Representation of race, gender and LGBTQ+ on Modern Family

Sammanfattning: AbstractThe purpose of this study is to establish the representations of the main characters of Modern Family out of three themes: the representation of genders, race and LGBTQ+, based on theories within the field, such as representation and stereotypes. Earlier research shows that these three social groups often are represented stereotypically in media with more inclusivity in some aspects and less in some. Four episodes have been chosen from different years and have been analyzed from an intersectional perspective. This purpose of this research is to understand what codes have been used when creating the main characters, and it focuses on three research questions:- In what ways are the female, male, Latin and LGBTQ+ characters on Modern Family represented?- Has the representation of race, gender and LGBTQ+ changed over the nine years since Modern Family started broadcasting? If so, in what ways?- What stereotypes replicate on the different characters depending on their race, gender and LGBTQ+?To do this, descriptive text analysis and semiotics have been used to analyze each episode and for better understanding of the stereotypical traits and representation in the analysis, Richard Dyer’s definition of stereotypes and Stuart Hall’s theory of representation have been used. The results show different changes in representation regarding the three themes. In conclusion, the representation of genders has changed over the nine years, thus has the representation of the Latin race and LGBTQ+ community not changed in many significant ways.Heading: Representation of race, gender and LGBTQ+ on Modern Family. Author: Anna Sofia StoiljkovicLevel: Final Exam Project in Media and Communication Studies, 15 hp Institution: School of Arts and Communication (K3)Faculty: Faculty of Culture and Society University: Malmö University Supervisor:Examiner:Term: Spring of 2019Keywords: Media representations, tereotypes, gender, race, LGBTQ+, Modern Family.