Modern Family Character Analysis

Amelia Maloney

Comic Spirit E

Character Analysis

            In the popular sitcom Modern Family, Phil Dunphy, played by Ty Burell, adds to the comic effect of the series by providing humorous actions, a tendency to over react, and qualities that foil other characters in order to show what goes on in a dysfunctional family. 

            Phil Dunphy is an adult, but in most episodes he can act like his son, Luke, by making lame jokes, such as “Quick, what's my favorite hospital food? Jellooo.”  He makes the show very funny and entertaining and is probably one of the most laid back characters in the series.  His jokes are lame, but that is what makes his personality so goofy and pleasant.  Without Phil being who he was or his puns, “It's Leap Day, not sleep day!” the show would be really boring and would really have no comic effect to it.  In one of the episodes, Phil is planning to go trapezing with his family, and when talking about it, he says it’s “easy trapezy.”  All of Phil’s lame jokes and funny puns are what makes the show worthwhile to watch and they are a really important part of the comic effect of the show. 

            Phil is also known to over react to little things that are really not that big of a deal.  When his wife and two daughters are on the same “cycle,” on Leap Day, Phil expresses his feelings, “It happened. Satan's trifecta. The day I most dreaded had fallen on the day I most loved.” He obviously does not need to react this way, but his emotions in this situation are what make the show enjoyable and funny.  In one of the episodes, he is determined on getting an iPad, and his excitement shows, “Who's ready for the first day of the rest of their lives?”  This line is funny because he is looking forward to getting a new piece of technology, something that not everyone gets this hyped up for.  Whenever Phil overreacts to something small, the episode is more enjoyable to watch and usually can get a few laughs.

            Compared to other characters in the show, Phil is sometimes seen as the complete opposite of someone in his family.  His father-in-law, Jay, is more of a masculine figure than Phil is, and their conversation about something that Phil is wearing shows this foil, “Jay asks what he is wearing and Phil says, “Onion goggles. No more tears. Welcome to the 21st Century. You should get a pair.” "I was just about to suggest the same thing” is what Jay responds with, which shows the jokes  between the two characters.  Jay sometimes jokes around with Phil, such as when Phil says “Who is your son-in-law?” and Jay responds with “Phyllis!” and this is what makes the show funny because Phil and Jay are family and their jokes add to the comic effect.  The differences between characters, especially Phil and Jay add to the funny part of the show.  The viewers of the show obviously find their jokes to be funny, and that is another important part to the show. 

            With all of his funny, opposite, and over exaggerated qualities, Phil Dunphy is what makes Modern Family an entertaining show.  Without the help of his presence, the show would not be as funny or enjoyable to watch.  He would be considered as a round character because he is always expressing different feelings.  He can also be considered as a foil to jay because Jay is more protective and at times more masculine.  Phil is a great addition to the show and he can make any episode funny.

My Modest Proposal

The Problem with Population

Amelia Maloney

Comic Spirit  E

            The world population is constantly growing and is just going to keep growing because so many people are being added to the world.  The problem with population is that there are not enough resources to go around for the growing population, as well as the number of jobs not matching up with the number of people.  There are different ideas to solve the growing population, but do not seem to be working, such as trying to expand the number of resources, educating adults on family planning, and keeping the population numbers to be at a sustainable number.  My idea of solving the population problem is to make sure that the maximum number that adults have is three children, and if they have more, the extra child or children will be sent to a bio dome in Antarctica where they can will take part in a challenging contest.  This seems like a cruel idea, but this will help decrease the population in increments by sending away the extra children. 

            Some families are having more than three children and that is just adding to the growth of the population.  With this idea of sending the extra children away to a less populated location, the families will have less stress as well as decreasing the population.  China was strict about the one child rule, but is now considering relaxing that rule and allowing families to have two children.  This is being considered because the population is becoming unbalanced and this rule has been in effect for three decades.  My environmental science class learned about population control and China was a country of discussion.  Having only two children in China will keep the population in balance; and having the three child rule in America will have the same results. 

            Having too many children will result in economical problems for families.  A family with more than three children will have problems with money and will their children will be forced to suffer.  You would not want to be a fourth or fifth child born into a poor family and have to suffer.  That child would have to walk to school barefoot and would not have anything to enjoy because they are the last child into that family.  That child would wish that they had never been born because of how much they are suffering through, and with this proposal, that child would never have to suffer because of their poor conditions.  There would be no suffering children, and the population would be decreased, or at least stay in balance.

            I learned about the problem with population growth in depth as a part of my environment class.  I learned that mostly developing countries suffer because of population issues and there are many effects due to the problem.  With a large population, resources are becoming scarce and there will not be enough to support the growing number of people at some point in time.  This is a reasonable proposal because after learning about population issues, I realized that the number of people is going to continue to grow, causing more problems. 

            Once the children are in the bio dome, they will be introduced to the contest that they will be taking part in.  The contest, which will include singing and dancing, and also televised, will determine whether or not they will be returning back to their families.  The number of contestants will be decreased every week, leaving the final number of contestants to be three.  Those three will then compete to be in the top two, and then those two people will return back to their families.  The judges will be the adults who are in charge of running the bio dome, and they will be the ones choosing the fate of the top two members.  The losing members will be considered as unimportant and will be forced to stay in the bio dome, where they will live controlled lives until their deaths.

            This contest is branching off of my proposal and will be an entertaining way of decreasing the population.  The extra children of the population will be sent away, and only one child will be sent back every few years.  This will help the population be decreased, or at least stay in balance, which will stabilize the number of resources.  Sending the children away may seem cruel, but there is an entertaining part to this modest proposal.  I think that this is a good idea because it will be decreasing the population as well as providing entertainment to fellow viewers.