I’m kind of shocked that I can’t find a thread on this. On the season premier of Modern Family (great show), the red haired guy kissed his partner on the head, and then they held hands during one of the “interview” scenes. The acting at those moments seem stilted and somewhat awkward, like they were self-consciously aware that this was on television.
As somebody who watched the show all last season, I can assure you that this was something they did NOT do in season 1. It was clearly a mark of a more authentic gay couple, but I’m curious to know if was a landmark moment in TV history? I hear Internet murmur that a very direct kiss is imminent; would a genuine (I.e. Not played for laughs) kiss be an American television first?
A non-joke gay kiss might be a first for a sitcom (and I’m not even sure of that) but it would hardly be a TV first. Two series right off the top of my head that showed gay PDA’s were L.A. Law and 30something – and those had to be 15 years ago.
I’m glad they’re at least making an effort. It was extremely frustrating to me that the other married couples were shown to be randomly physically affectionate with each other (or even outright sexy) while Mitch and Cam were basically two dudes living together (and one happened to have a kid with him). There were never any cues that they were anything other than roommates, which is fine when the show is about roommates, but not husbands/lovers. The episode where Cam was dressed as a clown and made the jerk at the gas station back down would have been a perfect moment for a kiss. Mitch could have grabbed him by the back of the neck and covered his mouth with makeup. Shit, he could have just shown up at the party with a bit of makeup on his mouth and face just to imply that they were a normal couple with a regular sexual relationship.
Anyway, since they’re making an effort, I’ll make the effort to keep watching.
I dunno. Mitchell is written as having a giant stick up his ass, and I can actually see him being very uncomfortable showing affection in public, or even in the “documentary” scenes. OTOH, you’d think at some point Cam would just scoop up Mitchell and swing him around the room.
Yeah, I think anyone who expects them to act in any way other than how they do is watching them as stereotypes rather than the characters they play. I think they are just about the best gay characters I have seen on TV, at least in comparison with the gay couples I know.
I hope this isn’t too much of a hijack, but the scene with Mitchell stuck in the princess castle (sticking his face through the little round windows) was the funniest sight gag I have seen in years…
The thread title confused the heck outta me. I was wondering how a Personal Digital Assistant could be gay. It wasn’t until I read the OP that I realized it was Public Display of Affection.
So the gay couples you know live together like roommates and never randomly kiss each other, hug each other, touch each other, hold hands, or generally act like they’re in a loving, sexual relationship? I’m not saying that we should have shots of Mitch and Cam going at it, but think back to last season and the teasing/flirting that goes on between Gloria and Jay. Or when Claire and Phil started roleplaying to spice things up (and got caught because Gloria and Jay were on a date). Cam & Mitch never had moments like that, even when they were logical within the episode. It’s those little things that make a difference between how relationships are portrayed on television and how friends/bromances are. It’s annoying that for the first season Cam and Mitchell weren’t that different from other roommates on TV–JD and Turk on Scrubs were more affectionate with each other than Cam and Mitch.
To me, it’s like trying to have your cake and eat it too. “Okay, we will show a gay couple on television but don’t worry, they won’t do anything gay together.”
I completely disagree. Glee doesn’t need to do it and won’t- they still think that the football player trying out for cheerleading is comedy gold. The characters are all caricatures and very little believable “feelings” other than hatred are really ever justified so they will keep bobbing along everyone’s-standard-high-school-experience without ever actually getting into an actual situation or issue of any depth.
If I were to make a bet, I would say that Gossip Girl will be the show to really push PDA and showing a true courtship and intimacy of a gay couple. I do know that it doesn’t qualify as a sit-com, but I don’t think other than kissing any broadcast show has really portrayed more.
I must be watching a different show, although we are in season one, but no-one is in the privacy of anywhere. The whole idea is that there is a camera there and they know it.
There’s not actually supposed to be a camera there. This is mockumentary style, but there’s no conceit that someone is actually filming them, like there is in (for example) the office.
I think it’s a little ambiguous with the interviews, but I agree with you. We’re not meant to think that there’s a camera crew following these people around.
