  I believe a woman can be beauty and intelligent at the same time.  I believe the need for a male’s attention is setting women back.  (5) The producer of Modern Family is in control of creating the message.  Of course, he makes money from the commercials and ratings.  This is a moneymaking enterprise that draws the audience’s attention and takes them away from reality.  The more people who watch the television show, the higher the ratings, which brings more advertising/commercials and money.  The audience is entertained with a slight Schadenfreude.  The public who review television shows with an open mind and question the message received.  What audience is the producer trying to attract and is it being looked as Male Gaze?  One might say they watch this program for entertainment; however, one must exam the dialog that conveyed and question how this is helping women, minorities and the LGBTQ Community.  Is it setting us back or moving us forward?  I am going to start paying more attention to the message sent to the audiences while engaged in a television show.