Cameron and Mitchell are a loving, grounded, committed, and demonstrably affectionate couple and have been from the beginning of the series. It happens that we have an episode in the works that addresses Mitchell’s slight discomfort with public displays of affection. It will air in the fall and until then, as Phil Dunphy would say, everyone please chillax.
—Modern Family producers responding to a call for Cameron and Mitchell to get an on-screen kiss
Al
I call shenanigans on this explanation.
Nick
If you watch the show, it makes sense. But, it’d be funny if they had at least one really awkward kiss that would make the rest of us say, “Ha! Yea, you don’t need to do that again.”
Cam
Their explanation sounds like hastily cobbled together bullshit, but on the bright side, the attention is forcing them to deal with the issue obviously.
delurker again
I buy it. Mitchell is an overly snarky wet blanket and Cam is too good for him.
thedarkchariot
Fucking A. When you make a TV show about a gay couple, you know what would be great? Having them not have reservations about PDA.
In real life, sure, that’s a legitimate issue – uh, cuz we’re real people. But for TV shows, the characters are a reflection of the mindsets of the writers and directors. The writers CHOSE to make Mitchell not like PDA. A homophobic choice.
And (argh!) besides! A quick peck on the lips is not PDA, goddamnit! I wish Modern Family well, but honestly I don’t like watching it anymore.
T-in-Cali
sounds like something they just threw together to avoid controversy.
brandon
Homophobic choice my ass. You say that as if we don’t have our own subconscious homophobia to deal with. Besides, you don’t know the true motivation of the writers, only they do.
Everyone of you commenters is full of horse shit. The guy says they are going to deal with it, so pull your head out of your ass. Do any of you fucker’s actually watch the show? Mitchell is neurotic as hell.
Dude
Amen Brandon!
Cam
No. 7 · brandon
Homophobic choice my ass. You say that as if we don’t have our own subconscious homophobia to deal with. Besides, you don’t know the true motivation of the writers, only they do.
_____________
Yawn…oh, I see, did the studio send one of their interns around to post on blogs now? Well let me respond.
1. I don’t give a shit about the true motivation of the writers.
2. If the writers motivation is to make a scene all about somebody eating ice-cream and yet when writing the scene they don’t write in anything about ice-cream, well then dipite their motivations they failed didn’t they?
So whatever the “MOTIVATION” of the writers, the RESULT of what they did, is to give us just another “Will And Grace” where the only reason we know these characters are gay is because they keep telling us they are. Typical hollywood bullshit homophobia strikes again. This couple supposedly isn’t worried about walking down the street pushing a babycarriage together, but are afriad to be at all expressive in any other way…yeah, right.
t money
i watch the show as much as possible. and ginger homeboy IS reurotic as hell. him having PDA issues is very fitting of his character. it makes sense. he could be OCD.
for those who think abc isnt letting the show have gay kisses, drop the victim mentality.
they had a boy on boy kiss on ugly betty.
and drop the homophobia BS. this is a great show and its pushing boundaries. its the GAYEST positive representation on free prime time TV.
so yes, CHILLAX the fuck out yo.
Justin
Not to mention the kissing between Kevin and Scotty on Brothers and Sisters.
Lamar
Why don’t they have shows where the straight couples are against PDAs but not the gays. Thats like having a show with a white couple and a black couple and then featuring the white couple kissing but not the black couple then claiming it’s because they just to happen to not like PDAs. I don’t buy it, too much of a coincidence.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@t money: 100% absofreakingloutley Co-Sign……..Jeeze Louise, simmer down boys. The show portrays a Gay couple plus one in a loving, committed relationship. The entire family accepts them including all the kids. ABC had the balls to show a kiss and then the next week a tremendous 4 hanky comming out scene between two Gay teen boys……..talk about making something out of nothing at all………….
brandon
Lamar: Not if the black couple has already been established as pathologically neurotic and generally anal tentative.
I have a feeling some people won’t be satisfied until every gay character on tv has a hard core bareback double penetration scene.
Tylertime
I buy this reasoning. What I don’t buy is that on ABC’s LOST there were no gays on the plane. Yeah right! We love to travel and have disposable income to go to great places, but there were no gays on the plane? How dare the writers not put gays on the plane! DAMN THEM. Crazy writers! Not even a gay flight attendant. Not fair!
bruce
There’s been far too many heterosexual demonstrations of affections on American television. Gay men have hardly had any, a clear imbalance if ever there was one.
With Modern Family, I can understand a male couple being uncomfortable about public demonstrations of affections. However, I’m not buying that, privately, gay men are shy about interacting with each other. There’s been ample opportunity to show private demonstrations but the writers have obviously squibbed it.
I see it as an issue related to the writers of the show, and not ABC.
CONVERSATION CHAMBER
Mitchell is nuerotic and tightly wound. His hating PDA should make perfect sense to anyone who has actually watched the show. It’s “in-character.” It’s be different if he was like Phil.
Part of the reason why gay characters aren’t allowed to simply be *characters, who just happen to be gay* is because too often we (as gay people) scrutinize everything they do, while cynically looking for any kind of hidden/backhanded gesture or motivation behind it, via the “higher-ups.” We expect them to be these flawless, socio-political relics…who are forcibly well-adjusted, with an activist slant.
In real life, there are gay people with human foibels and fucked up personalities…but when it’s seen on TV, or in the movies, it’s a great big homophobic conspiracy to lessen or degrade gay people in general. On the flipside, when we get sanitized, near angelic gay characters, who’re everyone’s best friends, and have no idosyncries or questionable faults…we complain about them not being “real” enough. Please.
Far as MF goes, Mitchel isn’t that unlike his TV father Jay, who can also be a bit frigid and uptight. Is anyone complaining about that?
WalkderDC
Yeah, TV studios always have a great excuse that fits in with the story as to why they can’t show gays doing anything normal. How lucky that they just happened to have written this guy as not liking PDA. However, that ignores the fact that his partner is completely different from him and always pushing him to do things outside his comfort zone…except apparently kiss. Additionally, there are many scenes where they are just with family where everybody else is giving their partners a kiss and these two aren’t. A private event with family is not PDA. But of course I’m sure we’ll have some overly angry studio defenders pretending to be regular posters coming in here to explain that as well.
thedarkchariot
Brothers & Sisters is a great show, but it is not a mainstream comedy – it is a pretty edgy drama and has a different viewership than Modern Family. The thing about Modern Family is that it is a mainstream comedic sitcom that basically is an embodiment of “normal” – (they can’t be edgy like Brothers & Sisters can). Apparently in the Modern Family world, same-sex kissing is not “normal” or “tame” enough to be shown. It is a choice, by the writers.
AND, let me just point out that there has been more action between the hot moms Claire and Gloria (think the scene where Claire was naked under her coat and Gloria came in and switched coats with her) than there have been between Mitchell and Cameron. Remember that Valentine’s Day episode where Claire and Phil roleplay at a hotel? That was pretty hot (if you were straight). She even took off her, um, I think they’re called panties and gave them to Phil. Anyway, what did Mitchell and Cameron get? Babysitting duty with Manny.
They have consistently left out the gay couple from any kind of romantic expression. It’s very noticeable. And though I say these things, again I wish Modern Family well and hope (and expect) them to do better as they continue. I watch the show every week, but these differences are glaring.
Robb
@Tylertime:#15 Tylertime:
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Every time I bemoan the death of ‘wit’, someone like you wanders by.
I believe I’m gonna smile all day.